SF Crawfish Boil

Worst crawfish experience, ever. This entire event was a joke. Great weather, great location, but we waited three hours and got NOTHING. Well, my husband ate one, because he snagged it. I emailed the people in charge of the event afterwards to let them know how horrible our experience was. They responded by asking for our addresses, because they were going to refund our money. Let the record reflect we NEVER RECEIVED OUR REFUND! Awful.

this place sucks. doesnt deserve a rating @ all

The lines were crazy long. –1 star
The crawfish was the worst I’ve ever had. –1 star
Some of the volunteers were very nice + 1star
The beers were warm. –1 star
Overpriced even if you could eat all you wanted –1 star
Distribution of plates was disorganized. –1 star
The event itself deserves a 1-​star review even though I was one of the very few who received a refund. One of the people in our group came late and didn’t get a refund at all. By the time she got there, they weren’t offering refunds anymore.
For the price, you could go to Boiling Crab and get 2 lbs of crawfish and some corn.
Even if this even is free next year, I will not be returning unless they make some BIG changes.

7^th Annual Crawfish Boil & Ho-​down…$ 25 for ‘all-​you-​can-​eat’ crawfish?! I’m sooo there!!!
For what it’s worth, I’m giving them 3 stars because it wasn’t too bad of an event overall. I mean… I was just as disappointed as the rest of the reviewers but, I don’t think it’s really fair to hold the hosts entirely accountable for some of their uncontrollable and barbaric guests. I’m also keeping in mind that their previous events weren’t of this magnitude – 1000+ guests.
I came with 3 others and we were all highly anticipating a fun-​filled day off the Marina shoreline of the San Francisco Bay. We grew even more excited when we realized how perfect the weather was and how beautiful our view of the Golden Gate Bridge was – they really couldn’t have picked a better location! We arrived a little after 12pm, when the second batch of crawfish was being cooked. We noticed several cabanas, each with a ‘dumping-​table’ and each with it’s humongous pot of crawfish (
) boiling away. We were told that it would take about 25 minutes, so we decided to get some beer and to sample some of the other foods that they had at the event.
We really didn’t think anything of the eager crowds that formed around the ‘dumping-​tables.’ What a mistake! There was a reason why people were being so territorial about their spots around the ‘dumping-​table!’ Once a pot of crawfish was ‘dumped’ onto the table, it became survival of the fittest! Who knew there would be so many savages pushing and shoving each other to get their share of crawfish. Each five-​pound-​pot of crawfish lasted about five seconds on each table.
To sum it all up, we didn’t get to eat any crawfish until they decided to change the logistics of things. After a couple of physical fights broke off, they decided to stop ‘dumping’ the crawfish onto the ‘dumping-​tables’ and opt for organized lines instead. People just weren’t as friendly and courteous as the hosts had hoped for.
Unhappy folks who voiced their opinion early on were able to get a full cash refund, while the rest of us had to make the best of it. It was a good first-​time experience for me. I enjoyed the live jazz band and the brief visit from the naked bike riders (
). But, to be perfectly honest, the crawfish wasn’t that good. It was too salty, probably because the little critters weren’t cleaned prior to cooking. I didn’t even get to eat ‘all-​I-​can-​eat,’ but I heard they had a lot of extra crawfish at the end of the day.
I’m not too sure if I’ll be going again next year, but I hope that they will be able to better accommodate an event of such caliber.

