Who's your crawdaddy! May 10, 2010 11:34 AM   Subscribe

Brooklyn Crawfish boil, ahoy! Mefite soma lkzx is hosting a crawfish boil and BBQ to raise awareness of his new venture, The Brooklyn Brainery. If you're interested in the Brainery, great! If not, just hang out and eat megatons of crawfishies.

Since lots of Mefites are already members of the Brooklyn Brainery and/or fans of the art of BBQ, I figured I should spread the word. If you're interested in taking classes at the Brainery, come learn about it! And if you have zero interest in BB but want to eat crawfish and hang out with other MeFites, come too!

Anyone planning on tearing open luscious astacoidea limb from limb, we'd appreciate a $5 to subsidize food costs. Otherwise, just bring your own dish. If you're feeling philanthropic, donate to the Brainery so they can teach more classes in a larger space.
posted by zoomorphic to MetaFilter Gatherings at 11:34 AM (72 comments total) 2 users marked this as a favorite

Sigh. Too close to finals. And I've always really wanted to try crawfish. Would anyone be so kind as eat way too many and miss work the next day in my name?
posted by griphus at 11:38 AM on May 10, 2010


DETAILS: The shindig is happening at LaunchPad, 721 Franklin Ave, this Saturday. That's May 15th, 2-7pm. And BYOB, y'all.
posted by zoomorphic at 11:39 AM on May 10, 2010


as usual, I will be in another state working this weekend. have fun, all.
posted by shmegegge at 11:45 AM on May 10, 2010


I can't believe you're having this after your Louisiana friend has left NYC :(
posted by scrutiny at 11:48 AM on May 10, 2010


Oh yeah, how's the brainery thing working out anyway? An update would be awesome in case other cities are inspired to follow suit.

and it's crayfish people. cray-fish.
posted by Think_Long at 11:49 AM on May 10, 2010


...and I love soma and...

I'm really awfully glad I'm a Beta.
posted by griphus at 11:56 AM on May 10, 2010 [3 favorites]


BBQ Prequel: once Soma held a non-Mefi-related crab boil, but then poisoned himself with seafood the day prior and was more or less comatose when like 20 people showed up to Prospect Park hungry for crabs, so Greg Nog saved the day by taking over boiling duties and we all ate shittons of crabs and everyone was happy.
posted by zoomorphic at 11:57 AM on May 10, 2010


Sounds awesome + I have long neglected doing something with the Brooklyn Brainery. I will bring grilled portobello mushrooms and some gin.
posted by Damn That Television at 12:01 PM on May 10, 2010


I will help cook the crawdads if he would like assistance

SECRET FACT: I have never cooked cra[w/y][fish/dads], but I figure a huge-ass pot and a propane burner get me 70% of the way there. Aid 150% welcome.

Oh yeah, how's the brainery thing working out anyway? An update would be awesome in case other cities are inspired to follow suit.

It's going awesomely! We're just about to start our third semester, for which I plan on updating the blog for each and every class. I never thought I'd learn so much about perfume, oak trees and cow diaphragms at the same time.

We're trying to raise about a buncha money to move into our own space so we can have classes and workshops and the like all of the time, and craft/tool/supplies libraries and stuff, so we'll see what happens. If anyone wants details on how to do it in your own city just drop me a line!

everyone was happy.

I'm certain I was puking far too much to celebrate in Happiness.
posted by soma lkzx at 12:13 PM on May 10, 2010


...and to think i was JUST saying "you know what I haven't had in forever ...crawfish...."
posted by The Whelk at 12:21 PM on May 10, 2010


I'd just like to point out that this party has been planned for the exact same time and date as my birthday picnic so I hate zoomorphic because she's a bad person.
posted by Dormant Gorilla at 12:23 PM on May 10, 2010


And soma. I also hate soma.
posted by Dormant Gorilla at 12:28 PM on May 10, 2010


Despite the fact that I have crossed my heart to attend Dormant Gorilla's birthday party first and then head over to the craydaddy boil at around 4.
posted by zoomorphic at 12:28 PM on May 10, 2010


I will do my best to be there. Crash Blossoms too.
posted by functionequalsform at 12:31 PM on May 10, 2010


