Crawfish Boil

Eastside Road, September 1, 2013—

YES: THOSE ARE crayfish being dipped up ut of that cauldron. He's going to have dip a dozen times, I think, to get 'em all; and then they'll dump in another, equal amount — crayfish, or crawfish, or crawdads, brought up from the Sacramento Delta, a three-hour drive.

No, I don't eat them. They're crustacea, so off limits for me — along with crab, lobster, shrimp, prawns. Shellfish with legs, as I explain to the waiter, though it's true on one occasion the waiter came back with the polite offer to have the legs removed for me, as if they were the source of the problem.

Oh well: there were other things to eat at the 7th Annual Laytonville Crawfish Boil. The pork, roasted over a slow wood fire, was delicious; also the cole slaw. There's a sizable influx from Louisiana up in Laytonville. This was the 7th annual Laytonville Crawfish Boil, benefitting the schools… hundreds of frogs, Delta crawdads, an alligator or two, four or five pigs… jambalaya, of course, and Cajun bands… laissez les bon temps rouler, dude!

beer

• Laytonville Rodeo Grounds, Laytonville, California