Hot Plate

Do you find it hard to concentrate in Trulucks (5919 Westheimer, 783-7270)? I do. The place suggests an art nouveau railway carriage and makes me think that it's 1920, and I'm traveling through the Balkans on the Orient Express. That woman at the next table: a spy, surely. And the man with her: an international jewel thief, if I ever saw one. Surrounded by all that intrigue, who can think of eating? But eat you should. Especially the crab claws ($12.95 for four). Flown, I'm told, from fisheries in the Yucatan, Florida and the Caribbean, they're firm and sweet and, when dipped in melted butter, make you feel as decadent as that jewel thief. Even the shells look good. But a word of advice: Don't try to eat them.