Tommy's Fish House

37306 Old Perkins Rd. (near Airline Hwy.)

Prairieville, LA 70769

225-325-3911

http://www.tommyfishhouse.com

For over three decades, the Delaune family has been in the seafood business, providing the South Louisiana area with fresh seafood direct from their own private dock at Bayou Bienvenu.  After Hurricane Katrina displaced the family from their home in St. Bernard Parish, they came to Prairieville to seek out a new start.

They started humbly, selling fresh seafood from a truck parked near the intersection of Airline Highway and Old Perkins Road.  Before long business had increased and ironically just one week after Hurricane Gustav hit the area, Tommy’s Fish House was opened.

Tommy’s houses a seafood market and a restaurant offering a variety of great local seafood, as well as other tasty items.  All the staples are here;  poboys, soups, stews, étoufées, as well as a variety of boiled and fried seafood favorites.  Boiled seafood is done well, with seasoning that delivers great flavor without being overly hot.  I had the crawfish, and it was done well, easily peeled and adequately seasoned.  Another highlight from the menu that I sampled was the Pepper Jack Crab Dip.  Jumbo lump crab is mixed with a pepper jack cream sauce to create a flavorful appetizer.  For the non-seafood folks, Tommy’s serves up a good burger as well as a few tasty chicken dishes.  They also frequently offer house specials where chef Michael Summers showcases his culinary skills.

Pepper Jack Crab Dip

In my opinion, the real thing that sets Tommy’s apart from the plethora of seafood restaurants in our area is the service.  Manager Chalin Delaune is committed to customer service, and is heavily involved in ensuring that the customer has a great experience.  He’s well plugged into the social media aspect of modern business and fully realizes its importance in maintaining customers.  No negative opinion or experience gets past him without a sincere effort to make it right for all involved.

By the end of the year, the business will split into the restaurant fully taking over the current building and the seafood market moving into the building next door.  The seafood market will be expanded into a full service fresh market offering an even larger assortment of fresh seafood as well as house made sausage and other specialty meats.  For the hunters out there, Tommy’s will also have facilities available for cleaning and prep of wild game.  But the biggest addition will be the installation of a crawfish holding system.  Tanks are being installed along with a complex aquatic system that will facilitate the holding and cleaning of up to ten thousand pounds of live crawfish.  This will ensure that customers have access to the freshest, cleanest, and best tasting crawfish in the region.

So whether you’re looking for a great meal or fresh ingredients to prepare yourself at home, give Tommy’s a try.  They are located in northern Ascension parish, in the Oak Grove area, across Old Perkins Rd from the Prairieville Wal-Mart, and are open for lunch 6 days a week (Tues-Sun) and dinner 5 nights per week (Tues-Sat).

Gulf Coast Seafood & Tourism Bash Dine Around

Say what you will about BP and the oil spill that affected the Gulf in April 2010, but it should definitely be noted in your assessment the effort put forth after the fact. As part of their very extensive and highly ambitious campaign to promote gulf seafood, BP put together the Gulf Coast Seafood and Tourism Bash, strategically held to coincide with the Allstate Sugar Bowl and BCS National Championship games, happening this week in New Orleans. The event featured gulf coast seafood at official football galas and pregame parties, as well as vacation giveaways to prime gulf coast destinations.

As a part of the overall bash, I was privileged to be a part of the Dine Around event held Friday night. A mixture of state and local officials, bloggers and media people boarded two coach buses for a culinary tour of the city. A typical New Orleans party atmosphere was present immediately upon boarding the bus with music blaring and dancing in the aisle. An NOPD police escort promptly delivered us to our first destination, Borgne restaurant.

Named for Lake Borgne, this is the latest addition to Chef John Besh’s growing arsenal of great eateries. Its focus is to celebrate the great coastal seafood of Louisiana, and that’s the only seafood you’ll find here, because thankfully, it’s all they use. Also, the restaurant features a menu with an Isleno influence, something that as a former president of the Canary Islanders Heritage Society of Louisiana means a lot to me. Borgne is located next to the Superdome in the Hyatt hotel, and welcomes you with a spacious and welcoming atmosphere. My favorite aspect of the décor are the many references to the lake and its surrounding communities, and the columns made of wire mesh filled with polished oyster shells. Of course the real highlight is the food, and as we have come to expect Besh does not disappoint. Alongside his executive chef Brian Landry, Besh offers some very tasty items. I sampled a variety of things, from the rich, decadent oyster stew, meat pies with white bbq sauce, duck poppers with jalapeno and bacon, and fried oysters amandine everything was excellent. I look forward to making a trip back there very soon.

So then back to the party bus and off to our next stop, Café NOMA. Located in City Park at the New Orleans Museum of Art, Café NOMA’s food has an artistic flare that matches its environment. We were treated to beautiful appetizers of yellowfin tuna tataki, deviled shrimp with truffled eggs, crabmeat caprese, and Citron oyster shooters. Lt. Governor Dardenne gave some remarks regarding the Louisiana seafood industry, we had more drinks, and it was off to the final destination of the tour.

We traveled back to the French Quarter and were deposited around the corner from Muriel’s Jackson Square, where a jazz band greeted us. Upstairs at Muriel’s more drinks and food were flowing. Fried oysters with remoulade, seafood beignets, mini crab cakes, and chilled jumbo gulf shrimp were just some of the tasty items being passed around.

While it was impressive to meet some big name Louisiana people like Chef Besh and Lt. Governor Dardenne, the real star of the evening was the food. Food that featured the best seafood anywhere, Louisiana seafood. I’m sure being raised eating it makes me a bit biased, but I’ve eaten lobster in New England, crabs in Maryland, and clam chowder at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco, and nothing compares to fresh seafood from the gulf. And if there’s anyone out there who doesn’t think New Orleans isn’t resilient and isn’t back better than ever, you obviously weren’t there this weekend.

Chef John Besh's latest restaurant, Borgne

Lucy's Retired Surfers Bar and Restaurant

151 Third St.
Baton Rouge, LA
225.361.0372
http://www.lucysretiredsurfers.com

New to the downtown area is Lucy’s Retired Surfers Bar and Restaurant.  An offshoot of the New Orleans location, they occupy the renovated space formerly held by D’Agostino’s Italian restaurant.  The décor and theme are almost overwhelmingly surfer related, with everything from pictures to posters and a full sized surfboard above the bar.  The surfing DVD playing in a constant loop over the TVs is somewhat annoying, especially on return visits when you have already seen it.

The menu is very much in line with the theme, featuring lots of seafood and “California” type items.  They do feature a full bar, and several specialty drinks that are tropical in nature and pack quite a punch.  One that stood out to me is the “Da Killer Blue Whale”, a mixture of lemonade, vodka, curacao, and Everclear.  Another unique drink item offered is the Bloody Mary shot.  A spice-rimmed shot glass is filled with vodka that they have infused with peppers and spices, and the drink is served with a cherry tomato.  They’ve deemed it the world’s fastest Bloody Mary.

Over the course of several visits, I sampled a couple of the appetizer items with mixed results.  The Jamaican Jerk Chicken was great.  Four grilled pieces of chicken breast seasoned with jerk spices are served with an accompanying sweet and sour sauce deemed “Pali sauce”.  The chicken was cooked perfectly, with great grill flavor but not dried out.  The sauce matched well with the spiciness of the chicken, and the portion was adequate for an appetizer.  On another visit, I tried the pulled pork sliders, which were decent in flavor and taste, but lacked an accompanying side item.  According to the menu, they were served with sweet potato fries, but I’m unable to report on those based on the fact that I never saw them.

Ordering that item uncovered an unfortunately very negative aspect of the restaurant, the service.  The bartender seemed to be completely unaware of the menu, and when asked about the dish, couldn’t seem to decipher what was going on.  Granted, I was seated at the bar, but I would suspect that the bartender should at least be familiar with appetizers on the menu, the items often ordered by patrons at the bar.

The entrée I tried was pretty good, a nice piece of fish crusted with ground tortillas.  In a move obvious to be a play to the Baton Rouge locals, they take tortilla chips, both standard color and purple, and crust each side of the fish with these, then its fried, and served with mashed potatoes.

Lucy’s is open daily from 11AM to 10PM, and feature several specials.  Happy hour is Mon-Thurs, 4PM – 7PM featuring $5 well drinks, $18 buckets, and 2 for 1 margaritas, along with free chips and salsa.  Tuesdays are “Taco Tuesdays” with $1 beef tacos, $2 steak or chicken tacos, and $3 shrimp tacos.

Despite some service issues that may be corrected in time, Lucy’s is a very welcome addition to the downtown scene, and a great alternative to the standard fare.  Hopefully once some of the bugs are ironed out, they can focus on more specials so that they can take better advantage of the downtown lunch business.

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



Red Velvet Bread Pudding

Worth the Drive? Roberto's River Road Restaurant

River Road (3 miles south of Gardere Ln, or 1/4 mile north of Bayou Paul Ln)
Sunshine, LA 70780
225.642.5999
http://www.robertosrestaurant.net

Cuisine Rouge Rating:

5 plates

by: Chad

So you might be asking, with all the restaurants in the Baton Rouge area, why would one venture out on these deadly Louisiana highways way out to the far reaches of the parish to find dinner? After you navigate your way to St. Gabriel, you carefully watch the street signs to direct you to the river road, and once there, you arrive in the tiny town of Sunshine, home of Roberto’s River Road Restaurant. Upon parking my car in the gravel parking lot and looking over at the building, I silently asked myself again if this was a good idea.

The 150+ year old building the restaurant resides in what was once a general store, and still has that type of look to it. I remember thinking, “I’ve heard this place has great food, but is it going to be as old fashioned as its décor?” That thought would quickly disappear once the food came into play.

Looking at Roberto’s from the outside then walking in and finding the type of dishes served inside was kind of like opening the door to a truck stop bathroom and finding the Magic Kingdom. As simple as the place itself is, the food is the polar opposite. It is a very unassuming restaurant that is in no way full of itself. The staff at Roberto's priorities definitely lie within the kitchen. Don't get me wrong, this was no dive and the ambiance was fine, but the food was so unexpectedly refined that I was pretty amazed.

We started out with the eggplant crab cakes. These are an interesting twist on the traditional crab cakes, combining the slight bitterness of the eggplant with the sweetness of crab. They were served on a beurre blanc sauce and topped with a very tasty dill hollandaise.

I had the soup next, and my wife had a salad. The soup was a cream of brie with crab, and was excellent. A rich, creamy textured soup with sweet pieces of jumbo lump crabmeat swimming around. It didn’t suffer from the oiliness or chalkiness that I have sometimes found with other cream based soups. My wife described the salad as quite good, with fresh greens and a very tasty honey mustard dressing that had a nice sweetness to it.

For the entrée, my wife was interested in the pork tenderloin, however it was not available. Her second choice was the beef tenderloin filet. I too chose the filet, but in the special offered that night. My entrée was one of the most exciting, flavorful, and well prepared dishes I have eaten anywhere, not just in the Baton Rouge area.

The special was a grilled beef filet, set atop a Habanero grit cake, topped with jumbo lump crabmeat and a light blue cheese demi glace. The main element of the dish, the filet, was cooked perfectly, just as ordered, medium-rare. The grit cake was crispy on the outside with the creamy grits inside, and had a nice bit of kick from the Habanero. The jumbo lump crab was a pleasant surprise in that the portion was quite generous. There was actually so much crab that it couldn’t all be contained atop the filet. The crab had a nice sweetness to it, which balanced well with the heat of the crab cake, and the tanginess of the blue cheese demi glace.

The combination of flavors and textures were amazing. This dish was elegant and well prepared - an excellent example of combining classic ingredients in a modern way.

For desserts, we tried the two daily specials. Both had to be ordered to go and taken home to eat later, but were definitely worth ordering. My wife had the blueberry bread pudding. Rather than it being a plain bread pudding served with the addition of blueberries, it was made from blueberry flavored bread, so that flavor was present throughout. It was very well done and lived up to the expectations that most would have of bread pudding in this area. The chocolate cake was not quite as exotic, but was good, featuring candied pecans as its own little signature touch.

