The best crawfish in Memphis is being served from the parking lot of an Exxon station on Park Avenue.

That’s just how it goes sometimes. No white tablecloths, no air conditioning, just a red trailer, a propane burner and a stack of Styrofoam trays filled with steaming-hot crawfish, the shells stained deep red from a proper Louisiana-style boil.

If you’re looking for something polished, keep going. But if you want crawfish done right? This is the place.

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I never thought I’d be writing to celebrate the fact that a pound of crawfish costs $9, but here we are. The days of cheap sacks are long gone, and while we all miss the golden era of $5-a-pound roadside boils, the reality is that live crawfish go for $4.50 a pound.

That’s on par with New Orleans prices, so if you’re eating crawfish in Memphis, you’re not getting ripped off — you’re just dealing with the same inflation as everyone else. The difference is that most places aren’t doing enough to make the upcharge feel worth it.

That’s what sets Memphis Crawfish Company No. 2 apart. A lot of spots in town cut corners when it comes to seasoning.

They’ll boil crawfish in plain water, then toss them in a butter-heavy spice mix, hoping it’ll pass as flavor — but that’s a cheap cop out. That’s just spicy butter on top of bland meat.

The real way to season crawfish — the way the best backyard boils in Louisiana do it — is to let them soak in the seasoned liquid after the boil. That way, the crawfish actually absorb the flavors, working almost like a brine, so every bite is salty, sweet and packed with spice all the way through.

Memphis Crawfish Company gets this right. Their boil is intensely seasoned and, more importantly, they let the crawfish soak long enough to taste it. The result? Crawfish that don’t just look good; they actually deliver on flavor.

Each tail pulls clean from the shell, the meat juicy and deeply seasoned, not just coated in spice but infused with it. And they’re not skimping on size, either. These crawfish are hefty — none of those tiny, paper-thin shells you sometimes get from rushed boils.

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Of course, the sides — potatoes, corn, sausage — cost extra, but that’s to be expected. If you’re already springing for crawfish, you might as well throw in an order of sausage to drag through the leftover juice at the bottom of the tray. It’s the right thing to do.

If you’re on the Mississippi side of the border, no worries. You can hit up the original Memphis Crawfish Company location in Olive Branch, where they’re serving the same quality boil. But if you’re in Memphis proper, this Exxon lot is the place to be.

At the end of the day, crawfish boils are about more than just the price per pound. They’re about the ritual. You can get ’em plenty of places around town. But if you want them done right — seasoned, soaked and served fresh out of the pot — Memphis Crawfish Company No. 2 is where you want to be. 

And here’s a pro tip: Go right before closing so you get the stuff boiled in the water that’s been rolling batches all day long.

One last thing: Make sure you get your money’s worth — suck the heads.

Memphis Crawfish Company No. 2, located at 5133 Park Ave., is open Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.