Crawdads

I was in Alexandria, Louisiana a couple of weeks ago and it was in the middle of crawdad season. I did not know they had one but apparently the local farmers double crop their fields alternating between rice and crawdads. I passed several of the fields driving up from Lafayette and observed people in the middle of theise fields walking in the water and pulling a boat. They were apparently harvesting the crawdads. Later on that evening at a restaurant on the lake right out of Alexandria, I had a huge plate of these varmits. Fortunately I had a guide with me that gave me some instructions on how to suck the head and eat the tail or vice versa. I never did get the real hang of it and about halfway through, I got tired and ordered a couple of doubles. Ended that frustration

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

How do I turn on my e-mail function?

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

done and enabled

Sundance, Welcome to The exhalted Cheeseburger Status...Be sure to mail me your Promotion Fee right away to take advantage of the special discounts available for us big guys..hehehe

Mr. Mayor, have you ever done the crawdad thing? Sorta messy and I got discombobalated. When I ate at this place in Alexandria, they must have given me 50 of those varmits. I got tired of the hassel and ended up imbibing. I was not driving so that made it more fun. Do I send the initiation fee to you or Michael?

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

Mr. Mayor, have you ever done the crawdad thing? Sorta messy and I got discombobalated. When I ate at this place in Alexandria, they must have given me 50 of those varmits. I got tired of the hassel and ended up imbibing. I was not driving so that made it more fun. Do I send the initiation fee to you or Michael?

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

The mess is all part of the fun!

Sundance...
Micheal Who???? Send it in Confederate bills to M E !!!
Yeah we tried the crawdad thing a couple of times down there in LaFayette LA. The server gave us a demo on how to do it right. They were ok, but I found that my hand/eye coordination was impaired by a bit more brewski's than was normal, thus the amount of 'dads' that got devoured dropped as the dinner went on.
I prefer shrimp ! If you get a bit impaired while eating shrimp you don't notice the 'skins's as much!!

I agree guys I cant get the hang off eating mud bugs ! Does anyone have a good place near French Quarter in N O or Baton Rouge ?

Definately Uglesich's. It is on the restaurant review and it is super great

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

You can order from [url]www.lacrawfish.com[/url] in Natchitoches--they do nothing but raise crawfish & ship all over the country. Be very careful when ordering elsewhere. Many tails labeled "Produced in LA" are actually raised in Asia and treated with various chemicals--specifically antibiotics--which can be lethal to homan beings, then imported and packaged in LA. (I know of one death recently due to Asian crawfish. Not a myth: a friend's father.)

Rick Flynn
Natchitoches, LA

quote:

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Originally posted by Sundancer7

I was in Alexandria, Louisiana a couple of weeks ago and it was in the middle of crawdad season. I did not know they had one but apparently the local farmers double crop their fields alternating between rice and crawdads. I passed several of the fields driving up from Lafayette and observed people in the middle of theise fields walking in the water and pulling a boat. They were apparently harvesting the crawdads. Later on that evening at a restaurant on the lake right out of Alexandria, I had a huge plate of these varmits. Fortunately I had a guide with me that gave me some instructions on how to suck the head and eat the tail or vice versa. I never did get the real hang of it and about halfway through, I got tired and ordered a couple of doubles. Ended that frustration

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

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The ones from asia don't have the same taste. We get the whole cooked ones from L.A. I use them to terrorize my young dishwashing staff. In the shoes, behind various stored items, creativly nestled in the staff W.C. etc.
They make a great soup.

Not many people are aware of it but, Seattle, Wa. has in the city limits some of Americas, sweetist, biggist and bestish crawdad populations. I'm aware that most people thought that the Scandanavian Lumbermen settled here because of the trees. Not true, they came because they were paid in $$$$ and big platters of Lake Washington Crawfish. The lakes water temperature is very cool, and conditions of ample food, clean water, and less lumberjacks have allowed this to continue. Before Crawdads were farmed we used to ship plenty of Crawdads to Louisiana. Still do but not supposed to tell anyone.

quote:

Originally posted by wesza

I'm aware that most people thought that the Scandanavian Lumbermen settled here because of the trees. Not true, they came because they were paid in $$$$ and big platters of Lake Washington Crawfish. Before Crawdads were farmed we used to ship plenty of Crawdads to Louisiana. Still do but not supposed to tell anyone.

Chains of events. . . . I have a parishioner who's a crawfish farmer and he exports to one of the Scandinavian countries. Even had some importers come to LA to see the source.

quote:

Originally posted by bumper

I agree guys I cant get the hang off eating mud bugs ! Does anyone have a good place near French Quarter in N O or Baton Rouge ?

As Sundancer says, definitely Uglesich's. And other treads in these forums will keep you visiting a new place every night for a year in New Orleans. In and around the French Quarter, I like:

The Palace Cafe (on Canal)- I especially like their appetizers-Werlein Salad with a half dozen very delicately fried oysters rimming the bowl, and Crabmeat Cheesecake
Acme Oyster Bar
Irene's
The Gumbo Shop
Central Grocery
Cafe Du Monde
Mr. B's
Redfish Grill
Arnaud's
Remolaudes
Mandina's (about 2 miles from the Quarter up Canal)
Mother's

Baton Rouge is just about as good as New Orleans for consistently excellent food anywhere you try. My first choice in that area is actually about 20 to 30 miles west of Baton Rouge (22 miles west of the Mississipppi River bridge on highway 190/61) on a narrow side road south of Livonia--"Joe's at Dreyfus Store" (Thanks "Roadfood"). I under stand that the owner/chef was once a New Orleans chef (Commander's??) who sought the quieter life. Your choices are limited to the few items the chef has decided to fix that day, but you can't go wrong. My favorite dish there is the pan roasted oysters with artichoke hearts. As my wife says, "starts a party in your mouth".
Other Baton Rouge favorites include:
Passtime Lounge-especially if LSU has won that week-great Po-Boys
Fleur Di Lis- Roman Pizza- different but extraordinary
Mike Anderson's Seafood-Near LSU
Drusilla Seafood
Giamanco's
Christina's
Desiree
Poor Boy Lloyds
George's (under the overpass--there is another George's that is an alternative lifestyle club)
Another favorite for lunch is sampling the efforts of the students at the "Culinary Arts School" on the Lafayette street level of the old General Lafayette motel. Usually great food at bargain prices.

