Busch Gardens Mardi Gras food includes Red Beans and Rice and Crawfish Boudin Balls at The Krewe Table, two classic Louisiana-inspired dishes with very different flavor personalities.
If you’re attending Busch Gardens Tampa Bay’s Mardi Gras event on a weekend between now and March 1, chances are you’ll be doing exactly what Mardi Gras demands of you: eating first, riding later, and wondering if you really needed that extra sample from your lanyard.
Enter The Krewe Table, one of the event’s more traditional food booths, serving up Louisiana-inspired comfort food with a side of theme park chaos. We sampled two of the headliners—Red Beans and Rice ($11.99) and Crawfish Boudin Balls ($10.99)—and lived to tell the tale.
Crawfish Boudin Balls – $10.99
(Or… Ball. Singular. We’ll get there.)
The menu signage promises “Crawfish Boudin Balls”—plural—described as a flavorful mixture of rice, crawfish, spices, breaded and deep fried with remoulade sauce.
Now let’s address the crawfish-shaped elephant in the room.
The Plural Problem™
Despite the Busch Gardens Mardi Gras signage confidently using the plural form, we were served one boudin ball. To be clear, this is not a portion-size emergency—the ball itself is reasonably sized and filling. Still, Busch Gardens has developed a bit of a reputation for this exact scenario, where an “s” appears on the menu but not on the plate. This has happened before, and apparently, Mardi Gras is not immune.
Previous Examples:
That said, the portion feels fair, especially if you’re using a sampler lanyard, which smooths over most emotional damage caused by missing pluralization.
How It Tastes
The exterior is nicely crisp, delivering that satisfying fried crunch you expect at a festival booth. Inside, the crawfish flavor is decent and present, though the rice filling can lean a bit mushy, which dulls the texture contrast.
The included remoulade sauce is… there. It exists. It does not offend, but it also doesn’t elevate the dish the way remoulade should. Most guests will likely want more punch than what’s provided.
This is a solid, shareable snack with a fairly passive flavor profile, especially when compared to the Red Beans and Rice. It’s enjoyable, filling, and works well as a sampler stop, but it’s not the loudest bead-thrower on the parade route.
Red Beans and Rice – $11.99
The Red Beans and Rice is described on the menu as featuring spicy andouille sausage and pulled pork. It immediately comes across as the bolder of the two offerings.
The Good
This dish packs a noticeable theme park–level spicy kick, landing near the upper end of what most guests would consider “spicy” in a park environment. It includes two pieces of sausage, which is appreciated, and the portion size is larger than some comparable dishes at this year’s event, including the vegan jambalaya option. Flavor-wise, it’s hearty and satisfying, with enough seasoning to keep things interesting, especially if you’re looking for something with a bit more punch than fried fare.
The Not-So-Good
The Busch Gardens Mardi Gras rice itself is nothing fancy and doesn’t quite measure up to similar versions found at other theme parks or festivals. When paying full price, the value becomes a bit harder to justify, as the dish leans heavily on portion size rather than refinement. Without the sampler lanyard, some guests may feel the sting. Despite its shortcomings, this is the stronger of the two savory options at The Krewe Table. It’s filling, flavorful, and brings the kind of spice that feels appropriate for a Mardi Gras celebration.
Busch Gardens Mardi Gras: Let’s Talk About Sampler Lanyards
As highlighted on the booth signage, sampler lanyards play a major role in the overall value of Mardi Gras dining at Busch Gardens. Options include:
- 5-sample lanyards for $34.99 (Annual pass members get six samples for the same price)
- Encouraging bulk deals that lower the per-item cost
Both the Crawfish Boudin Balls and Red Beans and Rice feel much more fairly priced when redeemed via a Busch Gardens Mardi Gras sampler lanyard rather than purchased individually. In fact, the boudin balls especially benefit from this system, turning what might feel like a modest portion into a guilt-free festival bite. If you plan on sampling multiple booths during your visit, a lanyard is almost essential to getting the most bang for your buck.
Busch Gardens Mardi Gras Food
The Krewe Table offers dependable, crowd-pleasing Mardi Gras flavors without revealing many surprises.
- The Crawfish Boudin Balls are crispy, shareable, and satisfying, though a bit muted in flavor and held back by texture and sauce.
- The Red Beans and Rice brings more spice, more substance, and ultimately more personality—especially when redeemed with a sampler lanyard.
Neither dish is a must-have on its own. Still, together they form a solid stop on a weekend Mardi Gras food crawl at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, particularly for guests leaning into the sampler experience rather than paying full price.
For more theme park dining reviews, visit MSM News every weekday at noon Eastern Time. Additionally, we sometimes post bonus theme park dining reviews. As always, eat like you mean it!
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