Writing this review super late, but I have to agree with a lot of the reviews here. The organization of how food gets shelled (pardon the pun) out would’ve made such a huge difference with how things ran. I heard that later on in the late afternoon/​evening they did change up the serving style, but the damage was done, and with so many people attending, it was a mess.
Luckily we had a good system going on for our group, so we definitely got fed, but there were times we left empty handed. One thing I noticed with the food was that the first batch was way spicier than all the proximate batches. I do miss those potatoes. So tasty. We didn’t bother with waiting for the sides.
I’m sad to hear that a lot of people didn’t get food. With better organization, more people would’ve gotten fed. They definitely had enough to go around. According to my friend who stayed ’til the end, they were just giving the crawfish away at the end. He went home with an ice chest filled because there was so much left over.
If you’re planning on going next year, things to bring: things to protect you from the sun (sunblock, umbrella, gazebo, etc.), chairs (if you don’t want to sit in the grass), paper towels, baby wipes, and liquids (unless you feel like paying up the butt for things like water).
Other than that, this seemed like an amateur effort for the 7^th Annual Boil. I still had fun with my friends at least. HIghlight: naked bicyclists!

DO NOT ATTEND THIS EVENT!!! Unless you want to be fighting, literally fighting over tiny, overly spiced pathetic pieces of crawfish with ghetto people. This is the 7^th year? And you’re making excuses about how hard you guys worked on planning this event? Yikes! Just a scary mess.

Since the listing isn’t specific to this year’s Crawfish Boil, I’ll talk a little about my good experience 2 years ago. The event was still held at the «amphitheater» at Crissy Field and there were a few hundred people. The price was $ 20 and we got wristbands for beer and food. A lot of people contributed food, pot luck style. I think there were 1 or 2 pots to cook and only one table for the crawfish dump. The first couple of dumps were mad rushes for the little critters, but if we weren’t able to get some, the beer and other sides would tide us over. By mid way through the event, people were relaxing, burping and in food coma land.
I definitely attended a 4 – 5 star event in ’08 but I’m subtracting some stars for the group this year being too ambitious trying to accommodate 1000 attendees. I was at the Marina Green for a run that morning so I saw the setup. I knew the perimeter of that yellow police tape was not gonna hold 1000 people. I did see lots of large boxes of crawfish being unloaded and about 6 pots and dump tables set up. I did not have a good feeling about this one…
Food events in SF and the rest of the bay area are getting so ridiculous. I’m not sure why they’ve become the thing to do. Hungry people plus long lines equal angry mobs… no one’s socializing or developing foodie camaraderie. And for something like crawfish? I know you have to ship them in, but after that it’s just Old Bay seasoning, corn, and potatoes. For $ 25/​person, you and your friends can throw your own crawfish boil and ho-​down; I guarantee you’ll have a lot more fun. I hope this year hasn’t killed the event completely, but the organizers definitely have to go back to their simpler roots to make the next one successful. Good luck!
Pic from 2 yrs ago on their website (I’m in there somewhere):

This event must of been the worst disorganized event I have ever been in attendance. Waited about an hour in line to get in and another hour around the communal tables for crawfish. After two hours of waiting without any food, just finally gave up & left.
I sent an email request for a refund to the organizers who readily admitted all their failings with the event, but that it was not all their fault, but they could not give me a refund. Guess what happens when you call your credit card company about an issue with a charge. They credit it back. But that hardly made up that I wasted half a day on a beautiful Saturday in that chaos of an event.

I decided I would hold off on writing this review until I got a response and/​or refund from SF Crawfish Boil. Since it’s been days, I have yet to be responded to, and my credit card company took off the charge (go Nordstrom Visa!), a review must be done. Oh how I wish I could give you ZERO stars…
First of all, I find it odd that June 12, 2010 marked the 7^th annual crawfish boil event but where are all the Unilocal reviews for previous years? People Unilocal about EVERYTHING, even the infamous Bushman out in Fisherman’s Wharf.
COST: Tickets went on sale online about a month or so before the event for $ 25. A couple days before the event took place, there was an announcement on the webpage saying the event was sold out. The day of the event, the website was updated announcing there would be a limited amount of $ 35 tickets available at the door.
LOCATION: Marina Green (next to Ft. Mason)
As you get there, you were supposed to check in at the «main table» where a bracelet would be given knowing that you have paid and then you were able to walk around the roped off area. However, I had several friends that ended up INSIDE the roped off without checking in asking what the process was. In other words, why did I BUY a ticket to the event when I could’ve walked in from the other end?
As my friend and I walked into the event, people had surrounded one of the five or so tents where I heard cheering and saw the tent started shaking. Thinking everyone was purely excited over the event or a demo was taking place, I pulled out my camera and started snapping pictures. Suddenly a man with a large cooking pot emerged from the crowd screaming «SECURITY!!». As we continued to stand there unaware of what was going on, suddenly people were FIGHTING over crawfish… seriously? A security guard and police officer (yes, singular) pinned one guy who was now bleeding onto the floor. Is crawfish that serious to fight over?
There was no posted process of how this event worked. The way we figured the process was:
*Find a plate which was located under one of the tents (there were NO napkins, but you as well as everyone else, could dip your hands in containers with bleach in it)
*Wait until the crawfish, potatoes, and corn were done
*Cook brings over cooked items and empties the pot contents onto a table
*Fight by all means necessary (apparently females were being threatened to get punched in the face if they didn’t move) to obtain crawfish, potatoes, and corn
*Repeat
If this event took place for 6 previous years, shouldn’t they have a system and be organized by now? What happened to lining up like civilized people and getting crawfish accordingly?
A line was formed where refunds were given. After about 20 – 30 minutes, they announced they had run out of money and no refunds would be given. That is ILLEGAL to give a portion of the crowd refunds and not the remaining who was requesting it. Many people were complaining they haven’t eaten and they were there since 11am and it was close to 2pm! As we bitched and complained, the man doing the refunds said to enjoy the sun, wait for some crawfish, and there was security and police officers WITH GUNS if it was needed. Let’s be serious — guns have NOTHING to do with people waiting and fighting over crawfish! Would we be shot for grabbing crawfish? It is a 1000+ people event and there were TWO security officers and TWO police officers.
I would NEVER recommend this event. Two hours and I wasn’t fed… Propane tanks on the grass… People fighting over crawfish…
UNSAFE, UNORGANIZED, and NOT WORTH IT!!!

I would officially rate this as the worst event I have ever been too.
First of all you don’t even have to pay, just walk in. I wasted my money there.
Second of all it was a free for all for food. I was not ready to trample and brawl and fight for crawfish.
Third, it was the worst crawfish I ever had in my life.
Can I give negative stars please?

I’m going to remain neutral on this event since I signed up to volunteer and did not pay any money for my beer or my food. For the folks who did pay I can easily understand their anger because there were definitely major shortfalls and security problems in addition to a very rude, ghetto crowd.
I signed up just days before the event because volunteer organization One Brick was tabbed as a beneficiary for this event. One Brick brought in three shifts of volunteers to staff specific areas of the event throughout the day. I came in on the first shift to help set up doing a lot of the grunt work necessary to put up an event. I enjoyed the workout, the heavy lifting and the putting of pieces into place; although, I had second thoughts in the middle of the unloading of the 3000 pounds of crawfish when I absorbed fishy liquids throughout my clothing. I really had a great time working alongside other volunteers and friends of the event organizers.
In fact, when the end of my shift rolled around nearly five hours later I was having so much fun dispensing cold beer out of the side of a Budweiser truck I decided to stick around longer. In my own little beer-​soaked world I had no idea about the chaos going on out on the lawn of the Marina Green. That is until I was relieved of my beer dispensing responsibilities.
The huge crowd that had gathered clearly created havoc for the event organizers who had put on several of these events in past years with much smaller, more manageable crowds. They were not at all ready for the onslaught that ensued. Their plan to dump pots of crawfish onto several table tops and let the crowd feed itself was clearly a massive fail as the more aggressive people hoarded all the food leaving others with nothing. The crowds were insane. Violence ensued. I saw several in-​your-​face jawings between unhappy customers and event volunteers and even had to step in-​between one when it looked like a fist might be thrown. When security ran over and grabbed one guy and threw him to the ground that was clearly a signal this event was out of control. I felt especially bad for some of the younger kids in the crowd. Watching grown-​ups behave badly isn’t much fun especially when real cops get involved.
Kudos to the National Park rangers and the two SFPD officers who got involved after that incident because the crowd actually did seem to mellow down a bit after that.
People were still hungry though, and I can understand their rage for paying for all-​you-​can-​eat and getting very little out of it. When I got thrown on the line to help dump crawfish onto more tables later I fully witnessed the craziness. We were dealing with sixty pound boiling hot pots of seafood and people with no regards to their own safety much less for the safety of the people around them came barreling in just to scoop up the food on the table. At one table one of the SFPD officers had to reach into the crowd, grab me by the shoulder and pull me out from the crowd that had rushed in behind me.
When the authorities got involved and finally had us stop dumping seafood onto the tables making people line up for crawfish instead I think the event became much more enjoyable. I ended up on one end scooping crawfish out of a pot with a paddle at one point and the crowds were quite friendly which was a welcomed change.
If this event is to proceed in the future they’ll need to come up with a much better plan of attack. The lines for food worked. The table top dumping did not. I think they need to downsize the crowd, have security more visible and enforce their rules a lot better. The volunteers took care of each other. That was the good of the event. Other volunteers made sure I was constantly hydrated, and when they realized I hadn’t had food in six hours they were very cool in getting me some delicious crawfish and corn. I would definitely return to help in the same capacity, but I agree this event needs quite a bit more of pre-​planning for the future.

If it was possible to give an event negative stars, I would give this negative 5.
To be fair, i would like to preface my review with the statement that the attendees were a big part of my problem with the crawfish beat down.
the crawfish boil was an unorganized, ridiculous event. My friend and I got there a little before noon and left at 3… hungry, bruised and in my case, teary eyed and with balled girl fists.
First of all, the place was packed with greedy ass people that were using bags, cardboard boxes and my favorite (apparently the fave of old asian men with questionable dental hygiene), the combo of elbow a beezy and step on her while ninja kicking your way to the crawfish and scooping up 4 paper boats worth… and leaving nothing for anyone else. We were there for 3 effing hours and didnt get anything!
At one point my friend and i found our way to the very front of the table and stayed there for like 45 minutes thinking wooo hoo finally!, then they told us to form a line so we did, then they said go back to the table, so we did (only to lose our spots to a bunch of 6 foot plus dudes) then they dumped and we got nothing again…
my favorite part of the event was when the tall older white dude turned around after dumping and hit me super hard in the head with the massive wooden paddle used to carry the huge pot of crawfish. Needless to say, I fricking cried like a little girl. The real kicker? he didnt even express an iota of concern after hitting me in the head. I realize it wasnt on purpose, but not even an are u ok? an oops? nothing. So i got pissed, which made me cry more. I walked up to the man and explained what happened and asked for an apology… he respectfully declined to do so and instead decided to argue with me about whether or not i was in line to begin with… at which point my fists started balling in on themselves. When i said that he could at least be a gentleman and apologize for hitting me in the head (for which i now have a super attractive bump) he yelled «is that all you want?! fine! I’m sorry!» I called him a dick, gathered my friend and left at this point. I figured i wouldnt be able to survive jail on an empty stomach.

It was like the scene from 2012, where everyone was trying to get on the same ship, except the Earth wasn’t going to explode!!! I stood in that crazy line and the Earth wasn’t even exploding!!! *($#!^!%)*
This was called The Crawfish Hoe-​Down… But it was more like The Crawfish Beat-​Down… The only way you were going to get some crawdads was to beat down the person next to you!!! One guy tried it and he got beat down by security and the cooks!!! I guess that guy just thought it would be more fun for people to eat crawdads off the ground… !!! *SHRUGS*
Describing this event as unorganized would be an understatement… Somehow, amid all the chaos, I heard someone say they were offereing refunds with no questions asked… He pointed, I followed… And I got my money back… But not before a bunch a naked dude cyclists showed up to the party!!! That was the highlight of the my whole day… No, not the naked dude cyclists!!! Me getting my money back!!!
I came in pretty hungry… So hopefully, they didn’t notice me eating some of their cornbricks and undercooked rice… Then again, I didn’t notice that til the follwing day…

Crawfish «TACKLE» Down anyone???
DAY/​TIME:
Saturday, 6.12.10 from 11 AM-5:30 PM (Free beer from 11AM –12 PM)
LOCATION:
Marina Green
PRICE:
$ 25 pre-​sale and $ 35 at the door
PARKING:
Free parking along the Marina Green (yacht area) and residential street parking.
I attended the 7^th Annual Crawfish Boil and Ho-​Down for the first time and I’m still in shock at how unorganized, chaotic, and downright DANGEROUS it was (see pics). We arrived around 1:15 PM and it was bustling. The staff took down our name, checked our IDs, gave us a wristlet, and set us loose.
As we entered into the main arena, we were confused b/​c there was no directions on how the crawfish boil was suppose to work. Two minutes later, we saw a crowd of people screaming, throwing their fists in the air, and the tents shaking. Then, all of a sudden, a brawl broke out which lead to some guy being yanked out of the tent, thrown on the floor, while several people jumped on him and sucker kicked him. He ended up with blood running down from his head to his neck and being kicked out of the event; ALL FOR CRAWFISH…*shakes head* Pic:
We then figured out the process:
1. Find a plate; that’s if you can find them (they were hidden under tent #3);
2. Stand at a station/​table and wait for the crawfish to boil;
3. Crawfish was thrown down on a station (there were 6 stations and 1000+ people which means approx 166 people/​per station trying to fight for crawfish.);
4. Push, shove, elbow, and punch your way through to scrounge up what you can;
5. If you’re lucky enough to snag maybe one or two, you can enjoy them on the grassy area;
6. Wash your hands in the designated bins of bleach (yes, bleach; no joke).
There were NO lines, NO order, and NO one moderating it; it was basically a «Free for All». Stick a bunch of sober and drunken savages wanting to get their money’s worth and you have a recipe for disaster. After each crawfish «throw down», people were literally picking up crawfish that had landed on the floor from the chaos. Did I just pay $ 25 for this???
After watching the chaos continue again, and overhearing that people have been there since 10 AM and still haven’t gotten any crawfish, we decided to ask for refund and leave.
A line started forming for refunds. About 30 or so people were able to get their $ 25 or $ 35 back until one of the staff said, «NO MORE REFUNDS!» WTF??? My thing is, if you’re going to give a «refund» to one, you have to give it to «all» otherwise it’s disparate treatment.
A crowd of people started complaining about how disorganized, dangerous (e.g. girls were threatened to get punched in the face, propane gas tanks on grass w/​no barrier. etc), and how «this was not what they signed up for». One of the staff then said, «Don’t worry, there’s plenty of crawfish for all». I then asked, «How is that possible, when there’s no designated line and it’s basically a free for all?» He then said, «We have two cops with guns». I’m thinking, «WTF, are the cops going to say, ‘STOP, PUT THAT CRAWFISH DOWN BEFORE I SHOOT???’» Let’s get real! I would be damned to get punched in the face or get sent to the hospital, all for some crawfish, so we decided to leave even w/​o a refund.
One of my friends who stayed said it did get better at 4 PM and the wait for crawfish was 20 minutes at that time. By then, most people have left. Three hours wait for crawfish w/​a possibility of getting hurt? No, thank you. We ended up at SJ Crawfish in the Sunset area where we saw 2 groups of people who came from the same event. Déjà vu? I think not.
Since none of the staff would tell us the name of the event organizer, we’ll be contacting the BBB, OSHA, C&C of San Francisco to make sure the proper authorities are notified and to ensure the same thing doesn’t go down next year. For someone who has been «organizing» this for seven years, it’s absolutely absurd to have such a poorly run event that is hazardous to the safety of the attendees. Maybe, it’s time for a career change…

It just started out horrible. I got there around 1230 and was super excited about the event! I ran into a friend there that was waiting in line for the side dishes and he told me that they ran out of plates. I didn’t believe. How can that happen? Sure enough, he was right and my party and I had to walk around and look for someone with extra bowls. *sigh*
We finally make our way to the table and waited 30 minutes for crawfish. We didn’t have front row to the tables so we weren’t able to get anything! Luckily (in a weird way) I ran into an ex-​bf there who happened to luck out and was able to get 10 crawfish. I jokingly asked him for it but he gave it to me anyways. =) Good thing cause after another hour of waiting in the front row at the table, they decide to have people line up (!!!) so I lose my place at the table… stand in line like its the great depression waiting on a scoop of crawfish… and then they stop the line and said they were gonna dump the rest on the table! So now, i lose my spot. *argh*!!! Who knew the ex would save me from semi-​starvation that afternoon. After all of that, I had to leave and get something in my stomach. I’m sorry… but it was yesterday that I realized that maybe I’m snooty. There were a lot of ghetto/​childish people there. Some were throwing crawfish shells at each other while we waited at the table and one hit me. WOOOOSAH!!!

Beautiful weather. Great location.
BUT, defn not worth $ 25.
There were about 5 tables set up. The cooks pour crawdads onto them every 45min or so and people are shoving and pushing to get a serving. Unless you stand at the tables for 45min, you’re prob not going to get any. And believe it, there are people standing at the table s the entire time claiming their spot.
I ended up leaving early, but from what I heard they switched it up afterwards to where people had to line up to get a serving… they shuda just don’t that from the get go.
There really is no other food served. They have a small booth serving rice, beans and cornbread… but not all that great. So people, make sure to bring extra food or snacks.
As for the crawfish… they were kinda dirty. Not cleaned thorougly and not as fresh. You can tell when the crawdads aren’t fresh, cuz they turn black.
In all, i wouldn’t go again. rather cook crawdad’s at home or go eat at the restaurant.

The only thing I got out of this experience is that I’m never going back to another one! I should have known it was going to be a bad experience judging by the long line I waited in just to gain entrance, why was there not another table set up? JEEZ. If you’re expecting 1000+ people, please have more than just one table set up for entrance.
And that was just the beginning, when I got in with my boyfriend we weren’t even sure what was going on. We saw people with cartons and asked them where they got them from and they said they were out. WTF? It was just NOON. At least have a table for utensils, supplies, etc. and monitor it so there wouldn’t be greedy people with 10 cartons or more.
So we went around and asked people how this whole crawfish boil worked and found out it was basically a free for all. The crawfish was dumped into the table and people have to scavenge and fight for it and if you weren’t at the front of the table, good luck getting any. And even if you were at the front you get a measly portion because people were FREAKING CRAZY. I felt like a savage, and I’m sure everyone else did too. All you can eat my ass, more like all you can eat if you get any! A couple told us they were there at 10am and didnt even get any crawfish yet and it was passed noon! However, in the late afternoon they stopped dumping them on the table and started lines… which they should have done from the get go!
On top of the chaotic disorganization, the crawfish was BLAND. It was just old bay seasoning, nothing more. I prefer going to a crawfish joint, where I’m guaranteed seating, water, and the crawfish I pay for! And delicious crawfish too, not just salt and pepper. Plus, the crawfish was gunky. Yuck.
O yea, they ran out of water for people to wash their hands with after using the porta-​potties. SMH.

