The Viet-Cajun crawfish craze is as strong as ever in Houston, with many of the popular joints competing each year to get on the top lists. At the top of the pack this year? Cajun Kitchen. Not only is the quality top-notch (bigger, consistently good-size crawfish), but beyond the Cajun boil are Vietnamese flavors that coat the crawfish. Cajun Kitchen's "Kitchen Special," a wok-sautéed blend of butter, garlic, oranges and other spices, is supremely addictive. Its Thai Basil is still one of the most innovative flavors out there, and the Garlic Butter — the core of Viet-Cajun crawfish — comes heaped with mounds of garlic on top. Eating Cajun Kitchen's crawfish is a delight, from the sweetness of the tail to the flavor that you can slurp off the shell. So great is Cajun Kitchen's crawfish, in fact, that the restaurant was chosen by chef Paul Qui as the place to spotlight in Anthony Bourdain's critically acclaimed PBS Series The Mind of a Chef.
READERS' CHOICE: Ragin' Cajun