DISH OF THE WEEK: Crawfish at LE SIA

Every week, I document another dish that impressed and satiated me during my food adventures around New York City

l really wish I took more time to enjoy my food. The nature of my life is that I often grab food quickly while on my way to work or somewhere else. And yet I always try to cram in as many food experiences as possible.

Grabbing a slice of pizza or a sandwich on the go usually works well, but a big bowl of crawfish? Not so much!

I needed something to eat before a tour and I stumbled upon Le Sia which I had been reading about for a while and was eager to try their Beijing-style crawfish boils. I had twenty minutes – what could possibly go wrong?

In addition to the pound of crawfish, I ordered one of the popular skewers of enoki mushrooms wrapped around pork belly. This excellent bite was more apt for quick eating, but I was determined to find out what all the fuss was about.

Firstly, I was very pleased to see instead of a handful of plastic gloves to tackle the critters, they only supply one pair of sturdy plastic gloves. There’s a lot less waste here than at similar Vietnamese seafood boil spots.

Secondly, I was blown away by the flavor and pleasure I got from eating these crustaceans. You get to choose your sauce and I went full-on with the numbing and spicy. In addition to those promised flavor profiles, there was a nice hit of salinity and a surprising addictive sweetness.

The meat in each crawfish was difficult to obtain only because they were so hot and I was in a stupid rush. I managed to slurp out the tail meat, dip it back in the flavorful broth, and suck out the rich funky head bits on as many as I could.

Frustratingly my time was up and this was not a dish I could easily take to eat on the go. I was very impressed by Le Sia and their signature dish, but I was disappointed in my own frantic eating habits and next time need to slow down and probably invite some friends. Price: $15/pound