Ask Chicagoist Food & Drink: Crawfish Boils
By Melissa McEwen in Food on Apr 10, 2014 8:30PM
I get it that crawfish boils are kind of an underground scene in Chicago, but I can't find any bars advertising them, and by time I find them they have either already happened or sold out. Could you guys do some research or post a calendar or something. Help a crawfish lover out.
Regards,
Will
Unfortunately, most of the public crawfish boils in Chicago happen around Mardi Gras, which you just missed. And it wasn’t a particularly good year for crawfish. Apparently the little crustaceans like the polar vortex even less than we do, which means harvests are way down.
The only place we know that has reasonably authentic boils outside of Fat Tuesday, is Toon’s Bar & Grill in Lakeview, which overnights their live crawfish up from Louisiana. Unfortunately, they sell out pretty quickly, so we’d recommend “friending” them on Facebook. The next boil is Saturday April 19 at 1 p.m. and tickets will go on sale Friday April 11.
You can also do it yourself at home– occasionally Isaacson & Stein and Dirk’s Fish have them, but definitely call ahead to prevent disappointment. You may need to order in advance anyway. Many people also order them online directly from Louisiana. A few Asian markets have live crawfish sporadically, but often it’s imported from China. That might be fine for you, but most Louisianans won’t buy crawfish that isn’t from Louisiana.
In the late summer, Chicago’s Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce also usually does a traditional Swedish crawfish boil known as a kraftskiva, so get on their mailing list if you want to hear about that.
Strangely enough, The Midwest actually does have our own crawfish populations. The Louisiana crawfish’s far northern range is Southern Illinois and some farmers raise crawfish with their other crops there for their own consumption.
There are also large populations of Rusty Crawfish, which is an ecologically problematic invasive species you could feel quite good about eating. Unfortunately, they are mainly harvested for bait and I don’t know of any Chicago restaurant taking advantage of them. But if you are willing to go out there and catch them yourself, some fisherman report they are perfectly good for eating.
Interestingly, a traditional accompaniment in the Swedish crawfish boils is the wormwood brandy we know as Malort here in Chicago. Bitterman’s, a maker of Swedish-style wormwood brandy has marketed their version in Louisiana as an accompaniment for traditional Louisiana crawfish boils. In case you wondered why a Louisiana company like Sazerac Co. would be interested enough to sue our own Carl Jeppson’s Co over the word Malort, there you have it.
There’s definitely an opportunity here for some intrepid Chicago chef to do native Midwestern crawfish boils with Malort shots.
Whew, bet that’s more than you ever needed to know about Crawfish.
If you know of any other places to find great crawfish boils in Chicago, let us know in the comments.
If you have a Food and Drink-related question, please send it to the F&D Editor Melissa McEwen. Your question may be chosen for a post.