Did you know that Popeyes 2^nd Annual Crawfish Festival is going on right now?! I did. Obviously. Since I am writing this. But I was even more keenly aware of it because I missed writing about the first Annual Crawfish Festival, and I always regretted it, just a little bit, in the back of my mind. I mean, really, what was I doing around that time? Well, I had just reviewed what is probably the worst thing I’ve ever eaten. You’d think after that, I’d be up for anything.

But the fact of the matter is, I was intimidated by Popeyes Crawfish Festival. Despite having grown up 20 minutes away from the Pacific Ocean, my experience with seafood of any kind up until a few years ago consisted primarily of fried shrimp drenched in cocktail sauce and putting my trust in the Gorton’s Fisherman. It’s shameful, I know. I blame my parents and Taco Bell.

I’ve made baby steps since that time. I had tilapia and enjoyed it. A variety of sushis have tickled my palate. But ever since that fateful day that I met my husband’s grandmother for the first time and she served us a beautiful dish of freshly boiled lobster straight from Maine (that I had made friends with the night before), I’ve been largely hesitant about most crustaceans. The moment I cracked the lobster and a murky liquid gushed out, I was done. No more. So strong was my distaste that I refused to eat one bite, snubbing my future grandmother-in-law in the worst way. Did I mention she’s Italian? Yeah. The worst way.

Fortunately she took it with good humor, and I didn’t burn any familial bridges on our very first meeting. The damage had been done for me, however. So when I saw Popeyes Crawfish Festival last year, I pussied out. Not only are crawfish crustaceans, they are popular mainly in the South, especially Louisiana, where I hear they still practice voodoo. I’ve never been to the South, and am extremely unfamiliar with the majority of their popular dishes. Double trepidation. Voodoo crawfish.

But it’s been a year, and I’d like to think that my culinary misadventures have strengthened both my exo and endoskeleton enough that I can man up and participate in the Crawfish Festival. If not, it doesn’t matter, because I’ve already got the food. There’s no turning back now!

Popeyes offers several different dishes containing the crawfish. I chose the Tackle Box, which is “piled high with regular side, biscuit and Popeyes very own Creamy Horseradish Sauce.” There’s also a Po’Boy, “traditional favorite served on a warm baguette with lettuce, pickles and Creamy Horseradish Sauce”, the Traveler, which is basically just the crawfish and sauce, and the Etouffee, “traditional Louisiana “one pot” dish features seasoned rice smothered with a rich sauce of crawfish, veggies and spices.” The Etouffee sounds interesting, but I wanted to taste the crawfish in its pure form.

Unfortunately, round one of my Popeyes Crawfish Festival experience was a little too pure. I got my crawfish, I got my biscuit, and I got my side, but I got no horseradish sauce. I was outraged. There’s nothing I hate more than going someplace specifically to pick up a food to review, only to find that I got the wrong product or something is missing. I wasn’t about to leave my house again to go all the way back, I mean, I’d already taken off my shoes, but I was determined to have the full crawfish/horseradish experience. Tomorrow I will have my revenge.

In the meantime, I can tell you about the crawfish. I ate crawfish! I am inappropriately proud of myself. Of course, it helps that I have no idea what crawfish is, and that it was heavily breaded and fried, making it look like little bitty fried shrimp. The batter was very tasty; it had a nice crunch and was satisfyingly deep-fried without being overly greasy. It’s obvious from the coloration that the batter was meant to have a little kick, and it delivered on the back end, leaving a little spice that was really tasty and didn’t overwhelm the palate.

As for the crawfish itself, I found the texture to be a little bit chewy, and the taste to be very mildly fishy. It tasted and felt to be a cross between a fish and a shrimp. Having never had one before, I have no idea if this is what a crawfish is actually supposed to taste like. I’m just reporting the facts, ma’am. I surprised myself with the ease in which I consumed the crustaceans. I thought I would find the firm but chewy texture off-putting, but it reminded me of fried shrimp. I also thought I might not like the fishy taste, but it was mild enough, and played so well with the cajun spices, that I found myself actually enjoying my own personal Crawfish Festival.

But I still wanted the sauce.

So I went back. I ordered the Tackle Box again, for the sake of consistency, but this time I actually asked for extra horseradish sauce, just to drive the point home that I wanted that goddamn sauce.

Victory! I immediately dipped the shit out of some crawfish. The new crawfish I got were a little more tender and less chewy, making them even better. The sauce is pretty good; it’s tangy and a little spicy, with a horseradish kick at the end that is tasty but doesn’t blow out your sinuses like horseradish paste can. I like that feeling sometimes, but I think they toned it down just enough to appeal to those who don’t. It also includes ingredients like paprika and powdered garlic, and has enough vinegar to pucker your lips.

After finally tasting the sauce, I could go either way on it. It’s a pretty tasty sauce, but it overwhelms the spice in the batter mixture, which was also pretty delicious. Despite my frustration at having to go back, I’m kind of glad I did, because I got to concentrate on the flavor of the crawfish the first time and examine what the horseradish sauce brought to the party the second time. I would recommend going halvsies if you get your own Tackle Box, just to experience both flavors.

Well, I ate crawfish, and I survived. Not only did I survive, I rather enjoyed my Crawfish Festival. The batter and the spice are just right, the flavor of the crustacean was mild but enjoyable, and while some of the pieces were more tender than others, I still liked them all. I’m glad I decided to stop being a sissy and partake in the Crawfish Festival. Another seafood I’ve never tried that I can check off my list. Now, I have no idea if Popeyes is fully representing the flavor of real, fresh crawfish, but if I ever get invited to an authentic crawdad boil, I won’t be afraid to try it out. As long as I don’t get to meet the little guys alive first and someone else shells them for me.

Popeyes Crawdad Festival only lasts until November 28^th this year, so if you want to partake, you’d better get moving!

• Score: 4 out of 5 unfortunate first impressions
• Price: $4.99
• Size: 1…Tackle Box with…about  20 crawfish?
• Purchased at: Popeyes #5636
• Nutritional Quirks: No nutritional information available on Popeyes’s website, so the crawdads could really be…anything.