The Leader • Saturday, March 16, 2019 • Page 1B
Crawfish boils bring community together
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By Zarah Parker zarah@theleadernews.com It’s that time of the year when crawfish, crayfish, crawdads, mudbugs -- whatever you like to call them -- are ready to be boiled and eaten. Beau Johnson, Oak Forest resident and owner of local crawfish catering company Bayou City Bugs, has grown up attending boils. From watching his parents cook crawfish to now doing it himself, he said taking over that duty is a rite of passage. “(It) was always interesting to me and my friends,� Johnson said. “As we got big enough to be trusted around boiling water and getting to pour the spice in and help cut lemons, we thought we were practically adults. Now that we are adults, it’s come full circle and we get to share our recipes and show them how we like to cook crawfish.� Johnson’s business has been influenced by having crawfish boils be such a large part of his life. So while the main goal for the business is to be a helpful service while providing good crawfish, the crawfish are just one part of the event. The social gathering of a boil becomes forefront as family and friends come together to spend time with one another as they enjoy a favorite cuisine. “Everyone is happy when they are around friends and family,� Johnson said. “If you can give them good crawfish, that is just icing on the cake.� The social aspect of eating crawfish bleeds into restaurants as well as most crawfish restaurants in Houston are familystyle seating, which means you will probably sit with strangers.
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Contributed photo Beau Johnson, owner of catering company Bayou City Bugs, grew up attending crawfish boils.
“I think that the process of eating crawfish helps with the social aspect,� Johnson said. “It’s messy and you almost can’t help but end up with some all over you. You have to have a sense of humor when eating them. It’s a lot easier to laugh with a total stranger and introduce yourself covered in crawfish at the same table.� Bayou City Bugs caters about 5,000 pounds of crawfish, but Johnson is familiar with other suppliers in Houston that clear 100,000 pounds in a year. For some eating crawfish never gets old. With recipes featuring different seasonings and styles of cooking, the mudbugs can change from one boil to another. For locals to get a taste of various crawfish recipes, Great Heights Brewing Company and local craft beer advocate Ralph Palmer are co-hosting the 2nd Annual One Sack Showdown. “Instead of casually reporting on the local beer scene I wanted to find a way to contrib-
ute to the craft beer community,â€? Palmer said. “I’m a huge crawfish lover and thought it would be fun to host a cookoffstyle crawfish event with my neighborhood brewery, Great Heights.â€?Â
Last year they had eight teams participate and served about 550 pounds of crawfish. This year there are 17 parSee Crawfish P. 2B
2701 White Oak Dr.
8am - 12pm p
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Cavatore’s
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333 W. 11th St.
Captain Benny’s . 10896 Northwest Fwy
Porch Swing Pub
Cottonwood
69 Heights Blvd.
3422 N. Shepherd Dr.
LA Crawfish - 6439 W. 43r
d St.
Shell Shack
2412 Washington Ave.
The Boot
1206 W. 20th St.
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Photo by Adam Zuvanich Boiled crawfish with corn and potatoes from BB’s Tex-Orleans.
Try our
Year Round
Boil House - 606 E. 11th St. Cactus Cove Bar & Grill
By Adam Zuvanich azuvanich@theleadernews.com
out of the taquitos, but to make up for it they offered a different appetizer on the house. Perhaps the Fried Pickle Chips that took their place should have been recommended instead, because they were thickly sliced, sufficiently breaded and, most importantly, hot and crispy.
EVERY SATURDAY
BB’s Tex-Orleans
Review: Mudbugs reign at BB’s They brought out bibs and rubber gloves, which should have been my cue to use them. “Nah,� I thought, “I don’t need those. I’m a Houstonian. I know how to eat crawfish without making a mess, and getting my hands dirty is half the fun.� Well, wouldn’t you know it, I pinch the tail off my first boiled mudbug and start peeling off the shell, which snaps back and shoots specs of dark red seasoning on my light-colored shirt. Just like that, I felt a little foolish. It felt good though, to officially partake in crawfish season. And I left the BB’s TexOrleans location in Oak Forest feeling good, both because I had a satisfying Cajun-style meal and because I kept the mess to a minimum. BB’s is a Houston chain rooted in Louisiana cuisine and claims to have some of the best crawdads in town. I can’t claim to be a crawfish connoisseur, and won’t confirm or deny that assertion, but I found them to be goodsized, well-seasoned, freshtasting and flavorful both with and without occasional dips in melted butter. BB’s mudbugs could have been a little spicier, and maybe they would have been if I had sucked the juices out of their heads. That’s just not my style. Never has been. It took me long enough to get used to handling the little buggers and breaking them apart. Maybe one of these days. On this day, at least, BB’s service was even better than its crawfish. I arrived a few minutes before 6:30 p.m., which is when happy hour ended, and still was offered specials that included discounted drinks from the bar and half-price off of most appetizers. I opted for the Abita Andygator, one of several domestic, craft and imported beer choices at BB’s, and two appetizers. The Boudin Balls were a nobrainer, and the server recommended the Cajun Taquitos with blackened shrimp. It turned out BB’s had run
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As for the Boudin Balls, which were plump, breaded with cornmeal and filled with pork and dirty rice, they were solid and satisfying. They were served with a spicy, creamy Louisiana-style remoulade, which was a nice complement. See Review P. 2B
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