Rockport—The beauty of the Rockport Fulton is in full blossom after the devastating effects of Hurricane Harvey in 2017. It’s back to fun in sun in this seaside town and one of the staples here is The Boiling Pot, where you are expected to get to cracking.
“We love this food. It’s one of our favorite restaurants to come to,” said customer, Amy Chase.
“I can’t even name how many times we’ve been,” confessed another customer, Anthony Martinez.
“It’s a big part of this town, honestly,” commented Isaac Iwabuchi, Rockport local and employee at the restaurant.
The Boiling Pot has been keeping things hot in Rockport since 1985 when Dot LeBlanc decided to open up a little seafood shack in the sleepy town.
Dot passed away in 2013 and her daughter-in-law, Ramona, was entrusted with an enormous task—continuing the famous family eatery and Dot’s incredible legacy.
“Even the employees were worried about it not continuing. That’s when we talked about, you know, stepping in and keeping it going,” said Ramona LeBlanc. “I would never even try to compete with my mother-in-law’s shoes, but you know, that’s the scary part…I’m holding it together.”
The key to success here is simple, boil same savory seafood and let folks forage on a crazy amount of crustaceans.
“I mean it’s iconic,” commented customer, Amy.
“I’m from West Texas, so we didn’t have any of this. So whenever we moved down here, man…we take advantage of this,” said customer, Geronimo Trevino.
Now before your boiled banquet, there is one big step one must obey.
“Get your bib on,” said Ramona.
Before Shane could be bibbed, the food had to be boiled and Isaac Iwabuchi threw together a bit of everything for us—snow crab, shrimp, gumbo, corn and potatoes.
“…Everything soaks up that spice and gets nice and hot,” said Isaac.
Once it’s all steamed up, it smells incredible, especially if you like Cajun seasoning. The food is dumped out right in front of you fresh from the boiling pot and it doesn’t take long to realize why a bib is needed.
“The gumbo is to die for, the shrimp, the crabs, the corn, the potatoes, and you know what? You get your bib, you get your food. It’s just fabulous,” said Amy.
There is nothing like seafood down on the Gulf Coast!
“It’s nice being able to live on the coast and be able to do that. Especially fresh shrimp,” said Geronimo.
“We love seafood. Something about being right next to the water just makes it enjoyable,” added Anthony.
Whether it’s by land or by sea, a trip to Rockport to visit The Boiling Pot is well worth the stop on The Texas Bucket List.
“When we think about Rockport, we have always thought about this place,” Anthony explained. “It definitely means Rockport defines Rockport.”