Yes, despite that fact.
posted by Dormant Gorilla at 12:31 PM on May 10, 2010


On a more important note: is it craydaddy, or crawdaddy? Nobody has ever been able to satisfactorily explain the difference to me.
posted by Dormant Gorilla at 12:31 PM on May 10, 2010


I think Dormant Gorilla's point is that this would be a lot cooler if it were the following weekend because I will be in town looking at a sublet to rent merely blocks away and I have cute crawdad catchin' boots to boot. But ya'll have fun now ya'hear
posted by Juicy Avenger at 12:32 PM on May 10, 2010


See? See! What she said.
posted by Dormant Gorilla at 12:34 PM on May 10, 2010


Crash Blossoms too.

Oh man, did she pick that username after all? Awesome!
posted by shmegegge at 12:55 PM on May 10, 2010 [1 favorite]


GAH! In the gunks that Saturday. I’m literally a half block away and have been curious about LaunchPad since they opened.
posted by edbles at 1:02 PM on May 10, 2010


Damn, I'm wishing it was the following weekend too...I've already promised friends that I'll meet them at the Ninth Avenue Food Festival that day.
posted by JaredSeth at 1:56 PM on May 10, 2010


dear formequalsfunction,

crash blossoms would like to remind you that she will be on the other side of the country fulfilling maid of honor duties buying glitter eyeshadow and wrangling a bride into several yards of brocade satin. crash blossoms would much rather boil things alive and then pull the legs off. or do you pull the legs off and then boil them? crash blossoms regrets that she will not be able to find out, and will instead be rendering opinions on color gradations of orchids.

saddily,

crash blossoms
posted by crash blossoms at 2:04 PM on May 10, 2010 [1 favorite]


you're supposed to boil everything alive, but if you have to wrangle the bride into several-yard lengths so she'll fit in the pot just make sure to do it quickly. brocade satin is acceptable but we use cajun seasoning where i'm from.
posted by soma lkzx at 2:13 PM on May 10, 2010 [3 favorites]


I can't be there. Sadness.
posted by ocherdraco at 2:13 PM on May 10, 2010


Schmegegge:

Yeah, she did that.
posted by functionequalsform at 2:15 PM on May 10, 2010 [1 favorite]


is it craydaddy, or crawdaddy?

NEITHER.

and pecan is not pronounced pee-can either.
posted by scrutiny at 4:59 PM on May 10, 2010


Aw, MAN. There's a Baltimore meetup this weekend and I'm hosting a Mefite at my house, otherwise, I would make the trek up there for this. I would kill for some crawfish.
posted by youcancallmeal at 6:21 PM on May 10, 2010


I would love to attend, but the aroma of boiling exoskeletons hanging in the air does nothing for me. Maybe if you guys migrate somewhere else after, and if you all wash your hands REALLY REALLY WELL, I will float through.
posted by hermitosis at 9:46 PM on May 10, 2010


Whoa whoa! This is four blocks from my place! I didn't know this place existed!

If I muster up the courage to attend my first meetup ever, I might find my way over there. Crawfish, huh? I might bring some mushrooms as well. Hmmmm.
posted by suedehead at 10:32 PM on May 10, 2010


I'm out of town this weekend :( it sounds amazing, have fun!!
posted by Salamandrous at 8:00 AM on May 11, 2010


Oh man. so jealous.

It's crawfish to people who actually eat them, but more accurately it's "bugs." As in: "I'ma go get me a sack of bugs for tonight, the neighbors are comin' over." "Bugs" being short for "mudbugs."

Your hint on cooking them (I assume you've purchased a boil packet. Double it. Add a whole onion):
Get water to a rolling ass boil. Toss in your taters. In about 5 minutes toss in your corn, on the cob, snapped in half.

After that, dump in your live bugs. You only want to eat ones that were alive before they hit the water. Wait for the water to return to a boil. If this takes more than about 3 minutes, you put too many bugs in too little water. That's ok though. Now boil for about 5-7 mins. If it took more than about 5 mins for the water to come to a boil, drop the cook time a minute or two. Now, and this is very important, remove from heat and dump in a metric assload of ice. The point here is to drop the temperature as quickly as possible so they'll stop cooking. You don't want it cold-cold, just maybe no more than about 110 degrees or so.

