The Hunt for Des Moines’ Best Crab Rangoons

What is a Crab Rangoon? On the surface most might see an appetizer typically found at Chinese, Thai, Japanese, or other Asian restaurants. Others see them as a fried pocket of warmth and happiness.

The crab rangoon is thought to have been invented at Trader Vic’s, a Polynesian-themed restaurant chain headquartered near San Francisco. There are also online rumors that the dish was first invented in an English-controlled Burma as “Rangoon” is the former name of the Burmese city of Yangon.

Crab rangoons are so popular today that they even have their own unofficial holiday. National Crab Rangoon Day is celebrated every year on February 13th.

For Olivia Ruf, a crab rangoon is a test of what the rest of the meal will be like. If a restaurant does not have good crab rangoons, Ruf is not likely to return. Rangoons are a crucial part of ordering Asian food. Without them, the meal is not complete.

Olivia Ruf sits on a brown sofa and smiles at the camera.

Ruf had her first experience with crab rangoons at 19-years-old when she was in college. The tasty dish has been a part of her life for six years now. Ruf said, “I grew up in a very rural town in Wisconsin. It was very, you know, Germanic and closed off. There was a lot of casseroles.” College was life-changing for her. It was where she met her now boyfriend and got to experience more cultures of the world.

Ruf has lived in Des Moines for three years and is going on this journey to find the best crab rangoons in the metro. Olivia’s boyfriend, Dylan Smith is also joining on this hunt.

Calvin Dixon has never had a crab rangoon but is looking to expand his palate and try new things. Dixon has lived in Des Moines most of his life. “I’ve never had a crab rangoon. So, this will be my first time trying them. I’m just diving right in, we’re gonna try ten different crab rangoons and see what’s what.”

To determine the best crab rangoons in the Des Moines Metro, the group turned to a popular Facebook group (DSM Food Lovers) with an open discussion of the best places to eat in the metro. Within two days, the request for the best crab rangoons had 118 comments, and the admins shut down commenting. To find the 10 places to try, the group took every restaurant that was mentioned and tracked how often a restaurant was liked. Using the count of mentions and likes, the top 10 was set.

*Note: Cool Basil, De Rice, Thai Flavors, and Banana Leaf are all owned by the same people. Having been to all of these restaurants and tried all of their crab rangoons it was decided that they are all likely the same recipe and count as one entry. For this experiment, the group only ordered and picked up from Cool Basil.

Check out what spots were visited and how each restaurant’s crab rangoons were boxed up.

The winner was unanimously Nut Pob. Nut Pob is a small Thai and Lao restaurant on the south side of Des Moines. This was the first restaurant to be commented on the post in DSM Food Lovers.

Nut Pob is located in a strip mall off Indianola Ave. Walking inside, it was surprisingly large with plenty of seating for dining in. The menu is large and offers a wide variety of options. Nut Pob has been at this location for almost 30 years.

The crab rangoons from Nut Pob won the group’s hearts with the flavor. They were very creamy and had a balanced flavor, not too sweet and not too savory.

This journey was a fun, cream cheese-filled adventure that brought a group of friends closer. The debate got heated at times. If you want to learn more on how these rankings came to be, listen to the podcast episode below: