Low Country boil makes mouths water

LAKEWOOD RANCH — Tommy Klauber and his friend Spyder Broussard are ready to let the good times roll, or, as the French say, “laissez les bon temps roulez.”

Klauber, owner of the Polo Grill and Bar, and Broussard will roll up their sleeves and don Cajun-themed aprons for the annual Spyder Broussard Low Country-East County Fish Fry and Shrimp Boil. The event starts at 6:30 p.m. June 28, at the Polo Grill, 10670 Boardwalk Loop, Lakewood Ranch.

“We’ll have lots of newspapers on the tables and rolls of napkins; it’s all family style,” Klauber said. “I think every year people look forward to it because they can see their neighbors and other families. Once you sit down, your table is your table for the night. You can sit back and relax and enjoy the company and the music and the food.”

Klauber has ordered 500 pounds of shrimp, which he and Broussard personally will boil on-site.

Music by the Gumbo Boogie Band will provide the backdrop for dinner, which includes gumbo, crawfish corn dogs, muffulettas, boiled shrimp and andouille sausage, cornmeal-fried catfish, Cajun ratatouille, coleslaw, potato salad, beignets du Monde and other Cajun-inspired cuisine.

The only item not made from scratch at the Polo Grill is Bourque’s classic Cajun boudin, a special sausage Klauber ordered directly from a supplier in Louisiana.

The buffet dinner costs $36.50 per person, and reservations are requested.

This year’s shrimp boil is the seventh Klauber and Broussard have hosted in East County.

“This is lucky No. 7, if you can believe that,” Klauber said. “This year, we’re looking forward to a bigger than ever turnout and it looks that way.”

Klauber said this year’s event will be the same as in years past.

“There are just some things that are perfect the way they are and this is one of them,” he said. “There’s something special about a tradition.”

If you go
Spyder Broussard’s Low Country-East County Fish Fry and Shrimp Boil
When: 6:30 p.m. June 28
Where: Polo Grill and Bar, 10670 Boardwalk Loop
Cost: $36.50 per person
Details: The Gumbo Boogie Band will play live music while guests enjoy a family-style buffet of Cajun-inspired entrees, including crawfish corn dogs, boiled shrimp, gumbo, fried catfish and more.
Reservations: 782-0899, Ext. 2 or pologrillandbar.com

ABOUT BROUSSARD
Spyder Broussard was born in Guyden, La., and raised in Houma, less than an hour from New Orleans. His parents only spoke French.

After graduating high school, he joined the U.S. Air Force, before beginning a career in the petroleum industry.

In 1984, he hosted a crawfish boil for his employees and some of their customers before a technology conference. The event was so successful, it became an annual traditional — one so ingrained in his company that when it constructed a new 70,000-square-foot building in 1995, the design accommodated space for the event.

By the numbers
7 - Number of consecutive years for the event

300 - Number of people expected to attend

500 - In pounds, amount of shrimp for cooking

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].