Crawfish Crawl: A Search for the Best Tails in Town

It’s crawfish season! Although I’ve already indulged in a pound earlier this month, I was thrilled to officially kicked off my season with Loving This Life Jada in my first Crawfish Crawl. A group of 8 tail eating, head sucking crawfish lovers made 5 local stops at crawfish places looking for some of the tastiest tails in the city. Here’s a recap of our spicy excursion.

Disclaimer: Not every crawfish stand is created equal but they do all claim to have the best tasting tails. The same thing goes for the crawfish eater, everyone's spice/salt preference is different and that's okay. With that being said, these are my personal opinions. I made a list of things that I felt important and graded each stop accordingly. Yall know I love soppage and am a big believer in dipping tails, potatoes, corn or whatever is that lovely crawfish juice that sits in the bottom of the bag or pan.

Farmers Seafood Co Wholesale/Retail
1192 Hawn Ave, Shreveport, LA 71107
$4.29 per pound

Spicy? Yes

Flavor? Good, not overly seasoned

Suckable? Yes

Size? Small to medium

Soppage? No
Being that Farmer's is a wholesaler, there were no option for traditional sides (i.e. corn and potatoes), so we purchased 2 pounds and dug in. This was the first time that I've had cold/chilled crawfish, nonetheless it didn't alter the taste.

Hot Crawfish at Exxon on Pines Rd.

6701 Pines Rd, Shreveport, LA 71129
$4.99 per pound

Spicy? Yes

Flavor? Good, not salty

Suckable? Yes

Size? Small to medium
Soppage? Yes

I think I ate more potatoes and corn than I did crawfish because of the soppage. For stands who don't cook their sides in crawfish seasoning, soppage or a good dipping sauce is a must! I was surprised to hear that the owners are from Mexico and travel back home during off season. Thanks to Google Translate, I was able to find that out.

Fat Daddy's Crawfish
4839 Greenwood Rd, Shreveport, LA 71109
$6.79 per pound

Spicy? Yes

Flavor? Good and flavorful

Suckable? Yes
Size? Medium to large
Soppage? No, but they have this amazing butter sauce that is made daily, it was great with the sides.

I got the amazing opportunity of meeting Fat Daddy himself, and he told Jada and me about learning to cook as a young boy in Prairieville, La. He also says that he is the only crawfish stand in Shreveport to cook authentic Cajun style crawfish, cooking the seasonings with the crawfish and not just peppering the shells. He was a delight to talk to and even gave us a sneak peak in the kitchen where they were hand washing the crawfish.

Red Barn Cajun Crawfish & Seafood Market

7299 Greenwood Rd a, Shreveport, LA 71119
$5.25 per pound

Spicy? Yes, mouths were on fire!

Flavor? Flavorful but kind of salty

Suckable? YES

Size? Small

Soppage? YESSSS!
Aside from crawfish, Red Barn makes the most amazing smoked boudin that I've had in the city. It was amazing, will definitely go back! The amount of crawfish juice alone just about sold me on these! I mean, who doesn't love a juicy tail?

Chuck Wagon
9200 Wallace Lake Rd, Shreveport, LA 71106
$5.75 per pound

Spicy? Yes

Flavor? Very flavorful, cooked with lemon

Suckable? Yes

Size? Large

Soppage? YES!

This would be our final stop and that would be thanks to the huge scoops of crawfish, sausage, shrimp, corn and potatoes that seemed to never stop coming to our table. Chuck Wagon’s crawfish were by far the biggest on our crawl. This was my first time having them cooked with lemon. The taste was different but not bad at all.

My friends, my taste buds and I had a blast crawfish crawlin’. I know you are wanting to know who I think had the best tails in town. Out of our 5 stops, I think the winner is....