Saturday, November 7, 2009

Brandon's Cajun Cafe

Update: Brandon's Cajun Cafe went out of business in 2010.  We were sorry to see it go.


4215 S. Sherwood Forest
Baton Rouge, LA 70816
225-292-6262


Cuisine Rouge Rating:
4 plates









By: Chad

Whenever I learn about a new restaurant in town, I get excited. This is especially the case when it’s a locally owned establishment, and one that offers something different or unique. When I learned of Brandon’s Cajun Café my excitement over the newness was quickly extinguished by the word ‘Cajun’. Another Cajun restaurant in Baton Rouge isn’t what we need I thought. There are already a laundry list of places where one can get Cajun food, and as most of us know, none are as good as own grandmothers.

However I was quite pleasantly surprised by the new and interesting items on the menu. They take some standard Cajun staples and really rework them in innovative and interesting ways. For starters, the appetizer of Couyon Sushi is as tasty as it is unique. They take nori (the traditional flavorless seaweed wrap used for sushi), put boudin stuffing, crabmeat and avocado inside, then roll it up and slice it,top it with remoulade sauce, and dust it with cayenne pepper. It’s something that even people who aren’t fans of traditional sushi will enjoy.

Another great item on the menu is the boudin burger. Boudin is mixed with pepperjack cheese, formed into a pattie and grilled, then placed on a bun and topped with bacon and remoulade sauce. Very tasty. The rest of the menu is fairly straightforward Cajun eats, with items you would expect to see like fried seafood and etoufee. I sampled the etoufee and it was not that great, the gravy had a strange consistency, almost gelatinous. The flavor was good, but the rice was also a bit undercooked for my liking.

For dessert, they once again offer a little something different in the form of their red velvet bread pudding. Yep, red velvet cake is given the classic bread pudding treatment, resulting in a rather unattractive yet tasty glob of red goo, topped with vanilla ice cream. This dessert is definitely sweet and has great flavor, but could use some texture, perhaps in the form of nuts.

All in all, this restaurant impresses me with its innovative approach to Cajun cuisine. I think that with a few refinements this place can really stand out and make a name for itself. I look forward to seeing more innovative items on its menu.

Couyon Sushi
Couyon Sushi


Red Velvet Bread Pudding
Red Velvet Bread Pudding

3 comments:

  1. had a great time working with brandon and his dedicated and very talented staff no doubt the best cajun food i"ve ever had i highly recommend everybody stop in for a true lousiana atmosphere good luck to all at brandons cajun cafe

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  2. Hey thank you so much for the review! i really appreciate all the constructive criticism. I wanted to let you know that we have all of our recipes down pat now. the first two weeks of a restaurant are rough but i think we've worked out all the kinks. i would love for you to come back and try our ettoufee chad on the house courtesy of me. Thank you so much!
    Brandon Couvillon
    Owner / Manager

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  3. I have to admit that the red velvet bread pudding sounds too interesting to pass up, even if it does look like a "glob of red goo". I'll have to grab a bite next time I'm in town.

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