LSU Alumni Crawfish Boil

There are SO many amazing festivals and outdoor food events in San Diego, especially during the summer but I can crabs down say that this is definitely one I need to mark on my calendar annually.
My friends have been going for years, and I recently finally got to experience the San Diego phenomenon that is the LSU Crawfish Boil.
Didn’t go to LSU? No problem. Most people at this event including all my friends didn’t attend college there. This event is about having a day long picnic with your friends in a family friendly environment… and 50 pounds of crawfish to share. That’s literally hundreds of little creatures that you and your nine friends will not even come close to finishing… but before the crawfish comes out around 1:30pm, you spend about two hours drinking the unlimited free tap beer served at multiple locations at the festival and you also eat all the snacks and food that you and your friends/​family bring.
They had a special LSU brew as well as sunny-​day-​friendly pours like Bud Light so that you don’t get drunk.*
Pro tips:
–Arrive before the 11am start time to wait in line
–Bring gloves (thank u Lisa W) to peel and eat the crawfish or else you will regret it for days afterward
–Bring empty plastic pitchers that you can fill with the free beer! Then you don’t have to keep going back in line and you can keep the pitchers at your table. Also, they start charging you $ 3 a cup after 2pm.
–Infused fruit bites are the way to go (thank u Jazmin S!) as well as other finger foods and snacks
–Bring your own paper plates and utensils for a less messy experience. And wet wipes! Each table comes with a big roll of paper towels.
–If you wanna feel more festive, dress up in LSU colors — purple and gold
–Each table is for ten people so get your friends together so you can buy a table together. Otherwise you will end up with strangers at the table. Which is still fun but more fun if it is your own crew.
–Event sells out very fast!
*Chip crushers unite!

If you have a Sunday to spare for good times and great live music and some of the best crawfish (at least that I have ever had) make a point to go to this with about 20 of your friends… at least! We had such a blast and ate and drank until our bellies were full. What a great event for the alum to put on, but even better that they allow outsiders! We now plan on going to this every year!

What a great event, I’ve been coming here for a few years and I always have a blast.
This event is HUGE… looks like we have a lot of LSU fans in San Diego and this makes this event even more festive and authentic.
Over the years tickets prices have been increasing but that’s ok with the quality of event this is truly gonna be a hidden event gem. I remember paying $ 60 in 2014 now in 2015 it was $ 65 and trust me it’s ok, you get plenty of booze and music that will make you want to remember your college years.
This event is Hosted by the LSU Alumni association and you need to purchase a table to get to the needy greedy or else you will be paired up with strangers. Each table has 10 seats and gets 1 giant 50lb box of crawfish and you get to drink all the beer you want till 2pm.
Don’t bring water, Ice or sodas as they are included, but please do bring as many munchies as possible because the crawfish won’t be available for pickup until 1:30 so you need to carb up or else you will get shit faced like DAN…
Do bring a canopy, munchies, sunscreen, latex gloves, games, pitcher for beer and fruit.
Many other food vendors are available to purchase food or different items like Beignets, Ice cream and T shirts so make sure you bring cash.

I’d heard of the Crawfish Boil, but never had a chance to go because I was always working that weekend. This time, one of the companies that I work for has the contract, so I got paid to work it.
I’m not a seafood fan, but there was lots of crawfish, and the music was great! Maybe I can get scheduled again for next year.
And I forgot to add: For all of those people that were dumb enough to leave their Smartphones in the porta potty when they used it, I sure hope you learned your lesson about leaving your phones out. I had people continually coming up to me asking if someone had turned in a phone. I had one phone turned into me, and it was returned to it’s rightful owner, and I didn’t hear about any others being turned in.
Maybe next time will be different.

I died and went to crawfish heaven! Maybe not literally crawfish heaven because those critters will pay back in the after life for eating so many of them… There were sooooo many crawfish… Everywhere!
Here’s the overview: when ticket sales first come out, coordinate with a group of 10 people and buy a table. It’s a fun event! It’s just like a tailgate. You come and bring a shit ton of food and sneak in hard alcohol and get stupid wasted waiting for the crawfish while also snacking on a bunch of other things (salad, cookies, cupcakes, pastry, alcohol, chips, etc). Get all the free beers that you can until they start charging (and save all the free beers you can). Then when the 50lbs of crawfish to come out at 1:30pm you’re too f’ed up to even eat it… You’ll eat 1 – 2 lbs and give up because you’re too damn drunk to keep peeling it since it’s so unrewarding for a tiny piece of meat… But it’s fun because it’s like a drinking parking and cracking on some peanuts.
Come prepared! How do you prepare for a crawfish boil??? You are asking the queen of freaking out. I will list a bunch of things and what is a must have.
–A canopy (only 1 person should bring this)
–Hard alcohol (sneak it in somehow)
–A pitcher or empty gallon of water container (get all the free beer and pour it in here then keep it in a ice chest to keep it cold and when they stop serving beer, BAM! you have 3 saved gallons!)
–Latex gloves (not cheap plastic ones, latex gloves will help not get that nasty crawfish smell in your nails!)
–Hat, sunscreen, sunglasses (keep away from he hot sun)
–Snacks (chips, bread, salad, veggies, cheese, sweets)
–GUM or MINTS for afterwards
–Cooler, bags, ice
–Hand wipes (get a big box of moist towelettes at Walmart)
–Change of clothes for those messy eaters
Tip:
–Don’t dump out the crawfish on the table, you want that juice and Cajun spice to soak in the crawfish, corn and potato. Also it’s easier when you have left overs to bring home.
You won’t be eating all the crawfish… We had about 15lbs left over and took it home. The next day we sat and peeled it all and got there tail meat… 15lbs ended up to 1 – 2 lbs of tails. I know so unrewarding but so good… We froze it and will be eating it later. We saw so much crawfish waste on everybody’s table… I wish I could have taken it all home… Best anything event ever.
**oh yeah, everybody was wearing purple for some reason. And I don’t know what «Lsu» crawfish is but they were delicious. Maybe a type of crawfish… KIDDING! It was created by a Louisiana State U alumni. Their color is purple and their mascot is the Tigers. Brilliant man! Thank you for bringing LA to us! Totally worth the experience and money.

If you have a chance to geaux, then check out this good times event, which has been going on strong and growing in popularity since 1988. Can you believe that 2013 was the silver anniversary?
Roll call and shoutouts to the party people at Table D-​23:
Danimal D. UYE orchestrator. Chri$tma$ in May. Strizzo threads ftw.
Diego V. Beer. Beer. Beer. And fruit snacks. Beer.
Estefany B. This IS fun!
Heihachiro K. Belated congrats on yer shiny Elite ’15 badge. Always cool to meet new peoples.
Jazmin S. So many snacks! Best team mom evarr.
Larry aka Santee. Bringing this year’s canopy was key.
Lisa W. Making crawfish ceviche is a labor of love.
Peijean T. #chipcrusher
Maricela H. Thanks for the carpool ;) & bringing yummy fruit salad.
Surprise table visits from awesome possums: Andrea V, Brad B, Chris B, and Tony C. Hai guise! Always grrreat to see y’all :)
Popped my cherry on this festive annual gathering, held at the Jack Murphy Stadium practice field by parking lot section J5. It’s a brief stroll from the trolley stop, with plenty of free parking by the event. Figure out a ride since there are designated drinkers all around. Hosted beer 11am-​2pm for those of age included with admission (then $ 3/​beers 2pm-​4pm). Not into beer? Never fear. Included with admission are water bottles to keep you hydrated and refreshing soda pops (as handy mixers for that liquor you may or may not have smuggled in). I heard the bag and cooler security checks at the entrance were much stricter in years past, but this time it seems that they were mainly concerned with keeping out glass containers, obvious outside booze, or other contraband, and making sure the general admission Disneyland line extending from J5 through J4 kept moving along through the gates.
Thanks to security for keeping it professional and thanks to the many seasoned alchies and not being that amateur by ruining it for next year. I only heard of one booze fueled incident near the south tent city area, which was quickly contained.
This year’s cheers for beers from :
Gator by the Bay | Bengal Blond Ale
Red Hook | Audible Ale
Red Hook | Long Hammer IPA
Anheuser-​Busch | Bud Light
More lines to stand in, but volunteers at the beer stands kept it moving along nicely. Having conversations with happy people in line for beer ain’t so bad either. I did get carded, once. Double-​fisting is encouraged. Not the volunteers, but rather ordering two beers at a time. Beer tip: an icy cooler of empty pitchers plus some teamwork equals reserves after the hosted time ends.
A 50lb heavy duty Dexter-​quality plastic bag of well seasoned crawfish cooked to perfection served with smaller bags of fork tender potatoes and sweet sweet corn. It’s plenty to feed each table of 10 seats. I dunno how many tables total this year, but that’s roughly a record noteworthy gazillion mudbugs for consumption. I did get kinda quiet at some point, harvesting little crawtails and chowing down. Experienced food fans will remember to keep the flavors in the bag instead of dumping everything all over the newspaper lined table. Food tip: bring bread to sop up that spicy, brothy goodness. Thumbs up to the Asian family tables next to us that tore through their share with sweatshop efficiency.
The feasting doesn’t begin immediately, but until 1pm there’s enough going on before the main dish arrives. Hanging out with friends & family, indulging in snacks that you either brought it, or picked up from the vendors, enjoying the festive zydeco bands on stage, and lots of colorful characters wandering about. I noticed a lot of happy families in attendance.
Is it worth getting a Tiger Tent table? If it’s in the budget, then go for it! We did not, but you might be willing and able to pony up for perks like:
— a shorter separate entrance line
— not having to lug around a separate canopy shade
— 50lb crawfish box table delivered via golf cart
— available separate potty
These items were not issues for us and a majority of attendants.
Cheers to the LSU Alumni Association, event organizers, sponsors, vendors, entertainers, and volunteers for making this such an enjoyable event. It’s never too soon to start planning your next party crew and reserving a table or two before tickets sell out again because it’s so much fun.

Another year and another awesome event. Correction, EPIC! Another EPIC event. Things went even smoother this time around. A lot of it has to do with the people you bring so make sure you get a good group together. We sure did and it made all the difference. We’ve definitely found our crew for this one.
For the overview, all the do’s/dont’s and little notes in between, check my previous review. I don’t feel like typing or copying/​pasting that all over again.
This year the beer stations seemed to move faster and the selection of beer was better. Still not going to find any real «craft» beer here but they did have a couple of ambers and IPAs added to the list this year Pair that with your table’s 50lbs. of Crawfish mixed with corn on the cob and potatoes and you are good to go. We also indulged in some of the beignets that were being sold as which were pretty good. Not gourmet quality but enough to hit the spot, especially when warm.
The line seemed to move quicker this year but that could just be me. Honestly, staff had it pretty together this year, security checks went smoothly and it really made it easy to get the party going.
Bring the necessary supplies canopy, sunscreen, pitches, gloves, wipes, chips, bread, snacks/​whatever and you will be guaranteed to have a blast. If your group can actually kill that 50lbs. of crawfish, you should be proud.
At $ 60-​$ 80 a ticket, a lot of people will dodge out on you when you want to reserve a table. Go ahead and let them. Save those tickets for the people who really want to be here because it’s worth it! It’s one of the most underrated annual events in SD.

Fun event. However the crawfish itself was a little disappointing. Granted I can imagine the problems faced when boiling thousands of lbs of crawfish to feed an army, but I’ve had better crawfish at the Long Beach crawfish festival, but not as much fun with the activities there. If your in a big group the LSU event is definitely worth it. For a couple check out the long beach crawfish festival.

LSU Crawfish Boil 2014!!!
Yep the $ 60 ticket was sooo worth it!
Honestly when The Danimal invited me to this thingy I didn’t think it would be as much fun as it was! Thanks Danimal that’s why you are my favorite!
I ate and drank until the button on my jean shorts popped. I’m not even embarrassed to admit it.
I was impressed with how many people were there and how smoothly everything went. Lines were not long. Parking was a breeze, checking of the ice chests, bags etc etc was super fast. Lines for beer were fast and efficient. Porter Potty lines were not even a thing and they were surprisingly clean.
They also have water, canned sodas and iced teas.
Here are some things you might find helpful to bring when attending this epic event:
–canopy
–coolers with lots of ice
–sunscreen
–wet wipes
–fruity or scent of your choice hand sanitizer for after the eating
–snacks
–plastic pitchers (to save the beer)
–newspapers
–scotch tape
–stretchy pants
–your favorite people
–bread for soaking up the juices
–butter for the corn and potatoes (I prefer it with lots of butter because I’m a fatty)
–Christmas (inside joke ;)
Great Times!

