Gumbo is ubiquitous on menus at seafood restaurants in and around Mobile, as it is along the entire Gulf Coast. The recipe is almost always nearly the same, but variations in flavor, consistency and color abound. And while you can order it just about anywhere you go to eat, when it comes to making gumbo at home we often wait for a special occasion – like Christmas Eve, when many families on the coast traditionally serve it for dinner.

Gumbo can be made with a variety of ingredients, from turkey to andouille sausage to duck, but for the purpose of this list we’re sticking to classic seafood gumbo with a nice, dark roux, the Holy Trinity of vegetables (onions, celery and bell peppers) and tomatoes, as well as shrimp, crab meat and/or crab claws and oysters.

Lucy Buffett, a Mobile native, sister of the late Jimmy Buffett and owner of the ever-popular LuLu’s in Gulf Shores, literally wrote the book on gumbo. In her cookbook, “Gumbo Love: Recipes for Gulf Coast Cooking, Entertaining, and Savoring the Good Life,” she writes about learning to cook while standing on a stool in her grandmothers’ kitchens. When she opened the first LuLu’s on Weeks Bay, gumbo was her signature dish, and her own recipe is, of course, on the menu today.

Here, we’ll stick to Mobile restaurants (with one notable jaunt across the bay), where you can find lots of great gumbos to try. Grab a spoon and some crackers, and let’s dig in.

5. Bluegill Restaurant

3775 Battleship Pkwy.; bluegillrestaurant.com

The Bluegill is a mainstay on the Mobile Bay Causeway whose claim to fame is that Elvis ate there. But the restaurant has a lot to offer, from its friendly wait staff to the back deck along the river delta, where the scenery is almost magical as boats go by almost within touching distance and alligators emerge from the reeds. The menu, naturally, focuses on seafood, and lots of people rave about their gumbo. As I stirred my cup of “Ms. Evelyn’s Famous Gumbo,” I was taken aback for a moment by the inclusion of wild rice (I prefer white rice in my gumbo), but it had something I didn’t see in any other seafood gumbos recently: a nice, fat oyster.

4. Kravers

2368 Leroy Stevens Road; kravers-seafood-restaurant.business.site

If you crave seafood in west Mobile, Kravers – named for the shrimping family that owns the restaurant – is the place to go. Kravers got its start on Highway 181 in Daphne; after its success, a second, much larger location opened in the seafood desert of west Mobile. On any given day, six pots of gumbo simmer on the stove. Made from an old family recipe, this gumbo has a reddish hue from the tomatoes, plenty of shrimp and crabmeat and a good amount of spice. It’s no wonder folks love it so much.

3. Mudbugs at the Loop

2005 Government St.; mudbugscajunseafood.com

I’ve bought fresh shrimp at the market at Mudbugs plenty of times, but on my last visit there I happened to notice that they sell gumbo, among other items available to eat in their adjacent dining area or to take home. I asked the woman ringing me up if their gumbo was good. “It’s the best,” she said. “Made fresh every morning.” Well, how could I resist that? And y’all, the smallest portion is a pint for $7.99 (plus 50 cents for a scoop of rice). That’s a lot more gumbo than you get in the standard cup at most restaurants. It was thick, perfectly seasoned and full of shrimp, with a nice, dark roux. I’ll be back for more.

2. Wintzell’s Oyster House

605 Dauphin St.; wintzellsoysterhouse.com

I had a visceral reaction as I stirred my cup of gumbo at Wintzell’s, a downtown Mobile fixture. It smelled like a pot of gumbo cooking on the stove at your grandmother’s house should smell. As a bonus, my cup of gumbo was accompanied not only by crackers but also by a basket of warm garlic bread. This gumbo was on the thin side but full of chewy shrimp and chunks of okra and tomatoes, with the perfect amount of spice that hits the back of your tongue. Subtle and so good.

1. Market By the Bay

29145 U.S. Hwy. 98, Daphne; www.marketbythebay.com

Yes, the No. 1 spot is just across the bay. But if you’re looking for a perfect cup of gumbo, this place has got it and is worth the possibility of a little traffic. In fact, I wrote in my notes, after stirring it: “This could be the best.” It’s just the right color and consistency, absolutely brimming with shrimp, crabmeat and okra. Market By the Bay is a bright, friendly space – the dining room is larger than you’d think from the outside – and the menu is full of tempting dishes like blue crab wontons and pickled shrimp. But my all-time favorite is the lunch special: Half a po-boy (I went for the fried oysters!) with a cup of gumbo, quite a bargain at $11.