Baton Rouge is, if possible, even more obsessed with food than is New Orleans. It is the only place I have been where there is a regular component of television news shows where the anchor puts on his apron an prepares some great dish (a la Emeril or Justin Leonard), and the topic of cooking is just as likely, or more likely, to come up in a gathering of men as it is in one of women.

If you're in Baton Rouge on Thursday night, check out the open mike blues jam at Phil Brady's on Government street. On Thursday, Friday or Saturday night (and maybe more by now), don't miss Tabby's Blues Box. Tabby Thomas is a great musician himself, and his son, Chris Thomas King, was the young guitar player in the movie "O' Brother, Where Art Thou". As a matter of fact, there are several great blues bars arond Baton Rouge, more than even New Orleans. I will search out Bryan Lee for great blues in New Orleans or Memphis (his old gig, the "Old Absinthe House" was turned into a daiquiri bar). ENOUGH ALREADY-you can see that I love Baton Rouge, New Orleans and the rest of Louisiana.

It's all in the wrist! Twist, snap, squeeze, pull, and you're all set! But it is time-consuming. It's something to eat when you plan on just spending alot of time drinking beer and hanging out...not when you are starved or in a hurry. I wish I had a plate right now with a pitcher of Abita Amber and lots of french bread to use as napkins.

quote:

Originally posted by Hillbilly

quote:

Originally posted by bumper

I agree guys I cant get the hang off eating mud bugs ! Does anyone have a good place near French Quarter in N O or Baton Rouge ?

(his old gig, the "Old Absinthe House" was turned into a daiquiri bar). ENOUGH ALREADY-you can see that I love Baton Rouge, New Orleans and the rest of Louisiana.

(his old gig, the "Old Absinthe House" was turned into a daiquiri bar)

Say it ain't so!

I second everything Hillbilly said and reiterate one thing

Joe's Dreyfuss Store (very odd name, used to be a country meracantile exactly like Liketoeat and I were talking about in the Candy thread we abused yesterday). This place cannot be underated. At lunch the crowd will consist of farmers, local pols, tourists, nice lunch ladies from BR on a day out, etc. It is a stunning mix of people all there to eat this straightforward, but unbelievably good food. I am fortunate enough to pass by there 3 or 4 times a month on my way to North Louisiana and we stop jst about every time (sadly, an hour and a half north of there is Leas Lunchroom, and I generally end up there too for a ham sammich and a piece (sometimes 2 or a whole to go) of one of their wonderful, crust made with lard, pies). Then to top it off 2 hours later I am at my Mom's, and she is no slouch around a hot skillet either. Everytime I go i spend half the time eating and the other half thinking I am going to explode. Joe's Store is worth the drive from anywhere (even Marvell, AR or Austin, TX)

Hillbilly and Mayhaw, really enjoyed your posts above. I'm familiar with most of the New Orleans eateries but have limited my less frequent Baton Rouge visits to Drusilla's (with its being conveniently located to motel and so good just keep returning). See I'll have to branch out next time I'm in BR. Surely sorry I've been unaware of Joe's Dreyfuss Store the times I've been in that area. Really sounds great. Will surely be anxious to try it next time in that part of the world. Agree it is worth a drive down; maybe this fall.

I went to Junior High in New Orleans. Some of my friends were the children of firefighters. They invited me to a crawfish boil. Being from Kentucky, I had no idea how to properly consume a mud bug. So I gnawed on the potatoes and the corn that get thrown into the boil as well. I'd love to try mud bugs again. Maybe next time I'll get some of my buddies who still live in the Crescent City to give me step-by-step instructions.

Crawfish????What's Next, eating snails? LOL

Where to eat in Louisianna??---has anyone ever had a BAD meal there?? I know I didn't---every meal i had during the 6 or 8 mos i lived there was wonderfull--every sandwich a joy--the seafood magnificant--the bread!!!! and the BREAD PUDDING!!!!!!My only complaint ever was that i found it amazing that with as many drinks as they served in New Orleans you would think bartenders could FREEPOUR a drink--watched a martini made once--aeresol vermouth and autodispecer gin?????
And messy is what bugs are all about---i think folks like them exactly because they are frustrating and time consuming and this provides a good excuse to drink!

Tiki,
I don't know where you were drinking but it is VERY rare to see someone who is using a jigger for anything. Casinos use machine pour and sometimes large hotels and maybe clip joints in the Quarter. If you are drinking most places you will never see one. As both a consumer and a friendly bartender (I have some experience in both depts.) I can say that if you are looking for a quality cocktail, Louisiana (and New Orleans, in particular)is the place. After all, we invented the Sazerac, the Ramos Gin Fizz, we were the last bastion of hardcore Absinthe drinkers in the U.S.(there is a growing subculture here now of those sugar cube and ice water freaks).