From Smiley Anders today in the Baton Rouge Advocate:

Dear Smiley: You recently ran a story about a guy who went to a restaurant in Cleveland and saw crawfish on the menu for $13.99 a pound. I can top that.

I am originally from Fordoche. After I graduated from Northwestern in Natchitoches, I worked for two years as a national consultant for Sigma Nu fraternity. My travels took me to 73 universities across the country.

One year I spent Mardi Gras at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. One of the alumni owned a popular bar and grill, and upon finding that I was from Louisiana invited me to a Mardi Gras party.

He told me they would be serving boiled crawfish flown up from Louisiana as well as jambalaya, so I eagerly accepted.

When I got to the restaurant I went directly for the food, as I was feeling the ill effects of having to eat Midwestern food for some time.

When I got to the front of the line, I told the lady serving that I wanted some crawfish.

She asked politely, "How many?"

Imagine the look on my face when she told me they were selling them three for a dollar!

I didn't know what to say. I remember stuttering out "Nine." I didn't eat any of them, but instead peeled them and gave them to the Nebraska guys I had brought along.

Jeremy Lacombe

Houston

The last live crawfish we bought were $1 a pound. Some of the largest ever seen here were six to a pound.