By Jennie Tai

Rise and shine, area crustacean lovers, and get your thumbs ready because today marks the grand opening of a brand new Louisiana crawfish joint in Arlington—the only slightly awkwardly named Chasin' Tails. Having previewed the place on Wednesday, I can say I'm pretty excited to come here again, even if it means smelling like a crustacean for a couple hours after dinner. (Be warned: crawfish can get messy.) Take a look:



Owner/brothers Hac and Di Dang emphasize their seafood's freshness. My server even asserted the crawfish were "alive and swimming earlier this morning." Biting in to these bad boys, which come in three different flavors (lemon pepper, garlic butter and original cajun) and offer four different levels of heat (mild, medium, hot and "Nawlins hot"), I'm a believer. After months of driving back and forth from the wharf in DC to get my crawfish fix this past year (I live in NoVa), I can definitely appreciate the cut in commute for fresh crawfish somewhere closer to home. And please to note my emphasis on fresh because, while you can find a tray full of tiny little crawfish at any old Chinese buffet, you won't find them fresh and plump like the ones pictured above for miles. (In fact, besides the wharf, the nearest place I can think of is Tonic in Mt. Pleasant, which holds down the fresh Louisiana crawfish game in DC every Sunday.)

In addition to the deliciousness of the above, Chasin' Tails offers local beer, original mixed drinks and other traditional Cajun dishes in an atmosphere that features multiple big screen TVs for prime sports-watchin' and (and this one's really important) its very own hand-washing station. Your fingernails will thank you. As will anyone around you.

{ Cajun Fries | CT Zombie | Swamp Water | Blueberry Mojito }


{ Bar | Fried Cat Fish | Fried Soft Shell Crab | Fried 'Gator Bites' }


{ Fried Beignets & Strawberry Jam }

Menu Standouts:
  • Gator Bites (Lightly battered cubes of alligator that tasted like a chicken that thought it was calamari.)
  • Garlic Buttered Crawfish
  • Fried Catfish (Tender and juicy—a reminder of how fresh their seafood is.)
  • Swamp Water (Never thought I'd enjoy a drink that looked like someone dipped a cocktail glass into a green lagoon and brought it back to me, but this was actually my favorite drink of the night. It tasted like a liquified piña colada, and even has a gummy worm to enjoy on top.)
PS: If you're a crawfish newbie, fear not! Here's a somewhat instructional video on how to peel these mud bugs.



Chasin' Tails
2200 N. Westmoreland St.
Arlington, VA 22205

Jennie Tai is a freelance writer and photographer living in Falls Church.