photo: jeff schear

A cocktail at Brownstone cooled off the burn of the crawfish before the start of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday.

Of all the Kentucky Derby viewing parties around the city, Brownstone’s ninth-annual Derby Day Crawfish Boil was the one we couldn’t pass up. Still not sure where crawfish and Kentucky came to be synonymous, but really, there's no need to question a good plate of mudbugs.

The North Center bar served up 1,000 pounds of the crustaceans—flown in from New Orleans and plated with all the Southern fixins—to a lively bunch, many of whom were dressed in their most dapper Derby attire. It was a fitting prelude to the most exciting two minutes in sports.