So is Roberto’s worth the drive? Absolutely. Take a break from the traffic nightmares of Sherwood Forest, Bluebonnet, and Siegen, and take a road trip to the country which will send your taste buds to another world.

(Note: Urbanspoon reports it to be located in Plaquemine for some reason, but that is not correct, it is on the east bank of the river in Sunshine, LA.)


Roberto's

Blueberry Bread Pudding

Roberto's Grilled Steak Special

Specialty Stores of Baton Rouge – LA Boilers

By: Mark

2741 Oneal Ln
Baton Rouge, LA 70816-3126
(225) 752-0211

In this start of a new series, I wanted to focus on LA Boilers. Located on Oneal Lane, this small shop boils up seafood with big flavor. Upon entering the store, you will notice a long display case showcasing only Louisiana seafood. Fresh shrimp of all sizes, catfish filets, picked crab meat, and chilled boiled shrimp along with bags of boiled corn and potatoes. My order, two dozen and a half boiled crabs, was ready for pick up. They were hot and full of sweet crab meat. They were spiced perfectly, as a slow burn could be felt on my lips throughout the meal. The corn and potatoes were seasoned perfectly as well. The shrimp were large and easy to peel. They too had a wonderful spicy flavor. So if you are in the mood for spicy boiled seafood and fresh Louisiana produce, then definitely give LA Boilers a try.

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On The Half Shell

37390 Perkins Rd. Ste. ABC
Prairieville, LA
225-673-1951

9828 Bluebonnet Blvd.
Baton Rouge, LA
225-767-3667

http://www.onthehalfshell.biz

by: Chad

Author Jonathan Swift is quoted as having said, “He was a bold man that first ate an oyster”. That may be true, but here in south Louisiana, bold men and women eat them up in large quantities. Whether you like them freshly shucked, roasted, fried, or baked in a dish, On The Half Shell has you covered.

This restaurant started out in Prairieville, and now has a location on Bluebonnet near Burbank amidst the rapid growth of that area. This new location offers a more spacious environment than the original, which started out as one parcel of a strip mall and has now, expanded to three. Live music is featured every Thursday through Saturday night, which adds to the atmosphere and helps to promote the local entertainment scene. Usually there’s someone doing an acoustic set, which means you can enjoy your meal without being blasted with sound (unlike some other places).

On my visit, as with nearly every visit, I have to start out with their specialty, Gold Band brand oysters. These are the oysters served, and they are always excellent. Gold Band uses a revolutionary process called HPP to pasteurize their oysters, utilizing high pressure instead of other methods. This results in all bacteria being eliminated to non-detectable levels while causing absolutely no change to taste or texture. This process has led them to win the American Culinary Institute’s award for best tasting raw oysters three years in a row. And to top it off, these guys are from just down the bayou in Houma.

While I will almost never pass up a freshly shucked raw oyster, on this visit I needed to maximize my review potential, so I opted for the Guidry’s dozen, a mixture of the four types of grilled oysters served with garlic French bread. This first type in the sampler is the Rockefeller, perhaps the most well known, a topping of creamy cheese and spinach, topped with breadcrumbs, very tasty. As good as I have had the dish anywhere. Next was the Bienville, my personal favorite; cheese, shrimp and mushrooms, placed atop the oyster and finished with bread crumbs, also very delicious.

The other two varieties are quite interesting. The Piccante di Fromaggio topping is made of asiago cheese, parmesan cheese, bacon bits, and jalapeno peppers. The Casso (the namesake of the restaurant’s owner) features oysters that are brushed with olive oil, then topped with balsamic vinegar, cane syrup, sun-dried tomatoes, and a touch of oregano. While both of these offerings are tasty, I felt the flavors overwhelmed the natural oyster flavor. Aside from texture, there really could have been anything underneath the toppings.