LSU 2014 Crawfish Boil… Fun with a capital F! Buy your tickets in advance because this will sell out! It takes place on the old practice field at Qualcomm.
It definitely helped that I went with a few veterans of this event. Bring snacks because the food is served around 1pm and gates open at 11am. We arrived around 10:30 and had no problems with parking. The line to get in didn’t take long at all either. They do search ice chests/​bags, but even then it’s quick.
This is what $ 60 will get you… Where do I start… oh yeah… free beer until 2pm then it’s only $ 2. They had a few good choices such as the blonde, IPA, Pale Ale and of course Bud Light. Lines for beer and bathrooms weren’t ever long either! Great Cajun music, more crawfish than you can imagine eating, potatoes, corn, a table full of you and 9 of your fun friends (some new). Best to buy tickets in groups of 10 so you can all sit together. Just a good time to be had by all! Be safe and take an Über or bring a friend who can be DD.
Things to bring: wet wipes (things get dirty), snacks, sunscreen, a hat, wear clothes you won’t mind getting dirty, a cooler with ice, canopy (must have for your table), plastic pitchers… you’ll see why…
Sit back, relax with your friends and have an awesome time New Orleans style!

One of the great to do’s in the city, alongside Padres Opening Day, Rock N’ Roll Marathon, and Fleet Week.
Tickets are $ 65 a person and you’ll be seated with randoms at a table (don’t be scurred, the people are truly part of the swag of this event) or it’s $ 600 for a reserved table for 10. The boil takes place in the heat of the summer so it’s nice if you’re able to bring a pop up canopy to shade you from the rays. Pro tip: bring steamed rice and hot sauce to dip the tails in, trust me you’ll be a boss. Free beer for the first couple hours, then craft beer for sale in tents around the main seating as well as beignets and other n’awlins lovelies so bring your cash. The crawfish comes filled in cardboard boxes and is plenty for everyone near, while the saints come marching in on the main stage. All music to the tastebuds and ears.
You’ll be buzzed, full, and need a shower.
May 25^th 2014 is the 26^th. See you there?!?

myPley:
Brad said everything I wanted to say and more.
So I will be terse; If you have not been to this event yet and you do not make an indefatigable effort to attend this event, you will miss out on what heaven on earth feels like.
This is one experience that you will remember for the rest of your life. See you at the one this year!

This event was sure fun. The tables were covered in paper, the crawfish were spicy and the beer was flowing! We left full, tipsy and happy.
One star down for the cost…$ 75 bucks per person for the tiger tent.

Nice to have the chance to experience one of SD’s little known fun events… that I had never even heard of before.
This even was HUGE… located on the Bolt’s practice field at the Q… this event is like a Nawlin’s down home party. Free beer… more crawfish/​potatoes/​corn than your table will eat most likely… and everyone just seems to be in a good mood. You don’t have to have gone to LSU to go. just grab 9 friends and buy a table… some expert tips that will make your day more enjoyable:
* Don’t haul in water like I did… it is free at the event as well
* Beer is free the first 2 – 3 hours (they extended it an hour for the day I went) so what the pros do is bring empty pitchers and fill them up during that time… then the last couple of non-​free beer hours they are properly stocked!
* Ice… for the stolen… errrr… I mean saved up beer
* Canopy/Tent…this is the most important thing to bring unless you get a VIP (not really worth it) table… the sun was out in full effect that day
* Tape to keep the paper on the table down… though after you get your box of crawfish it isn’t as important
* Latex Gloves… some people swear by this… but in reality if you have enough lemony wet naps you’ll be fine… party of the fun is getting dirty right!
* Napkins/​Towels (please see above)
* Snacks… again some people swear to have something else to fill your belly such as bread (to soak up the sauces) or other stuff… I didn’t eat anything else… and there are places serving ice cream and other things is you need it
* Sunglasses… not as much for the sun as for the other views
* Games… i.e. football to toss around, flip cup table, corn hole, etc.
Plenty of beer/​food/​toilets/​space/​fun to be had here… it is definitely on my list of events to go back to again!

Another year in the books and it was a record breaker! If I told you that this is the biggest crawfish boil in the world, would you believe me? Well, you better because it is true according to the Guinness Book!
This year marked the 25^th anniversary for this event yet nobody seems to know about it… besides the 4,000+ people in attendance. It really is San Diego’s best kept secret and doesn’t appear in online event calendars or anything like that. It doesn’t get press coverage and it is an event exclusively for those who are «in the know.»
The «Tiger Tents» this year were a great addition and totally eliminated the long beer and bathroom lines for the entire event. I really liked not having to bring a canopy since the shade was already provided with the tent, and all we had to deal with was a disposable cooler.
Things that you must bring for a more pleasurable experience:
— pop-​up canopy
— cooler with ice
— masking tape for the newspaper
— rubber gloves (trust me!)
— snacks (we bring fresh fruit to cut the salt of the crawfish)
— bread (soak up the juice)
— sunscreen
— a pitcher (for when the beer isn’t free anymore)
— a football, bean bags or some other kind of activity
— beads ;)
Keep an eye on the website and make sure to pick up a ticket early for next year!

