Photo by caroline.angelo

Dish of the Week: Crawfish

Where: Acadiana, Bayou Bakery

From the first appearance of soft-shell crabs to the mild weather perfect for enjoy light seafood fare al fresco, spring is a great time to be a seafood lover. For misplaced Southerners or lovers of Southern food, spring seafood is all about crawfish. Related to lobster but also not too far removed from the cockroach, crawfish are a beloved delicacy.

D.C. isn’t exactly in the heart of crawfish country, but there are a few select places to find mudbugs in the DMV area. Whether you want to enjoy boiled crawfish on a swanky patio or boiled in a bag and dumped on the table for all to share, Zagat has a helpful round up of the best places to enjoy spicy and sweet boiled crawfish this spring.

Small Bites

David Guas is Everywhere
If you didn’t catch the chef and owner of Arlington’s Bayou Bakery on Chopped, don’t worry, it seems he’s everywhere this April. While he may not have survived the entree round in Food Network’s culinary battle, Chef Guas’ next TV appearance is much less stressful. Cooking Channel’s Unique Sweets tours Bayou Bakery for a behind the scenes look at the sweet and savory treats Chef Guas is cooking up. You can catch the episode Sunday, April 22 at 10:30 p.m. on the Cooking Channel.

What the Shuck?
Few things are more refreshing in spring than slurping freshly shucked oysters and washing them down with cold beer. This Saturday you can do both on a grand scale as Hank’s Oyster Bar hosts its 5th Annual Oyster Fest at both the Dupont Circle and Alexandria locations. From 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., guests at Oyster Fest will feast on all the freshly shucked oysters they can eat and wash them down with beers from Lagunitas, Troeg’s, Victory, and North Coast. In addition to oysters in their purest state, Hank’s will also be serving up BBQ oysters along with fries and onion rings. Tickets are $80 and 10 percent of the proceeds will go to benefit Women Chefs and Restaurateurs which seeks to promote the advancement of women in the culinary industry.

Farmers & Fishers to Return to the Georgetown Waterfront…Sort Of
Just over a year after flooding destroyed much of the waterfront in Georgetown, the team behind Farmers and Fishers has finalized a lease on their previous space and is set to begin construction on an entirely new restaurant concept. The new restaurant will feature 320 seats and a menu that, while similar to Founding Farmers, will focus on more regional dishes. The new concept is an encouraging sign of growth for the Waterfront, but we can only hope the opening of the new restaurant avoids the same controversy that Founder Farmers became part of so soon after its opening. But at least there will be 25 beers on tap and a nice patio.