5 /5 Project Lemming: When have you ever seen a 4.5 rating for a place to eat INSIDE of a gas station? Well, let this be your first!
We were looking for a place to eat fried fish yesterday for my father-in-law & saw this place on a Google search that had excellent reviews. The good experience begins with meeting David, the owner & chef, at the counter. He is friendly, helpful & loves to talk about Louisiana cooking. He is excited about it. You can’t beat food from someone who cooks that is passionate about what they serve. When he told me about his generational history of family chefs cooking for famous places in New Orleans I knew this had to be good.
The menu is not extensive as yet but more dishes are added seasonally and still more will be in time. He just came out of a food truck & is still growing.
I ordered Mardi Gras Pasta which was comprised of a lot of shrimp, juicy chicken, & a Louisiana brand sausage on top of pasta covered with a rich creamy sauce with lots of seasoning & flavor. Enough for 2.
My wife got the Fried Fish & Grits. I’ll get back to the fish in a minute. Let’s talk grits. I’m known for making my Mama’s recipe & am asked to make it by everyone who has had breakfast at our house. I love her grits, the taste & memories it brings. It’s a Southern thing. David’s grits, however, were so much better than mine. They’re good enough to stand on their own as an entree. There are flavors in it that I can’t identify but would love to duplicate. Amid the sea-sized portion of grits was a large filet of Fried Fish described below. The plate was big enough to share & my wife reluctantly did.
Our final dish was Fried Fish which was an option of the menu item that could have included shrimp. The filets were a generous portion of large, juicy, tender, delicately battered & fried fish that rivaled any place I’ve ever had it. Of course it was seasoned like you grew up with, that is if you grew up in Louisiana. Definitely big enough to share but only if you like the other people at your table and even then…maybe not.
Oh yeah, we got a side order of Gambino’s friend bread toasted with butter. What’s a “Gambino’s”? It’s a famous bakery in New Orleans with REAL French bread. David has it brought in. Such a fine detail!
This was the best meal I can remember having in a styrofoam box which meant taking home the leftovers (and there were plenty) was a snap. High points: Louisiana-style cooking, out-of-the-ordinary dishes, HUGE portions you can share, & meeting David the chef/owner. Low points: …I’ll have to get back to you if I can think of any.
