My CRAWFISH Brand: PART 1
Crawfish, is that you peeking around the corner? Aww shucks! The season is upon us, and I’m more ecstatic than ever this year. The yellow, red, and black crawfish flags are flying. The time is here! Typically, crawfish season is from January to July, with the peak months being March, April and May. My love for this little boil seasoned water critter is real. LOL. I’ve become a true crawfish connoisseur ever since moving to Houston; of course, I couldn’t help it because the metropolis of 7 million is believed to consume more crawfish than the entire state of Louisiana, which is where 90% of the nation’s crawfish is raised. Traveling on I-10 between Louisiana and Houston, you will see a plethora of crawfish trucks traveling to the Bayou City in droves during the season.
Houston is really no stranger to crawfish, since many Houstonians grew up catching crawfish in the area’s bayous, ditches, and resevoirs mostly for leisure and some for food. However, due to its ties to Louisiana and its position on the Gulf Coast, Houston’s boiled crawfish tradition runs deeply through the area’s veins. Same time as New Orleans, Houston’s crawfish phenomenon accelerated in the 1970s and 1980s, as many Louisianans moved to Houston for the respective time’s oil boom. Yes, crawfish was consumed before then in people’s private homes, but the surge in crawfish served in restaurants gave Houstonians of all demographics access to this tasty freshwater crustacean; Luke B. Mandola Sr., the man behind Houston’s popular Ragin’ Cajun (Houston’s first Cajun seafood restaurant), and Jim Gossen of Louisiana Sysco Seafood are largely responsible for the crawfish surge. Whether you refer to them as crawfish, crayfish, crawdads, or mudbugs, the boiled sensation, which took the place of the area’s beloved blue crab, is a Springtime staple in Houston’s food scene and continues to popularize more and more annually. One can find crawfish, along with its accompanied neighbors like corn, sausage, and potatoes, consumed at day parties, the numerous crawfish festivals and functions across Greater Houston, bars, zydeco festivals, etc. Oh yea, I don’t want to forget how you can purchase boiled crawfish at HEB, Fiesta, and Walmart. It’s a huge deal here!
Furthermore, because of Houston’s diversity, crawfish is boiled 3 ways: Louisiana Cajun (boiled in seasoned water), Texan (seasonings on top of shell), and Viet-Cajun (seasonings, such as ginger, lemongrass, mustard seed, lemon, garlic, onion, and bay leaves, and garlic butter on top of shell). For me, I prefer the Louisiana Cajun style way more. I’m a sucker for flavor and traditions, so this style is more of my taste. Even though Houston has a lot of great crawfish establishments, I want to share with you my favorite places to eat Louisiana Cajun style crawfish. Let me take you on a journey to these traditionally boiled crawfish hot spots…
J’BON
This is my favorite crawfish vendor in Houston! Owned and operated by Breaux Bridge native, Jamel, this food truck will not disappoint at all. The seasoning and spice are just right. The special deals he has during the height of the season are amazing! Can’t forget about the “Crawfish Holy Trinity: corn, sausage, and potatoes; the trio is sold separately but offers some of the best savory company with the crawfish. Also, he’s one of the friendliest people I’ve ever met, so the customer service is awesome; Jamel pays close attention to detail and ensures that his customers are satisfied. J’BON can be found mostly in Pearland in Shadowcreek during the weekends; if Jamel isn’t in Pearland, then he’s at the corner of Airport Blvd and Cullen Blvd or at a festival. Because J’BON doesn’t have a specific location, call (713) 247-9491 for your crawfish cravings.
Flavor: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Price: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Customer Service: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Authenticity: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Consistency: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Bayou Billiot
Shane is the man with the plan; he is the KING of the bayou. In the West Oaks area, his introduction into the Houston market was via Bayou Brothers, my first love. LOL. I’m extremely happy to have stumbled upon this place when I lived in the Energy Corridor. Since opening up Bayou Brothers, he has opened up two more crawfish and seafood spots in Greater Houston: OMG Seafood and MVP Seafood; crawfish at all places is the same, so there’s no inconsistency. The spicy crawfish is very juicy and is soaked in homemade seasoning that’s sold in the respective restaurants. Shane’s recipe is very reminiscent of what is found in Louisiana and in other parts along the Gulf Coast!
Flavor: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Price: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Customer Service: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Authenticity: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Consistency: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Bayou Brothers’s location
OMG Seafood’s location
MVP Seafood’s location
Bayou Kitchen Crawfish Kings
Located in the southern half of Hiram Clarke, this food truck and restaurant duo is a crawfish person’s, like myself, dream. Mr. Mike, the owner, is very confident in his crawfish and ensures that his crawfish is some of the best in the city; I’m inclined to agree with him. I tried his crawfish for the first time this year, after having a craving, and I thoroughly enjoyed these mudbugs. I could taste all of the flavors needed to boil a great batch of crawfish: butter, lemon, garlic, and Cajun spices. Also, Mr. Mike boils his corn and potatoes separately and drenches them in a delicious butter sauce that’s not too thick. He and his staff are very hospitable, and they allow you to bring your own libations. What an experience!
