Crawfish Boil in the park

A delightful crawfish boil in the park (I’ve only had crawfish once before, and that was in a restaurant environment), courtesy of the inimitable Allen.

Checking each one to ensure it’s alive:

The boil, with potatoes, corn, and hot sausage (start the potatoes a bit earlier, everything else goes in at once, the sausage starts raw):

Pulling them out to rest in the insulated container they came in, with spices and lemon (did I mention the forty pounds of crawfish were shipped overnight in ice from Louisiana, to arrive, live, the morning of the boil?)

The spread, one of four rounds, for a leisurely picnic pace and the chance to have actual non-mouths-full conversation between eating.

Detritus (and my favorite canned craft beer for picnics, Oskar Blues’ Yella Pils):

Good food (and a slow burn from the accumulating spice over the afternoon), good company, and a sunny afternoon  in Oakland…