Everyone has their preference when it comes to the seasons of the year. In Texas we all look forward to the time of year when it’s not 100+ degrees outside. I could care less about the temperature-my favorite season doesn’t have much to do with the temperature, but instead, centers around when my parents go to the grocery store to stock up for crawfish season.
Sure anything homemade tends to be better, but sometimes you just don’t have the time or the patience to do it yourself, so you turn to local restaurants. I’ve been to every restaurant in town that serves crawfish, and for every good restaurant, there’s an a restaurants to avoid.
For a relatively small city like Bryan/College Station, there are plenty of restaurants to choose from when looking for crawfish. I’m the kind of person who tends to be particularly picky when it comes to food, and when crawfish season rolls around, I definitely know what I want and where I want to go for it.
Crawfish lovers: whatever you do, and I mean by any means necessary, crawfish lovers avoid the Shipwreck Grill. My experience with this restaurant didn’t live up to what so many people made it out to be. I ordered five pounds of boiled crawfish and side of fried crawfish and it seemed like the cooks were a little too seasoning happy when they were adding spice to pot. Sure, if you can’t handle the spice of crawfish, then you might as well not eat it, but their spice tasted a little off. I gave up all hope after the first six I ate. Without even trying the side of fried crawfish. I just wanted out of there as fast as I could. When the spices are so overwhelming that you can no longer taste the crawfish, you know you’ve gone too far.
Crazy Cajuns, which is now closed, used to have some of the greatest Cajun food in town, but new owners took over and things just went downhill from there. The best part about their food was how authentic it was, I felt like I was tasting real Cajun food when I ordered my usual shrimp jumbo and couple pounds of crawfish.
Some of the best crawfish dishes are made at home and at crawfish boils all around town. If you ever get the chance to buy a few pounds and cook it yourself, I’d definitely recommend it. Even if you’re not sure what to do, just throw in some potatoes, corn and spice with and you’re set. Don’t forget the spice either. Leave them to boil for 15 minutes and they’re ready to eat.
The Chamber of Commerce hosts their annual crawfish boil to benefit the Brazos County Youth Livestock. Its $100 per couple for tickets but it’s definitely worth it. For the past two years I’ve gone and I was not disappointed.
If you want to get closer to the water to grab some seafood, Galveston is great for spring break, the beginning of crawfish season, my best friend and I headed down to Galveston for the day expecting good seafood. We spent the day on the beach and asked around to find where the best crawfish place in town were, someone told us to try the Olympia Grill on the Seawall, surprisingly it wasn’t that bad. Their gumbo wasn’t half bad either. So if you’re ever in Galveston, I would recommend being a little more adventurous and trying something new.
Crawfish season being my favorite season, I will never pass up an opportunity to eat it. If you’re one of those people who doesn’t particularly like seafood, you’re missing out. As always, don’t judge a book by it’s cover, mudbugs may sound unappealing and the idea of sucking their heads might turn your stomach, but their taste will thrill your taste buds.