Since this is no appetizer sized array for just one person, I chose one of the smaller dishes for the entrée. Shrimp Jefferson is a specialty developed by the kitchen, and it’s a good one. It starts with eggplant that is peeled and diced up, mixed with crab and shrimp and cooked down thoroughly into a casserole. It is then spooned out into a small baking dish, topped with large fresh shrimp and jumbo lump crabmeat and baked in the oven. This dish is quite good, and I enjoyed it, despite not being a huge fan of eggplant. My only slight problem with it was that it was not served with bread. It seemed to me that a dish with such a stewed type consistency needed a good piece of crusty bread. Of course when I asked my server about it, it was promptly presented to me.

The dish is served with a side, and I got the baked sweet potato. The potato is served with butter and cinnamon sugar, and unlike some places, it is not smothered in these toppings, but rather modestly added to preserve the natural flavor.

The Half Shell is a nice place for a seafood dinner. They offer all the standard fare you would expect at any seafood eatery in town, along with special items like the ones just discussed. The atmosphere is nice, and the service is typically quite good. My only true negative about it would be their policy to not accept Visa or Mastercard. This is due to some issues they faced in the past with fraudulent cards and other problems. I can appreciate the fact that a restaurant can’t stand to lose sales over such things, and that they are in the business of food service and not banking, and shouldn’t be burdened with problems. However, in today’s mostly cashless society, this is a huge inconvenience to a lot of customers, and does drive some folks away. That being said, if you love good Louisiana seafood, especially oysters, give them a try.

Deal of the Week

by: Chad

Where can you go in town to get a dozen oysters on the half shell and a cold Abita beer on draft for less than $6?  If the year was 1959 and not 2009, this would be pretty easy to answer.  But this is not historical fiction, and I don’t have a time machine.  You can find this deal at Mason’s Grill on Thursday nights.  A glass of your choice of the Abita beer selections on draft is only $1.75, and oysters on the half shell are only $.35.  If oysters aren’t your thing, they offer other great specials all during the week, such as all you can eat fried catfish on Wednesdays ($10 for lunch, $13 for dinner), all you can eat BBQ (brisket and ribs) and $2 domestic beer on Tuesdays ($17 for lunch, $19 for dinner), and your choice of any of these great all-you-can-eat specials on Friday night.  Monday nights kids eat free, and kids get a free ice cream sundae with their meal.  They also happen to be Food Network’s choice for best burger in Louisiana, their delicious Cajun Shrimp Burger; a burger to put all others to shame.

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.

Opie's Cajun Cafe

by: Wesley

http://www.opiescajuncafe.com/

I was looking for a good place to eat lunch in Mid-City this week, and my coworkers and I decided Opie’s Cajun Cafe would be a great place to chow down. This turned out to be a great decision!

We were promptly seated in the dining room, and a very friendly and attentive server took our drink and appetizer orders. The 3 of us split 2 appetizers - the crawfish pies, and the 10 piece BBQ chicken wings. The crawfish pies were about 2 bites big, filled with creamy crawfish and accompanied by a remoulade sauce. They were tasty and not greasy. As delicious as the pies were, I was more excited about the wings. The wings aren’t on the menu of Opie’s but are provided care of Sharky’s Wing’s, which is conveniently attached to Opie’s restaurant. The wings were lightly breaded and then deep fried, coated in a sweet and tangy BBQ sauce, and then brought to the table with a cup of ranch dressing. These wings were so good that I didn’t need the ranch - they were delicious all on their own.

For our lunch, 2 of us split the blackened shrimp po-boy with fries, and our other lunch partner ordered the crawfish ravioli. The po-boy was not bad, and had great bread, but I was disappointed in the shrimp. They tasted good, but there were too few of them on the sandwich. The real star of the show was the crawfish ravioli. They were so rich and filling that he couldn’t finish them on his own, so he was obligated to share them with me. I was very impressed with what I tasted. The ravioli are stuffed with ricotta cheese and fried, then covered with a crawfish cream sauce. It’s a great combination of chewy, creamy, and savory. Did I mention this is a very rich dish? This is what I’ll be ordering for myself next time around - it was so good!

