NOLA Needed Crawfish….Yesterday

Seriously though, I’m about to set up on a corner with a sign “WILL WORK FOR CRAWFISH.”

I mean, I live in this town because I love seafood, long summers and the lack of judgement concerning the ability to get drunk in public. If I can’t have all of them, what am I even doing here?

I remember the first time I ever even tried a crawfish. It was magical.

Food Porn

Food Porn

My mom brought my sister and I to a crawfish boil. She sat me down and showed me how to pinch, twist and suck (make a dirty joke concerning my mother–I dare you). And like most children, I was a little shit about it. I fought her. Mandated that I would never eat one. She couldn’t make me. I threw myself at her feet and cried like she shot me.

But my mom’s a trooper. So she held on and peeled the first one for me and just gave me the tail meat. I chewed on it with childish skepticism. I begrudgingly admitted that it was “alright.” Then she told me to suck on the head of it. It was spicy, made my lips burn, but damn if it wasn’t delicious. Why are moms always right about that stuff?

So I asked for another. And another. And another. And about 1 pound to myself later, I was throwing up. Because when I go hard, I go the distance.

But besides that unfortunate ending to my first crawfish experience, I was hooked. To everyone’s bemusement, I ate more the next day. And to this day, I wait with profound patience and utter excitement every year for crawfish season, usually beginning around Mardi Gras, to start. 

But this year….I am sadly without crawfish. And I’m about to throw a temper tantrum that would impress my 3 year old self.

Because of the Great Winter Storm of 2013-2014 (I think it got down to 30 degrees and the city shut down) crawfish season has been pushed back a while. Prices are ridiculous. Usually around $2-3 per pound, they are currently at $8-9. I’m not happy. When I eat crawfish, I like to gorge myself to a point of disgust and then spend the rest of the day questioning my decision to eat my body weight in crawfish and beer.

Crawfish Monica from Jazzfest. Need that in my face now.

Crawfish Monica from Jazzfest. Need that in my face now.

It isn’t just me either, restaurants are hurting from the prices and because of a lack of reasonably sized crawfish. Boils are being postponed, I haven’t seen anyone offering crawfish Monica, etouffee, pies, or anything! It’s a travesty I tell you. It’s a food that is unique to this area and now what I supposed to do? Eat Chinese crawfish? Never!

I just hope that this trend of high price crawfish doesn’t continue for much longer. I’m fiending hard for some crawfish and if I find any, I’m taking them straight to my face. There is no shame in my crawfish game.

 

 

If you love crawfish boils or know any other things that NOLA needs to get immediately, let us here at Red Beans and Life know!

About Morgan

Morgan was born in Georgia, raised in Louisiana, a Southern gal through and through. A graduate of the University of New Orleans, she loves her Saints, her city and inserting thinly veiled sarcasm throughout all her writing.

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