Mourning Crawfish Season

If you're like us, you've been crying yourself to sleep every night since the end of crawfish season. Crawfish have been our crack rock over the last few months, and they indeed will be a tough drug to kick. But before we tune you into a good crawfish-substitute joint we tried last night, here are a few stand-out dishes we had this season. 

-Calliope's Po-Boys-

Calliope's takes a stripped-down approach to crawfish that neither of us were accustomed to. Not that that's a bad thing of course because 'different' in this case still meant good. Our backyard crawfish boils and trips to Louisiana as kids meant bold layers of flavor and sweat-inducing heat. 

But Calliope's crawfish were delicately seasoned and succulent. The light hand brought out the crawfish's freshness and natural flavor, which speaks to the confidence Calliope's must have in their product. While crawfish are sturdy enough to stand up to lots of flavor, crawfish au natural is the focal point at Calliope's; they don't need to hide behind mounds of seasoning, butter, corn or potatoes. 

We still prefer having our faces melted and our hands dripping with juice and seasoning, but change can sometimes be good.

This crawfish po-boy is the stuff of dreams. That French baguette rocked our world, and really the only time we've had better baguettes was in France. They have an enormous, flakey crunch on the exterior that gives way to a pillowy, cloud-like interior that just melts in your mouth. Calliope's has them made fresh daily from a supplier. The crawfish were perfectly fried. The fries were pretty meh, but no one comes here for the fries anyways.

Lisa Carnley of Calliope's just got a nod from the Houston Press as one of our city's hottest females chefs. Meow! She grew up in New Orleans and moved to Houston post-Katrina. Lisa has our vote!

-Danton's Gulf Coast Seafood Kitchen-

Danton's is quickly becoming our favorite place for happy hour. Their crawfish specials this season were off the chain, and yeah, the crawfish at Danton's are GINORMOUS. These crawfish have become our second favorite in the city. As we mentioned in a previous post, Pappadeaux's still takes the cake in our book. 

BBQ shrimp: sumptuous rosemary butter broth perfect for crusty bread-dipping.

Campechana: We hate Pesce and their crappy $17 Seafood Martini with a passion that boils deep within the inner cores of our being. We absolutely loved this Mexican-style seafood cocktail with shrimp, crab and avocado. And we will admit, our love for this dish was partly driven by sheer contempt for Pesce and their awful, overpriced martini glass of suck.

Fried Jalapenos stuffed with crab cake filling, monterrey jack and cheddar cheese. Mouth-watering!

-Shuck Daddy's-

After being stuffed into suits all week, we wanted to go somewhere casual where we could put our feet up last night. We'd read good things about Shuck Daddy's in the Heights so we decided to give it a try. The crab-stuffed jalapenos were so-so. The jalapenos were a little under-done. 

But after ordering The Feast off their "Pound It" menu, we knew we'd found a good crawfish alternative for when our off-season itch kicks in.

The Feast: 1/2 pound of shrimp, 2 clusters of snow crab legs and all the trimmings (corn, potatoes and spicy sausage). Presentation is key!

We asked them to combine all three seasonings: lemon pepper, cajun and chipotle, and it was everything we love about crawfish sans crawfish. It was spicy, sloppy and eat-with-your-hands addictive. It wasn't a bad deal either - $25 fed both of us.

The shrimp was the star of the show, but the crab got mixed reviews. Mani thought they were great. Val thought they were on the salty side; she prefers a simple steam with nothing more.  You will be seeing us again, Shuck Daddy's.

Random Foodie News

We signed up for the My Table Magazine newsletter and found out a few tidbits. 

*Bryan Caswell and Bill Floyd (Reef, Little Big's and Stella Sola) are partnering up with former Houston Press food critic Robb Walsh to open up a Tex-Mex restaurant at the now-vacant Tower Theatre on Westheimer. (We are still sad about Hollywood Video closing, though)

*Uchi, our favorite sushi restaurant in Austin, is coming to Houston. It'll be in the building that once housed Felix Mexican Restaurant. Although it was an old Houston institution, we weren't too keen on Felix's grub, so we are glad that change is a-coming.

*As we've mentioned in previous entries, we are unabashedly obsessed with The Next Food Network Star and The Next Iron Chef. Apparently, one of Houston's own was selected to be a competitor and is one of the last 4 standing. Right on! Can't wait for the debut episode. (We wouldn't be surprised if Caswell is our city's representative what with his James Beard nomination this year).