That's what many a crawfish lover is apt to say this time of the year. The peak of the season for crawfish runs from roughly January to June. In recent years, many homesick Louisianans (and those who just crave some Cajun) have turned to crawfish purveyors who can ship the crustacean overnight -- with ice packs to keep them alive -- all across the country. Lisa Boyd of Crawfish Co. of Central Florida, which works directly with a New Orleans crawfisherman, says that 85% of her business consists of "displaced Cajuns." And her business has grown by about 20,000 pounds annually, reaching a high of 86,000 pounds last year.

To find out if these almost-mini-lobsters -- "mudbugs", the locals call them -- could manage the journey from the bayou to our front door, we placed orders for live crawfish (which varied from 15 pounds to 50 pounds, depending on the companies' minimums) with five vendors and enlisted two former Louisiana residents to help us with the boiling and the judging.

Crawfish is very much a seasonal product -- that is, the size, quality and price can vary week to week, even with the same vendor -- but we looked for a couple of constants: how lively our crawfish were upon arrival (a mudbug that goes into the pot dead is inedible) and how good was the accompanying boil mix, a seafood-friendly blending of spices that usually includes more than a pinch of cayenne.

The Spice of Life

Crawfish boils are as much about the spice as the crawfish meat, especially since there's so little of the latter to be had: The claws are generally too small to yield anything of note, so you're left picking apart the tail to get at what's edible. Fanatics are known to suck all the spice-flavored innards from the head as a bonus, but, understandably, not everyone partakes in that tradition.

In the case of Mr. Mudbug, our 50-pound shipment cost $250 but arrived without the promised boil mix. We relied on a supermarket-brand boil mix to give the crawfish a flavor boost. Our 15-pound order from Louisiana Crawfish Co. had a great boil mix, but our $80 shipment arrived in sorry shape -- a sopping mess, to be exact. We might have been able to deal with the dripping cardboard box if it weren't for the fact that about a third of our crawfish arrived dead. Our 40-pound order from Crawfish Co. of Central Florida cost us $64, and for that we got slightly bigger, healthy crustaceans and a boil mix that bordered on the incendiary. One of our tasters, not a guy afraid of a little extra cayenne, yelled out "Too spicy!" when he bit into one tail.

Livecrawfish.com, on the other hand, had a boil mix that struck a better balance, and its 15-pound order, which cost $85, was the only one packaged in Styrofoam. This meant it arrived in terrific shape: The medium-size crawfish still had plenty of fight left in them, and shipping was included in the price, making it our Best Value.

But for Best Overall, we go with Bayou Bounty Seafood. The "select" bugs that came with our $99, 40-pound order were about twice as large as any of our other selections. "These are monsters!" exclaimed our other tester. Indeed, they were more like mini-lobsters than crawfish, meaning lots of tasty meat per critter, including from both tail and claws. We relished every last one.

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Bayou Bounty Seafood
"Select" Live Crawfish (40 lbs.), $89
985-785-1895
bayoubountyseafood.com

Quality: Best Overall. The largest crawfish we've ever seen -- and some of the tastiest. Boil mix was not too spicy, not too mild.

Shipping Cost/Time: We paid $152 for overnight Saturday delivery; our order arrived on the appointed day.

Return Policy: No formal policy; but company says they'll try to accommodate reasonable requests.

Phone/Web Experience: Our representative was a little flustered when taking the order, but got all the details correct.

Comment: Our cost was $89. Company also ships to airports (pick up package at cargo terminal), which would have saved us early $100.

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Livecrawfish.com
Party in a Sack for 4 (15 lbs.), $84.95
866-522-3663

Quality: Best Value. The "party" includes 15 lbs. of medium-size live crawfish, plus a decent boil mix.

Shipping Cost/Time: On-time overnight shipping included in price; Saturday delivery adds $12.95.

Return Policy: If not satisfied, notify company for a refund.

Phone/Web Experience: We had to leave a message to place our order, but got a call back in a few minutes.

Comment: Company sells a $300 package that includes 30 lbs. of live crawfish, plus a 60-quart pot and a propane burner.

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Crawfish Co. of Central Florida
Live Crawfish (40 lbs.), $60
866-384-9211
crawfishcoofcentralflainc.com

Quality: Medium-large crawfish come with extra-spicy boil mix (for an additional $8), but some may prefer it that way.

Shipping Cost/Time: It cost us $127 for overnight Saturday delivery; our order arrived on appointed day.

Return Policy: No specific policy, but company says they want satisfied customers.

Phone/Web Experience: Site is simple, if a bit bare-bones. Also available: shrimps, crabs and alligator meat.

Comment: When we placed our order during the peak Easter period, we paid $88 for the same 40 lbs.

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Louisiana Crawfish Co.
15-lb. Small Party Pack, $74.95
888-522-7292
lacrawfish.com

Quality: Box was leaking; about a third of crawfish came dead. Included bibs, boil mix with extra spices -- even Mardi Gras beads.

Shipping Cost/Time: On-time overnight shipping included in price; Saturday delivery adds $18.

Return Policy: Company says satisfaction guaranteed or your money back.

Phone/Web Experience: Helpful representative suggested we "hose 'em off with some fresh water" to get all the mud out.

Comment: We paid $80. Company apologized for the mess: The crawfish apparently weren't properly drained before shipping.

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Mr. Mudbug
Live Crawfish (50 lbs), $200 to $300
504-465-9770
mrmudbug.com

Quality: Medium-size crawfish were fine, but company failed to include the promised boil mix.

Shipping Cost/Time: On-time overnight Saturday delivery cost us $215 extra, but shipping is now included.

Return Policy: Company guarantees only packaging, directing other complaints to the courier.

Phone/Web Experience: Company didn't seem to have a handle on taking phone orders. They couldn't tell us shipping rates in advance.

Comment: Company apologized for missing boil mix and was unable to specify a price for future orders. We had paid $250 for our batch.