Mardi Gras Crawfish Festival Coming to Tucson

Enjoy a low country boilLogan Ellzey/Unsplash

Whether you hail from the deep South or you just occasionally crave a low country boil, you’ve probably discovered there aren’t many options available here in Tucson. The city itself is fantastic for food lovers of Southwestern and Mexican offerings, but for traditional Southern food, outside of BBQ, there aren’t many options. 

So when something comes around that provides you with such an opportunity to indulge in culinary offerings from other pockets of the United States, you need to jump on them. And with the upcoming Tucson Crawfish Festival, you can finally get your fill of the southeastern food stylings not commonly found in the Arizona desert. 

The Tucson Crawfish Festival is put on in conjunction with the Tucson Mardi Gras organization, which just put on its first celebration this year. Crawfish is as Louisiana as things get, but because the seafood isn’t easily obtainable here in Arizona, there aren’t many restaurants that specialize in the food. But not to worry, all of the crawfish, crawdaddies, or however else you might want to call them, are flown fresh right from the Gulf Coast of Louisiana and prepared on the spot. 

If you’ve never had crawfish before it’s a fantastic opportunity to try them out. Essentially they are basically the cross between a lobster and a shrimp. The tail portion is where much of the meat is, although many prefer to slurp out everything from within the shell. In the words of legendary chef and travel television host Anthony Bourdain, “When you’re sitting in front of a plate of fresh-boiled crawfish and about to mercilessly suck the juices out of their little bitty heads, that’s when you know you’re the happiest you’re ever gonna be.”

The festival takes place at 1970 W. River Road here in Tucson, kicking off at 11 AM on June 5th.

When you purchase a ticket for the event you will receive your share of the low country boil as well as crawfish. The boil includes a full pound of crawfish, potatoes, corn, Andouille sausage, and coleslaw on the side. If you’re interested in crawfish dipping sauce on the side it will cost an extra $2.00.

If you’re not familiar with a low country boil, a large pot, usually aluminum, is placed over low heat and filled with water, as well as secret spices the spices are generally specific to whoever is preparing the boil). The crawfish are added, as well as little sections of corn-on-the-cob, potatoes, and the sausage. Everything is prepared together and boiled. Once the food has finished cooking it is drained, where possibly more seasoning is sprinkled over time, as well as squirts of lemon juice. 

Tickets to the event are running at $20, and everyone going to the Tucson Crawfish Fest 2021 must have a ticket. The crawfish is limited, so it is recommended to purchase your ticket in advance (this will also help the organizers know how much food they need to prepare. You can purchase your ticket directly through the Tucson Mardi Gras website here. 

When you purchase your ticket you will have two options. You can either opt into the dine-in ticket, where you will be able to sit down and enjoy the food with others who are attending the festival, or you can purchase the to-go ticket, where the food will be packaged up and you can eat it at home. Generally, it is recommended to eat the food as soon as possible to make sure everything is still nice and hot. 

For additional upcoming Mardi Gras themed events make sure to check out the Mardi Gras website from time to time as the group is regularly planning additional activities here in Tucson.

Follow me to see more articles like this.

...

Follow