So to sum it all up, Opie’s has great food, good prices, and friendly staff. If you are looking for a GREAT place for a Cajun seafood lunch (with a chance of wings) you have to give Opie’s Cajun Cafe a shot! They also feature a full bar, and the attached Sharky’s Wings does larger orders for take out.

Louisiana Lagniappe – The Best Restaurant in Baton Rouge?

By: Mark

http://www.louisianalagniapperestaurant.com/

In my opinion, Louisiana Lagniappe is the best seafood restaurant in town! Pretty bold claim, huh? Well how about this one: Louisiana Lagniappe just might be the best restaurant in Baton Rouge! A pretty big statement that I believe holds true. LL is located at the intersection of Perkins and Bluebonnet. With the traffic generated by Perkins Rowe and construction, it is easy to miss this restaurant. But if you find it you will be in for a wonderful dining experience.

I arrived at 6:30 on a Monday night and had to wait for a table! The restaurant was packed. No worries as my family and I grabbed drinks at the full bar. LL does not take reservations so come early or be prepared to wait if you don’t. The dining area is pretty plain and sits a large number of people. The only problem this caused was an excessive amount of noise. LL is not a quiet restaurant, but the food makes up for having to speak louder to your dinner guests.

Our waiter started the meal by bringing us fresh baked French bread. The bread was soft and warm on the inside with a chewy crust. We then proceeded to soups where we were treated to the roasted red pepper soup and crab and corn soup. Both soups were extraordinary with perfect balances of cream and spices. Both were also brimming with chunks of lump crabmeat and tender shrimp. Despite being cups, the portions were large enough to satisfy you.

The next course featured appetizers and salads. The crab cakes were delicious as two large cakes stuffed with lump crabmeat were presented with a spicy remoulade sauce. The other appetizer consisted of grilled shrimp wrapped in thick slices of bacon and then drizzled with a pomegranate, pineapple, and habanero glaze. The five jumbo shrimp were cooked perfectly and the bacon had a great smoky flavor. The glaze had a bright, fruity front that was then followed by a warm burn from the habanero. One diner decided on the portabella mushroom salad with goat cheese, sunflower seeds, and a house made vinaigrette. The grilled mushroom warmed the goat cheese and really made this salad stand out. The only blemish was the house sensation salad, which appeared to have been made in advance thus causing the acidity of the dressing to wilt the greens.

Appetizers, salads, and soups are great, but entrees are the stars of the show; and the stars of LL shown bright. Two diners ordered the Ponchartrain; a large filet of pan seared black drum topped with a large, fried softshell crab and drizzled with a hollandaise sauce and candied pecans. The fish was cooked perfectly as was the crab. The hollandaise and candied nuts elevated the dish to a level of decadence. Another diner ordered the crabmeat au gratin which was served piping hot in a dish filled with a spicy, rich cream sauce loaded with jumbo lump crab and topped with melted cheese. The final entrée may have been the best of the night as a piece of pan seared black drum was topped with six jumbo sea scallops. The fish was cooked well and the scallops were sensational with a nice crust on top and a moist center. The dish was then drizzled with a lemon butter beurre blanc. The presentation of the entrees was well done and the amount of sauce was perfect as it accented the dish and did not over power it. Twice baked potatoes accompanied each dish; an afterthought in most restaurants but the ones in LL were creamy, buttery, and loaded with cheese and blended toppings.

The service at LL was near perfect. Drink glasses rarely went unfilled for very long, plates were cleared quickly, and the best part was the courses were paced perfectly. This shows a great chemistry between the front and back of the house. The hostess was pleasant and attentive as was the bartender. A surprise was the majority of the wait staff were fairly young and showed great pride in their jobs; a rarity in a college town.

This review was pretty long but LL deserves it. The restaurant’s flawless execution of its food and attentive wait staff make it one of the tops in the city. Though a bit pricey (entrees range $21-$32) it is worth every penny and should be a regular visit for any diner in Baton Rouge.

