Mudbugs on the menu
With crawfish season in full swing, locals once again look forward to standing elbow-to-elbow at a newspaper-lined table, ready to take on a delicious spread of crimson crustaceans with friends, family and neighbors.
If you can’t make heads or tails of where to go for incredible crawdads this season, check out these spots below.
And don’t miss the 10th annual Crawfest on the Tulane University uptown campus on Saturday (April 16).
Clesi’s Catering (4413 Banks St.)
This Mid-City crawfish center holds traditional spicy seafood boils nightly at 5 p.m. Helmed by caterer James Clesi, the boils include standard sides of sausage, corn and potatoes topped with garlic butter. Located next to Banks Street Bar, Clesi’s is also known for late-night bites, like the Cajun comfort food jambalaya cheese fries.
If you can’t make heads or tails of where to go for incredible crawdads this season, check out these spots.
Bevi Seafood Co. (236 Carrollton Ave. and 4701 Airline Drive)
Opened in 2013 by chef Justin LeBlanc, Bevi offers simply spiced crawfish at both their Metairie and Mid-City locations through June. Leblanc’s menu also offers patrons upgraded New Orleans classics, including the Messi Swine Po’boy (containing crispy pork belly and bacon fat mayo).
Deanie's Seafood (841 Iberville St. and 1713 Lake Ave.)
With one restaurant in the French Quarter and one in the historic fishing community known as Bucktown, Deanie’s has operated for over 50 years. Deanie's heaps its crawfish on po’boys, smothers them in a rich etouffée and even tops pizza with tails. On Sunday (April 17) from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., Deanie’s will host Pinch A Palooza in Bucktown, featuring live music, an appearance by the 610 Stompers and a crawfish-eating contest.
Salvo’s Seafood (7742 Hwy. 23)
This picnic-table filled Westbank joint has been a favorite dinner destination for local families since opening in 1984. The former bait shop is known for charbroiled oysters, overstuffed po’boys and all-you-can-eat specials on classic Louisiana fare, like steaming boiled seafood and fried frog legs. Salvo’s serves up generous platters piled high with crawfish spiced with their secret boil blend all season long.
