We’ve driven past this corner storefront restaurant a
few times without stopping. Although it’s only been open for a
few months, that’s a three whole months I could have been dining
on some of the finest vittles this city has to offer, and Cajun vittles
at that!
In a city where it’s hard to find a great (even a good) bowl
of gumbo, Lagniappe, is a true gem. No need to qualify or
make excuses for this food—which folks tend to do when they
talk about Chicago Cajun food. This is honest to goodness
mind-boggling food. And I hate to sound over enthusiastic at
the risk of building up expectations, but I don’t care—this place
can handle it.
When we first walked through the door, the skeptic in me
was suggesting that we move on –maybe head up the road to
grab some of Barbara Ann’s to go. Thank god we stayed.
Right now it’s mostly carry out, although there are a few tiny
tables set up.
The menu is classic New Orleans: Gumbo, Jambalaya, Boudin,
Etoufee, Po’Boys, Fried Green Tomatoes, etc. We decided on
a chicken gumbo, a shrimp po’boy, and a Cajun fried chicken
w/ collard greens and dirty rice.
Where to start…
Many that I’ve tasted in restaurant kitchens taste too much of
raw, undercooked flour. This proper gumbo was made with a slow
cooked roux; the vegetables and spices had melted into roux to
form something really special. The heat level was perfect –
not too spicy as to let all of the flavors really shine. Normally
I put a few shots of Tabasco in my gumbo, but not this one.
I had some instant buyers remorse after I heard myself
order the Shrimp Po’Boy. I normally make it a habit never to
order seafood on maiden voyage. But when this plate was
set down in front me—I was blown away by the bounty of
shrimp and the red, yes RED remoulade.
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The shrimp were sweet and briny. And the size of po’boy made
it impossible to eat right away. First you have to eat about half
of the shrimp on their own or with the remoulade sauce before
you can even think about picking this thing up. I couldn’t tell
you what was in the red remoulade, but whatever it was, it
worked with the shrimp, and was great with the chicken too…
Seriously, it tastes as good as it looks. Juicy tender meat
with a spicy, crisp cracklin’ like skin. Ridiculously good.
And the sides—wow. You get to choose your sides from
an irresistable list: dirty rice, red beans & rice, Cajun
coleslaw, jambalaya or collard greens. We opted for the
collards and the dirty rice. Strips of smoky bacon and
a little vinegar made for some fine collard greens. They
were not the cooked to death version that you get in a lot
of soul food restaurants (which I love). These still had a l
ittle bite left in them. Little yam muffins came with the meal –
think light corn muffins with bits of sweet yam interspersed.
However, the star of the fried chicken ensemble was the
definitely the dirty rice. One bite and you’ll be able to tell
that this is something special, something different.
I mentioned to Pigmon that the rice was the real deal, made
with chicken livers and gizzards. That’s when Mary
(the owner/cook) stepped in to set me straight. She said
that the original dirty rice recipe was made with spleen, and
that’s how she does it too. Spleen, who knew? I could eat
this stuff by the quart, it’s that tasty.
When we asked Mary if she was back there cooking all by
herself, she told us that all of her (culinary school?) interns
had tests, so she was holding down the fort alone. It might
have taken a little while, but all of our fried items were clearly
made to order—anyway, I would have waited twice as long.
Before opening Lagniappe, Mary did a lot of catering, which
she still does—and due to some strange Chicago ordinances
in order to continue her catering operation from her building,
she had to do a carry-out business as well. Lucky for us.
After we ate, Mary took us on a tour of her operation. She
had a nice big kitchen complete with a commercial smoker.
Both pulled pork and smoked turkey are on the menu.
Upstairs, she has a few sunny rooms that she uses for special
events.
At the moment parking is a little hairy because of all
the construction on 79th but think of it as an adventure.
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They must serve at least a pound of battered shrimp on that sandwich. And that red, rosemary-flecked 
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