Pros:
- Excellent Service
- Delicious Food
- Large Portions for Your Money

Cons:
- No Reservations; Arrive Early or be Prepared to Wait
- Wilted Salad was a Disappointment
- Very Loud Dining Area

Fresh Catch

Here in South Louisiana, we are truly blessed to have access to some of the best fresh seafood found anywhere.  Whether its crawfish, crabs, shrimp, oysters, or the many fresh fish available, you're sure to find a favorite without going far.  Just as abundant as the seafood options are the restaurants that specialize in them.

By far, the primary preparation that you will most often find will be fried.  As much fried seafood as the restaurants in our area feature, they don't all prepare it the same way, so it's important to know what you like before venturing out for that seafood platter.  For example, there is a real difference in both taste and texture between frying with cornmeal versus flour.

For me, the greatest sins committed in frying seafood are overcooking, and greasiness.  The latter often occurs as a result of the former.  Luckily, there are a wide range of places in the Baton Rouge area where you don't typically have to be concerned about that.  Restaurants such as Ralph & Kacoo's, Drusilla, Parrain's, Mike Anderson's, and Brunet's have consistently delicious seafood dishes, and are experts when it comes to the fried staples we love.  In my opinion, for fried seafood, you can't beat The Chimes.  This LSU landmark has impressed me on every visit, and its new Coursey Boulevard location offers the same great quality in a much larger and easier to access facility.  Of course, there's nothing better on a hot Louisiana summer afternoon to wash down that tasty seafood than an ice cold beer, and if you can't find one you like at Chimes, then you don't like beer.  They have over 130 different brews from every corner of the planet.

If fried is not for you, then the city has a number of other restaurants that are offering tasty alternatives.  For great oysters, check out Jones Creek Oyster Bar, Phil's, Acme Oyster House, or On The Half Shell.  In addition to the classic freshly shucked delicacies, you can find different grilled variations.  One of the more recent additions to area seafood menus is the fish taco.  You can find this tasty dish at places like Fish City Grill, Bonefish Grill, and Dingo's.

So whatever your favorite seafood dish is, you are in the right place.  Check out one of these places or one of the many others in the area, and let me know your thoughts.

Mudbug Madness

Well, it's that time of year when the crawfish cravings are in full swing.   Thanks to recent rains, the crop is looking up and the prices are starting to stabilize.  As most Louisianians know, the normal curve for pricing tends to swing upward as we approach Easter weekend, then fall back down after.  Right now, it seems that somewhere in the neighborhood of $3/lb boiled is typical pricing in the BR area.

Last Sunday my cravings came to a head and I had to get a fix.  Despite the fact that Tommy's Fish House is located right near my house, I had to venture into the city because they were closed.  When open however, you can find boiled for $3/lb and on some nights get all you can eat for $20.  My first thought on where else to go seemed obvious.  Logic told me that a place I would be sure to find what I needed would be The Crawfish Place, however they too were closed on a Sunday.

So, I found myself heading over to Sammy's on Highland Rd.  The pricing was much like the crowd there, a little on the upscale/trendy side.  There were a mix of local celebrity types and college students inside filling the place with a lively atmosphere.  The crawfish were good, seasoned nicely, but not cheap.  A tray containing 3lbs cost me $13.95, not including corn and potatoes which were $3 extra.  For an additional 2lbs, it was another $3.95 plus another $3 for more potatoes.  Of course you can't have hot boiled crawfish without beer, so my total damage came to about $40.

All in all, not a bad experience.  I could have saved money eating at home, but wanted to get out and go somewhere, so I guess that factors into the cost as well.  There are other choices of course, I know there are some seafood restaurants in town such as Drusilla that are doing all you can eat deals as well.

Of course, I could have just went with buying live and boiling at home.  I find it interesting just how many different procedures there are out there for accomplishing this task.  I have heard all sorts of methods, such as steaming them in an ice chest, covering them with ice, letting them soak for some time, and even throwing raw onions on top once they come out of the boil.  The other curious thing is what some people will integrate into a boil.  This really runs the food spectrum as covers a large amount of items.  Foods like eggs, sausage, mushrooms, broccoli, carrots, and even chicken breasts have found their way into the spicy brew by people I know.

So, let's hear your thoughts.  Where is the best place to find boiled bugs, and how do you do it?