Anyone who enjoys crawfish knows that eating them is a labor of love. The time-​consuming trouble of burning your fingers, cracking shells, squeezing that itty bitty bit of tail meat out and trying to avoid the «poo» vein all at the same time are only things you’d subject yourself to when you love the end result, which I do.
BUT when you add to all those things
— Standing in line for half an hour to get into the caution-​taped rectangle of grass
— Standing in line AGAIN for the world’s driest corn bread, undercooked rice and beans with weird sausage
— Hovering at a table for 30 minutes only to have the one crawfish you managed to grabsnatched away by some crazed (probably hunger induced) man
— Nearly being trampled in the frenzied chaos
— Being told by the event workers, «It’s not our fault. It’s the other people’s fault for being greedy. No more refunds.»
…makes this the type of love I can do without.
Can I just say, for the event workers to be audacious enough to say, «There’s plenty of food left. It’s not our fault; you should be self-​policing,» is completely ridiculous. Guess what? The food is there but it’s uncooked and I didn’t pay the «greedy» attendees $ 25, I paid YOU so it’s YOUR responsibility to feed me and provide an organized environment to do so. And, yes, while you attempted to rectify the situation by setting up ‘lines’ it was too little too late because I’d already been there 3 hours with my stomach still growling.
Thank goodness for the naked bicyclists that paraded by – distracted us from the hunger just long enough so we could decide to leave.

It’s hard to blame the organizers here because it really was the crowd the made this event so bad. They were accommodating and friendly, but definitely not prepared for the crowds. They were also nice enough to refund my money, but for what it’s worth I didn’t eat anything.
This event kinda reminds me of when you go to pick your luggage up at the baggage claim. If everyone just took two steps back and let the carousel go around, everyone could grab their bag no problem. Instead people crowd around the carousel so you have to fight your way in to get it when you see it.
If people just relaxed and trusted the organizers to have enough food, they wouldn’t need to act like starved animals fighting over a scrap of meat.
I won’t be back next year, and it’s a shame because the concept of this event is so great. It really just needs to be executed better.
I like the idea of dumping the crawfish out for people to eat, but maybe they should enclose them in tents and let only a certain amount of people at a time in each tent. Once they’ve eaten, time to get out and let another group in. Not sure how successful that would be, just an idea.

Imagine how the crawfish felt when you first dump them into the boiling pot… MASS CHAOS!, which exactly described the mood of this event.
I had my 2^nd experience this year at Crawfish Boil. I like what they’re TRYING to do… with the good food, good vibe– but it was a bit chaotic and disorganized in the beginning. handling a mass of 1000 ppl can be crazy.
They promoted the free beer first hour, so everyone got there super early. Too bad the lines were an hour long before entrance. First dump was around noonish– not that bad. By 1 pm, the majority of the crowd came in, and it was getting real crazy real fast.
You put a SUPER hungry crowd + drunkness from free beer + late crawfish dumping + expensive tickets + crawfish coming out every HOUR (but gone in 10 secs) = a lot of pushing shoving, hoarding, chaotic scenes reminding me as if this was this last day on earth and people are fighting for food or something.
and then the organizers got pissed off and started yelling at people, cussing at the customers. EHHHHHHHHH total mood kill. Then the people started shoving and pushing till the tables were falling over, food falling over, shoving kids, shoving old ladies. People were holding plastic bags, then organizers yelling at ppl holding plastic bags and threaten to kick them out if they used one. what is this chinatown gone mad?
if i’m gonna pay $ 35 at a door… i really hope i dont have to push and FIGHT for food. I just hope that they organized it a little better by ordering more POTS ., maybe even hiring security. have that line system but more ppl just serving so it’ll go faster. Then possibly enforcing the tight rules of – only getting served with plates, NO bags allowed or something (b/​c i honestly think the crowd didn’t know, and it wasn’t fair to get YELLED at for bringing one). oh gezes.
yea overall, i think i had a better time last year considering it wasn’t as hectic and chaotic. i left early this year bc i didn’t feel like dealing with a drunk hungry crowd.
i actually came back at the very end. The pots were all boiling and they were handing crawfish out in BUCKETS to folks who came up with a cardboard box. lol. yup, no more plates, no more ghettoness. they just gave them away by pounds! even folks who were walking by without tickets got free crawfish. lol! obviously they had too much left overs, and no enough ppl to eat it. i wouldn’t be surprised if they actually had to dump some out cause there were too many.
BOILING CRAB IN SJ ANYONE?!