Walk-On's

Cuisine Rouge Rating:

2 plates

By: Chad

Where we live, seafood is king.  In many areas of the country, simply having our fried seafood delicacies on your menu will make you a great restaurant.  However, in our area these delicacies are far too easily found, and a restaurant has to be on top of the game to be successful.

Walk-On’s has some things going for it.  The LSU location is a prime spot, right in the shadow of the mighty Tiger stadium.  That alone makes it a hot spot for LSU fans, which this town has no shortage of.  The availability of young, attractive college coeds as wait staff doesn’t hurt either, making it a haven for guys who like that magical combination of food, sports, and attractive girls.

Unfortunately though, the food takes a backseat to these things.  A sampling of several different fried offerings ranged from lackluster to passable.  Nothing shined or stood out in comparison to some of the other big name seafood houses in town.  The best dish I tasted was the signature item, the Angels on Horseback.  Jumbo sized butterflied shrimp are stuffed with an oyster, then wrapped in apple-smoked bacon and fried.  Served with the accompanying remoulade sauce these were fairly tasty.  However, other dishes such as the stuffed shrimp lacked the spiciness and flavor in the stuffing that makes the dish.  The other items sampled included the red beans and rice, chicken fingers, catfish Acadiana, and chicken club croissant.  All were reported as ‘okay’ by the members of my party who tried them, but their feedback was filled with about as much excitement as a bingo game at a rest home.  This same level of enthusiasm was echoed in the service.  Our waitress seemed to have a demeanor that screamed ‘how much longer till my shift is over’.

Here at Cuisine Rouge, we make a conscious effort to promote the positive aspects of local restaurants.  We aren’t out to bad mouth or tear anyone apart, but at the same time, we want to inform our readers of where good food and great deals can be found.  Sadly, Walk-On’s just doesn’t have either of these things to offer.  Several places around town have better seafood dishes at better prices.  Of course, your opinion may differ from ours, and we always welcome your comments and feedback.