This is the little restaurant with the big crawfish—expect to eat some of the biggest mudbugs in the city at this modest establishment. In addition to the spicy garlic crawfish, LA Crawfish offers gumbo, several flavors of chicken wings, and eight varieties of pho, including a crawfish version. We all buy stuff we don’t need when we go to the grocery store hungry. Save money by stopping into the LA Crawfish in the food court of 99 Ranch Market before shopping for Asian groceries.

At the LA Crawfish on Richmond—the first restaurant of its kind inside the Loop—the crawfish and the buttery seasonings are mixed together in a clear plastic bag. I got the “spicy” heat level and a combo of garlic butter and Cajun flavoring on mine—they were much more flavorful than the watery ones you get at many Cajun restaurants: a coating of cayenne and garlic stuck to the tail meat, and the butter dip added a richness that made them taste like little lobsters.