February brings thoughts of hearts and flowers for some, but for crawfish lovers, it’s the month that mudbug season kicks into high gear. Once the small crustaceans begin to hit restaurant menus and markets, Houstonians can’t get their hands on a pound (or two) of crawfish fast enough. While traditional boils pack in plenty of flavor and heat from Cajun spices, the city has seen a rise in Viet-Cajun boils, which give crawfish seekers even more options.
Consider this guide of restaurants and pop-ups around town that are prepared for mudbug season with their epic seafood boils and crawfish-ccentric dishes.
Ragin’ Cajun
This Houston institution, which celebrated its milestone 50th anniversary last year, is Houston’s oldest crawfish restaurant. Ragin’ Cajun’s Louisiana mudbugs are seasoned with both cayenne and black pepper, and at $8.99 per pound, they are one of the better deals around town. Visit the original spot on Richmond, or the newer outpost in Spring Branch — the spirit of Mardi Gras is present at both. Bar specials include $7 frozen hurricanes on Saturday and Sunday. 4302 Richmond Ave., Houston, ragin-cajun.com
Crawfish & Noodles
Trong Nguyen’s fusion of Vietnamese and Cajun flavors has earned the chef two James Beard Award semifinalist nominations. His restaurant, Crawfish & Noodles, has locations in Houston’s Asiatown and the Houston Farmer’s Market. Crawfish is available at market price, and guests can choose a spice level for the signature garlic butter sauce, plus add-ons like corn, sausage, and potato. While the restaurant is buzzing with activity during crawfish season, Nguyen has mudbugs on offer all year long, importing from other states and countries when the Gulf Coast season is over. 11360 Bellaire Blvd. #990, Houston, crawfishandnoodles.com
Crawfish Cafe
Husband and wife team, Julie and Kiet Duong, operate five locations of Crawfish Cafe across the Greater Houston area, giving ample opportunities to experience Viet-Cajun crawfish and seafood combos. While crawfish boils are the main draw, the restaurant features a number of other seafood options, like black mussels, snow crab legs, and Caribbean lobster tail, plus dishes in which crawfish meat is the star ingredient, like empanadas ($9), cheese bread ($10), and eggrolls ($9). Multiple locations, crawfishcafe.com
LA Crawfish
This popular seafood franchise, which blends Cajun cuisine with Asian flavors, has locations far and wide across the city. Crawfish boils can be amped up with garlic butter, Cajun style, or hot and sour sauces, and add-ons like corn, potatoes, and hard-boiled eggs. For diners looking for something unique, LA Crawfish offers a crawfish pho, made with Cajun-infused broth, hand-peeled crawfish tails, and Andouille sausage, and presented with traditional pho accompaniments. Multiple locations, lacrawfish.com
Christian’s Tailgate
Christian’s Tailgate has four locations around town where you can enjoy the bounty of crawfish season, while watching your favorite sports teams play. Boils are offered Saturday and Sunday, with $5 Bloody Mary and $2 mimosa specials offered all day. Multiple locations, christianstailgate.com
Cajun Kitchen
Cajun Kitchen is a casual, family-friendly retail strip gem in Asiatown, slinging seafood boils of all types. Fresh Louisiana crawfish and Gulf Coast blue crab boils can be amped up with the restaurant’s special sauces. The “kitchen special” blends garlic and citrus with a tinge of spice, while the Thai basil is aromatic and earthy. In addition to Viet-Cajun seafood boils, find items like the crawfish tail basket ($15), crawfish po-boy ($14), and crawfish puffs ($9) wrapped in wontons. For those looking to imbibe, there is a wide selection of sake and flavored soju. 6938 Wilcrest Dr., Houston, cajunkitchenhouston.com
Crazy Alan’s Swamp Shack
South of the city, toward Galveston, crawfish aficionados will find two locations of Crazy Alan’s Swamp Shack. The Baybrook location has a bit of Mardi Gras flair mixed with fishing shack kitsch, and a kids section with iPads and games; while the Kemah location has more of a party vibe with outdoor dining, live music, and marina views. The menu is vast, with fried platters, handhelds, and more, but boiled crawfish is the main attraction. Order crawfish by the pound and pick flavors like Asian Cajun, or choose a seafood pot, like the Boiled Feast ($120), which combines crawfish, boiled shrimp, snow crab, and Maine lobster and can feed up to four. 1330 Bay Area Blvd., Friendswood, crazyalanswampshack.com
Josephine’s Gulf Coast Tradition
Mississippi-native Lucas McKinney has brought lots of southern flair to the corner of W. Gray and Bagby in Midtown with Josephine’s Gulf Coast Tradition. Along with traditions like peel-and-eat shrimp and snow crab clusters, the restaurant is serving up live crawfish in a traditional Cajun spice. Guests can opt to enjoy them wet, with a buttery spiced sauce that adds an extra layer of flavor and all but guarantees a set of messy hands. 318 W. Gray, Houston, josephinesgulfcoasttradition.com
Krazy Seafood Sports Bar & Grill
This hidden gem on Houston’s north side, run by a father-and-daughter team, is among the newest crawfish destinations in town. Expect a lively sports bar atmosphere, with soccer and football games splashed across the TV screens. There are crawfish specials throughout the week, ranging from $5.99 to $8.99 per pound, but the menu features lots more, including Tex-Mex staples like tacos, quesadillas, and nachos. Visit during happy hour, and take advantage of $5 margs. 5050 FM 1960 Rd., Houston, krazyseafood.com
Monkey’s Tail
This quirky Lindale Park neighborhood bar offers a relaxed environment for hanging with friends, sipping cocktails, and pinching and twisting crawfish. This season, boiled crawfish is available for $9 per pound, Thursday through Sunday until 10 p.m. Guests can choose from regular Cajun flavor or house jalapeno, and build their boils with add-ons like sausage, corn, mushrooms, melted butter, and Monkey sauce. 5802 Fulton St., Houston, monkeystailhou.com
BB’s Tex-Orleans
This locally-owned, New Orleans-inspired chain delivers delicious seafood in a festive Bourbon Street-style setting. BB’s is currently in full crawfish mode, slinging them by the pound in three different boil styles, including Tex-Orleans, Louisiana, and citrus garlic, with add-ons like sausage, corn, mushrooms, red potatoes, and boiled eggs. Pair with Maw Maw’s Bayou Tea or an ice cold Abita draft and be transported to the Big Easy. Multiple locations, bbstexorleans.com
The Pit Room
While it’s lauded for its craft barbecue, the Pit Room is also known to go whole hog come crawfish season. Guests can order by the pound ($14); go for the Three Pounder ($36) which includes corn, potatoes, mushrooms, and Andouille sausage; or splurge on the Feast ($85), which comes with three pounds of crawfish, two snow crab clusters, and a pound of shrimp, plus accompaniments. Crawfish boils are available on the patio at both Montrose and Memorial locations, Thursday and Friday beginning at 1 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday at noon. 1201 Richmond Ave., Houston, thepitroombbq.com
Crawfish Shack
Owners Dan and Jean Meaux have added onto their family-operated Crosby restaurant over the years as its fame has grown within the community. This time of year, the restaurant is swamped with happy shuckers who love the double-seasoned mudbugs, smiling servers, and neighborly bonhomie of fellow patrons huddling over boils at picnic tables. Guests can dine inside the tin building, which has garage-style doors that remain open on fair-weather days, or hit the drive-thru for to-go boils or sacks of live, purged crawfish. The shack has a popular BYOB policy, but be prepared for long lines for crawfish on the weekend. 5822 FM 2100, Crosby, crawfishshack.com
