New England has its lobsters; down in New Orleans, the crustacean of choice is the crawfish, an equally ugly—and juicy—bottom-feeder straight from Louisiana’s swamp floor pantry. No wonder the centerpiece of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel’s lobby lounge every spring Sunday afternoon is a giant crawfish boil platter. Hand-pick your crawfish, 5  to 7 inches long, and watch them boiled live in a pot, then simmered in a spicy boil mix from Zatarain’s, and seasoned with cayenne pepper, garlic, and onion powder. About three pounds of crawfish sacrifice their lives for each platter, which are served with andouille sausage, corn, and potatoes. More fancy preparations, like crawfish etoufee or pasta with crawfish, using only the tails, are served at the in-house Mélange restaurant, recently re-opened along with the hotel after a 15-month closing due to Hurricane Katrina. The French Quarter landmark even has its own crawfish concierge, Chris Garcia, who shared with CITY the secret to peeling and devouring one of these little red guys.

1. Gently twist the head off, and set it aside.

2. Peel a few segments off the shell, to expose the meat.

3. Pinch the bottom of the tail so the meat protrudes, and pull it out.

4. If you’re brave, insert pinkie inside the head to remove the “fat.”

5. If truly brave, abandon all decorum and suck the seasoned juices out of the head.

6. Repeat 50 to 60 times, to understand the meaning of lagniappe (“something extra”).

—SHARON MCDONNELL