I like to let them soak a good 20 minutes, but I also add metric assloads of finely ground red pepper to my boil cuz I like it when they make my lips hurt.

So then you drain your oil and dump the whole mess out on newspaper. Fight over the corn, it's sooooo good all full of spice and yum. The potatoes are good too, but you can have mine.

Eat your bugs, make damn sure you suck the heads. I actually often eat mine in a weird way, I peel instead of snap because gosh I love that mustard and it lets me scrape it from their little carapace. It's sort of like crab mustard, but way better. If you're lucky, you've got bugs that are nice and fat.

Now, IDK what "a ton" of bugs is, but I'm not a big person but I can easily consume 7lbs by myself in a sitting. A sack is generally 30-40lbs, and that's usually considered enough for about 7-10 people. Real bug eaters will put a hurtin' on you though, 5-8 lbs is nothing.
posted by TomMelee at 8:33 AM on May 11, 2010 [2 favorites]


Get water to a rolling ass boil.

I'm sure these come out delicious but "ass boil" is not something I expected to see in cooking instructions.
posted by JaredSeth at 2:25 PM on May 11, 2010 [1 favorite]


I failed to hyphenate, apparently.

"Rolling-ass boil", wherein the "rolling-ass" describes the quality and tenacity of the boil. Ergo, the boil is "rolling-ass", not your "ass boil" is rolling.
posted by TomMelee at 4:27 PM on May 11, 2010


rollin, rollin, rollin, ass boils got you rollin rollin rollin rollin chapped ass...
lance it up, wipe it off, ass boooooiiiiillll
posted by jonmc at 5:29 PM on May 11, 2010


I might come. I'm still kind of a meet-up newbie (having only attending one in Queens), so be nice if I do.
posted by greta simone at 6:35 PM on May 11, 2010


Folks, when I was explaining to soma lkzx why so many of my friends are from MeFi, I talked up the NYC meetup crowd as eager and populous and cool, but so many of you are bailing.

Sniff.
posted by zoomorphic at 7:52 PM on May 11, 2010


SOME OF US HAVE JOBS WHICH ARE GONNA GET REALLY BUSY THIS WEEK.

I am still semi-free this weekend
posted by The Whelk at 8:04 PM on May 11, 2010


Durn. Meeting the nephews at the Museum of Natural History.
posted by vrakatar at 1:22 AM on May 12, 2010


For those of us that are in, can we agree upon a MeFite "show up time?" 2 - 7 pm is a long span of time... and knowing me, I'll show up at like 5 only to find out that everyone left at 4.

(Standing around —alone— with a plate of bugs could be weird. Especially since it'll be a MeFite/civilian mix, and you can't tell who's who.)

Thoughts?
posted by functionequalsform at 7:53 AM on May 12, 2010


but so many of you are bailing.

this is your cue to move it to the following weekend!
posted by shmegegge at 8:45 AM on May 12, 2010


I am thinking that I will be there @ 3. Function=Form/Greg Nog/whoever else, is this a reasonable Meta "show up time?"
posted by Damn That Television at 9:17 AM on May 12, 2010


Yes? Form=function may only be "formerly functioning" at that point, due to an impending hangover. But 3 sounds about right.
posted by functionequalsform at 9:27 AM on May 12, 2010


I'll be there at 3:30 because I'm apparently needed to help with behind-the-scenes activities.

this is your cue to move it to the following weekend!

Unfortunately, the fundraiser aspect of the boil means that we need to boost interest in the Brooklyn Brainery with enough time to get donations for the new space! Kickstarter puts each project on a strict time line, so if it doesn't make the necessary amount in the allotted time frame, BB gets zero of the donations promised.
posted by zoomorphic at 9:42 AM on May 12, 2010


Unfortunately, the fundraiser aspect of the boil means that we need to boost interest in the Brooklyn Brainery with enough time to get donations for the new space

Blah blah blah blah. The important thing is that the crawfish are showing up at my door on Friday afternoon and are impatient about being cooked! It would be staggeringly impolite to make them wait.

