The best spot for boiled crawfish in New Orleans is someone's backyard, or the Fly, or City Park, or on the Bayou St John. In other words, the best crawfish are boiled by friends, with friends, wherever there's enough room to set up the boil and the table, lay out some blankets and throw around a football. But sometimes that just isn't an option. The cravings are too urgent, the friends are out of town or whatever. For times like these, sometimes you just have to go to a professional.

Here, now, we present our picks for great boiled crawfish in town. Some of these are seafood markets where you'll want to pick up a couple pounds and go to a park or a bar (KJean, Big Fisherman), while others are proper restaurants (Deanie's, Franky Johnny's). But all of them can boil a mean mudbug and satisfy that berled crawfish craving.