I live on the south side so this place has been on my list for a while. My wife and I were able to make it there this past Fri. night, and I thought the food was really good overall; the service was excellent; and the beer selection/knowledge was tremendous. Before I go into some more detail, here's a caveat: I AM NOT a cajun food aficionado. So, I can't say how the food compares relative to other joints, or how the food has been in the past.
Anyway, we started with the Hickory Buttered BBQ Shrimp appetizer. I asked the waitress about her favorite item on the menu and she did not hesitate at suggesting these. We decided on the appetizer instead of the entree. Keeping in mind the caveat above, I thought the sauce in this dish was one of the most flavorful sauces I've ever had--no joke. It had the perfect combo of spiciness, sweetness, and smokiness. It was so good that we asked if they'd sell us a little bit to go, which they did. Frankly, this was the best thing we had all night. I didn't detect any "fake" liquid smoke-like taste, as someone on this thread complained of. Moreover, the smokiness was subtle, and it's been my experience that liquid smoke is pretty powerful stuff. Nonetheless, awesome sauce imho.
They provide some complimentary rustic bread and little cornbread muffins which are accompanied by a house-made chive or scallion cream cheese and butter. There was nothing overly special with these, but I mention it because the bread did come in handy to sop up the remaining sauce from our shrimp dish. I know there a complaint upthread about not getting enough sauce--we didn't have that problem.
For the entrees, we went with the Bouillabaisse and Blackened Sea Scallops. The Bouillabaisse was tasty, but it needed a little kick. It wasn't bland or anything like that, but I have a spicier palette. I mentioned this to the waitress and she brought over 2 different types/styles of Louisiana (not the brand) hot sauces. I didn't want to mess with the Bouillabaisse too much so I just put in a few drops of each. This did the trick and it was perfect. I later spoke with the owner, Katie (Charlie Orr's daughter--he unfortunately passed away last year) and it turns out that she loves the Bouillabaisse, but finds the need to doctor it up a little in the same way. All of the seafood in the Bouillabaisse was great.
The scallop dish was solid. The scallops themselves were perfectly cooked and tasted very fresh; although the seasoning used to blacken the scallops needed a little salt. One of the reasons we chose this dish is because it comes with a creamed brie sauce, which we both wanted to try. Although the sauce was tasty, there was nothing overwhelming about it. Finally, the dish came with sweet potato fries, which I didn't expect a ton from--after all they're sweet potato fries, right? Actually, they were awesome--the best I've ever had.
The beer selection was really good. They also let you try any beer on the menu before ordering a glass, which I always appreciate. My favorite [that I hadn't had before] was
Mikkeller Nugget Single Hop IPA.
All-in-all, it was a great time. There was live music when we got there, which we really enjoyed. Although it wasn't very crowded, the people there definitely seemed to be enjoying themselves. The service was great, and as I mentioned above, Katie Orr the owner stopped by our table to chat. She wanted to know about our dining experience, was open to criticisms, and was genuinely interested in attracting more local patrons.
I'll definitely be going back.
"Skin that smoke wagon and see what happens..."
- Wyatt Earp, Tombstone