Crawfish. Crayfish. Crawdad. Louisiana mudbug. However you call them (we call them écrevisse in French but I’ll stick with crawfish for this post if that’s ok), the season for enjoying the little crustaceans is almost over. In France, écrevisses typically play a supporting role to oysters and lobsters on a plateau de fruits de mers (check out this LA Time article on how to assemble your own or try the Plateau a la Beck at Brasserie Beck if you’re curious about this typically French tower of seafood). It was a very new experience for me the first time I enjoyed crawfish in a lead part at one of Acadiana‘s crawfish boils. And I loved it! 



Playing with my food at one of Acadiana’s crawfish boils

Crawfish boils are typically backyard affairs in Louisina. While the husband is from the Pelican State I haven’t had a chance to attend one out there. His family relocated to Florida shortly after we got married so we don’t have the opportunity to go to Louisiana very often anymore.  Luckily, we live pretty close to Acadiana and my husband has come to rely on the Penn Quarter eatery to get his Louisiana food fix, while I’ve come to relyo on it to discover the cuisine and traditions that my husband grew up on. We try to go at least once a year for the crawfish boils on their patio because they’re just a ton of fun. Crawfish season typically peaks around Lent, in March-April, with crawfish available until May and a little bit of June. Which means that crawfish season is coming to an end for the year.
 

Picture from Acadiana’s website. A typical crawfish boil includes crawfish, lemons, potatoes and corn cooked in boiling water with some seasonings.