I'll make sure to not let them get too ravaged before MeFite O'Clock. You'll have to use the secret handshake to unlock access to the crustacean pot.
posted by soma lkzx at 10:46 AM on May 12, 2010


Or, I mean, we could do the ol' trick of wandering around mumbling "mathowie mathowie friend friend metafilter friend mathowie," but we (or I) already have the reputation for being a little.. you know... special.
posted by functionequalsform at 12:49 PM on May 12, 2010


"Is this the official Cory Doctorow fanclub meetup?"
posted by griphus at 1:21 PM on May 12, 2010 [1 favorite]


For anyone full of fear who wants to pretend we're best friends or anything, I'll be the one guarding the mudbug pit. "SOMA LKZX" you will say, and we can have a laugh about your valiant attempt to pronounce lkzx, and then we can eat Greg Nog's potato salad.
posted by soma lkzx at 1:35 PM on May 12, 2010


"soma something something" they will say!
posted by shmegegge at 1:40 PM on May 12, 2010


I'll be the one with the tequila who is yelling
posted by Damn That Television at 1:50 PM on May 12, 2010


I got the weekend wrong. I will definitely be attending.
posted by edbles at 8:39 AM on May 13, 2010


I definitely want to be around for this. Assume I'll be there and prepare accordingly.
posted by fuq at 7:58 AM on May 14, 2010


I think I can make this.
posted by brujita at 8:23 AM on May 14, 2010


Also, the ghost of Optimus Chyme will be making an appearance, wreathed in bedsheets and rattling his chains.
posted by zoomorphic at 1:07 PM on May 14, 2010


This shindig got listed in nonsense, that is some solid PR work
posted by Damn That Television at 1:57 PM on May 14, 2010


I don;t have an event this saturday! it's next saturday!
posted by The Whelk at 2:19 PM on May 14, 2010


there is now a room of my apartment dedicated to The Clawed Ones. smells like writhing, chilly exoskeleton.
posted by soma lkzx at 3:27 PM on May 14, 2010


Yes. Yes. Quite.
posted by thejoshu at 9:55 PM on May 14, 2010


Sometimes it's fun to be soma lkzx's roommate, and sometimes you sleepily walk into the mudroom at 8AM to get cat food and nearly fall into a vat of iced crawfish.
posted by zoomorphic at 5:17 AM on May 15, 2010


Wish I could come! Next time, seriously. I love me some seafood.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:01 AM on May 15, 2010


Also, the ghost of Optimus Chyme will be making an appearance, wreathed in bedsheets and rattling his chains.

...and that's why you don't choose complicated safe words.
posted by griphus at 8:34 AM on May 15, 2010 [2 favorites]


Guys I'm real drunk
posted by zoomorphic at 2:50 PM on May 15, 2010 [1 favorite]


Also I'm just handing my iPhone to strangers and then making out with them.
posted by zoomorphic at 2:52 PM on May 15, 2010


Well, fail. I have failed you all. :(


(But for good reason-- took my foster kitty to a last minute adoption event. Yay.)
posted by functionequalsform at 3:16 PM on May 15, 2010


PS- I'm real drunk too. Evidently you can drink at adoption events. Wheee!

But I hope to see you guys for FRY CHICKEN!
posted by functionequalsform at 3:17 PM on May 15, 2010


My very first meetup. 8 & left.
posted by hexatron at 5:06 PM on May 15, 2010


Well, I didn't make it back into NYC in time. Boo. Next time, mefites, next time...
posted by fuq at 5:26 PM on May 15, 2010


Oh no why am I in this apartment
posted by zoomorphic at 7:52 PM on May 15, 2010


SEND SINGING TELEGRAM GIRLS IT IS MORE FUN
posted by The Whelk at 8:00 PM on May 15, 2010 [1 favorite]




Ha ha! Wow! Good work team Brooklyn!
posted by Damn That Television at 10:37 PM on May 15, 2010 [1 favorite]


Successful meetup: something was boiled alive and it was not me. Not quite Pareto optimality for me and the bugs, but delicious nonetheless.
posted by thejoshu at 10:42 PM on May 15, 2010


Thanks for coming out! BB actually made an unexpected profit, though I'm still unsure as to how one peels the tail off a crawfish. It was lovely to see all you mefites!

In less-good news, someone stole the purse of the other Brooklyn Brainery organizer and used her credit cards to buy metro cards. If you remember a sketchy person walking out with a beige purse with a long strap, let us know.
posted by zoomorphic at 6:53 AM on May 16, 2010


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