Crawfish

Behold the noble Crawfish. Or, as it is variously known: Mudbug, Freshwater Lobster, Official State Crustacean. 

                            

Crawfish are eaten with such fervor in New Orleans, that people rarely stop to think about what could have possibly possessed the first crawfish-eater to pick up a small red bug-looking thing covered in mud and eat it.                                                

Much like other shellfish, it is not unreasonable to assume that crawfish may have been first consumed by humans after watching other animals do the same. The the harvesting of crawfish was first practiced by Louisiana's native peoples who would tie venison the the end of reeds and later lift the reeds to find them teeming with crawfish.  

Flash forward through enthusiastic cajun consumption to modern day when spring in New Orleans is defined by crawfish. 

And when your neighbors are out of town you don't feel like throwing your own boil, there are a huge number of crawfish-centric festivals all over the state from Beaux Bridge to Chalmette. You can check out the full list here, and while you're at it, grab some boil attire here. In the mean time, happy crawfish season!