LSU alumuni gathering? Not for me! But I was there for the awesome vibe, great company, all you can drink booze, and 50 LBS OF CRAWFISH!
That was my first time to the Qualcomm stadium, good choice of venue as it’s close to all major freeways in San Diego. Lots of tables set up in an open space area, some people have «tiger tents» so they are always in the shades.
To all of you that don’t want a sunburn:
Please bring a canopy if your table is not one of those tiger tents, and don’t forget some SPF 861 892 871 sunscreen because it’s in THE SUN for a few hours.
To all sticklers for cleanliness:
A. Bring some antibacterial wet wipes because they have portable potties only. You will use them many times because of the all you can drink beer!
B. Bring plastic or latex gloves for eating crawfish with your hands for 2 reasons. You can’t wash your hands at the poratable potties after your #1 #2, and your fingers can smell like crawfish for the rest of the day if you suck their heads without gloves.
Did I forget to mention the live music?
I had a blast!

Drink some beer, dance, suck the head… don’t forget to have a good time!

Who knew you could have so much fun without the cops being called?
This is my second year going back and I’m already looking forward to next year.
This is pretty much one of San Diego’s best kept secrets. If you were not invited by a friend or through word of mouth, there is no way you would know since they do not advertise.
Luckily my friend Chris is a seasoned veteran and brings everything you may need to make the experience better. You will for sure need extra paper towels (they do provide some for you) and some gloves to keep your hands from getting raw.
Your day will start about 11am when the doors open and your let in to find your table.
You set up your table and then… well… you drink! Beer is included (untill 3pm when you have to start paying), you have your choice between Shocktop or Bud Light. The critters don’t come out till 1pm. Time to get your buzz on.
Soon enough, the bands are playing and a person comes and dumps 50 pounds of Crawfish on your table. Time to dig into these little lobsters, that comes with potato’s and corn on the cob.
Once you have had your fill, its time to go dance, people watch, visit the vendors, or frolic in the sun.
Either way, you will have a blast.

The ‘first to review’ by Susan C. pretty much summarizes what you get for $ 50 bucks. That is if you’re lucky to get your hands on tickets since they sold all 3,000 tickets to this annual event in 45 minutes a few months prior to this big feast of a party.
I was a crawfish virgin, never had the creepy crawlers but was down to take a crack at it at the Crawfish Boil. I have to admit, I was excited to try the stuff!
When we arrived, the line to get through security took about twenty minutes since they had to check for booze or glass containers that are not allowed on the field. It looked like every other person in line were returning crawfish boil attendees since they had canopies and big coolers in tow (some even brought empty plastic pitchers for the beer fest). By the time we got in, it was all you can drink beer from 11:00 to 2:00 ($ 2 bucks thereafter until the party ended at 5:00), the Kona Longboard was my choice for the afternoon.
They don’t give you the crawfish right away, you load up on beer and other bring-​your-​own appetizers you want to munch on. I was on the hungry side, so I opted to get a $ 10 combo plate of jambalaya and three hush puppies at the Gulf Coast Grille booth to hold me over to the two and a half hour wait time before it was chow time.
The crawfish was yummy! I don’t know how much of it I ate, the beer I was sipping on between bites made me not care. The corn on the cob and potatoes that was in our 50 pound box (of nine tons of crawfish boiled for this event) were good side dishes.
I hope to return next year, but will be sure to gear up with a bring-​your-​own canopy to put over our table so you don’t end up with a farmer tan like yours truly.
It was an overall good time and a fun $ 50 bucks worthy way to enjoy the long weekend. You basically come hungry, leave happy and enjoy the afternoon nap you’ll need by the time you make it home! You’ll have fun with all the people watching you’ll catch yourself doing, the attendees really get into it. I sorta felt like I was in the South during Mardi Gras with the live band playing some festive, Creole music. Good times!

Every year in May, the LSU Alumni Association of San Diego puts on a Crawfish Boil at the Qualcomm Stadium practice field, drawing about 2000 drunkards and 10 000 pounds of crawfish. I’ve been two times now and love it. You get 50 pounds of crawfish per table that seats 10. Unlimited beer, water, soda, and sun also included for a ticket price of $ 50.
There’s usually a cajun band and lots of friendly drunk people in funny hats and beads. You can also watch the actual boiling of the crawfish from a distance — some lady next to me told me that if you’re close enough you can hear their tiny little screams. I try not to think about it when I’m shoving their carcasses in my mouth.