Flavor: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Price: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Customer Service: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Authenticity: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Consistency: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
HEB
Wait a minute. Did someone mention HEB? Yes, HEB, which is dubbed the best grocery store in Texas, sells boiled crawfish in Greater Houston. I’ve eaten crawfish from several HEB locations, but no one comes close to perfecting the authentic Louisiana Cajun style like the location off Beechnut Street and the Beltway. This particular HEB is where I’d experienced the spiciest crawfish ever; no matter how spicy the crawfish is, it is always seasoned like crawfish from a small shack in the Acadiana region of Louisiana. Not only does this HEB have the best crawfish in the grocer’s chain, it also has the state’s first “True Texas Boil House,” which is a concession-style dining concept that offers crawfish and other seafood. Make sure you stop by after concluding your grocery shopping!
Flavor: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Price: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Customer Service: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Authenticity: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Consistency: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Boyd’s Cajun Grill Express
This bait shop, Boyd’s One Stop, and restaurant duo is located in Texas City. Yes, I know it’s far from the city, but the hike to the Texas City Dike is WELL worth it. First and foremost, I love this place because I won 10 pounds of crawfish 2 years ago; that day was one of the best days of my life! LOL. The introduction to the crawfish was nothing short of amazing because the flavor is sensational. The crawfish comes in regular and jumbo sizes and are priced accordingly. Because Boyd’s Cajun Grill Express is located next to the bait shop, which provides fresh seafood, the crawfish is some of the cheapest in the city, with prices falling to less than $2.00 per pound on many occasions! The line that this place usually has foreshadows the goodness that’s found within the crawfish bag.
Flavor: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Price: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Customer Service: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Authenticity: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Consistency: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Muddy Water
All last year, I’d seen this food truck on all of my social media outlets, and I couldn’t resist the temptation; the pictures that Muddy Water posted depicted how good life would be, if only I could have some of the pretty red crawfish. LOL. Behold, I’d gotten the opportunity to taste the crawfish at last year’s SoundBites Food Truck Fest, and I was swept off my feet. The family from Slidell, Louisiana knows how to stick to tradition, which means that the crawfish experience is second to none. Their crawfish is flavorful and juicy; ain’t nothing like sucking the head and getting a mouth full of Cajun seasoning and lemon. Muddy Water, also, takes pride in having some of the area’s largest crawfish! Definitely give Muddy Water a shout at (985) 590-4717 to encounter some tasty Louisiana Cajun style crawfish!
Flavor: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Price: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Customer Service: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Authenticity: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Consistency: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Out the Mud
Owned and operated by Stanley, a North Louisiana native, this food truck is one you don’t want to miss while driving through Third Ward down Emancipation Avenue. Just like many food establishments in Houston, I stumbled upon Out the Mud, and I’ve been pleased ever since my first encounter. Stanley distinguishes his crawfish according to spice level: mild and spicy. The two flavors of crawfish are equally delicious and punch huge amounts of savory goodness into a small delicate freshwater body. Most of the times, I don’t get corn, sausage, and potatoes with my crawfish, but Stanley insisted that I taste his. The trio was amazing with the crawfish; they were boiled in the same crawfish boil and were spicy just how I like the trio to be. If Out the Mud isn’t at the corner of Blodgett Street and Emancipation Avenue in Third Ward this season, then call (318) 471-4410 for more details!
Flavor: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Price: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Customer Service: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Authenticity: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Consistency: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
LTK Crawfish
All Vietnamese people in Houston aren’t in the Viet-Cajun scene; a lot of them actually boil traditional Louisiana Cajun style crawfish, and a place where you can find this type of crawfish from Vietnamese people is LTK Crawfish. The crawfish here is packed with a lot of Louisiana and Gulf Coast flavors like lemon, garlic, and Cajun spices. When in season, the crawfish is huge! Sometimes, large crawfish can be kind of dry, depending on who boils them, but LTK Crawfish makes sure that the crawfish is juicy. The crawfish is huge, fresh, flavorful, and greatly seasoned; compared to many places in the Bear Creek area, it is one of the most reasonable. You can’t beat that!
Flavor: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Price: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Customer Service: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Authenticity: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Consistency: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I hope you enjoyed My CRAWFISH Brand: PART 1, because I definitely enjoyed writing it.
Before I conclude, I do want to express that crawfish prices are based on the market; from crawfish vendors, this year includes one of the biggest shortages of crawfish ever, so prices may be a little more expensive for us this year. Also, the cold weather does play a huge role in the low supply; however, depending on the warming of the weather, supply can increase, which lowers the prices of boiled crawfish sold at establishments. I do want to mention that my personal crawfish price rankings are based on last year’s prices, which can be the same this year.
Last but not least, if you know of anymore places that serve Louisiana Cajun style crawfish, then please feel free to drop them in the comment section below!
Happy Crawfish Season!
Source: https://www.texasmonthly.com/food/houston-crawfish-invasion/