Louisiana Kitchen and Bayou Bar- Wednesday, August 11, 8:45pm

He said:

Mutual Mastication take #2. When you think of Louisiana, the first words that come to mind are "gumbo" and "jambalaya". I'm sure over the years of bar hopping, I passed Lousiana Kitchen, but somehow I never really saw it until a friend told me she had brunch there with her mother a few weeks ago. It was recommended, so I figured maybe one day, I'd have to try it out for myself. Looking for something cheaper to eat, we came upon this place. It was a Wednesday evening closer to 9pm when we pulled up. I got a parking spot right in front, which put me in a great mood and therefore I was looking forward to the meal. Looking through the window, the place was empty. If anything, an empty restaurant means good service and good conversation. We were greeted and seated quickly and actually decided to move to a different location. Prior to entering, I looked at some pictures online. I'm not sure what happened, but the inside looked like a crap hole. It also didn't look as big. Their photographer must've been laying on the floor when he/she took the picture. It was like an ant's eye view. I started off the night with a vodka/club soda. They didn't have a huge selection of vodka, but at least they had Ketel One. After a few sips, it was over. They make drinks very strong and if I didn't have a lemon or lime ASAP, I would've been passed out drunk in my chair. Looking over the menu, I didn't have too many questions, but my partner did. The waiter didn't really seem to really know too much about what was good and what was bad. He recommended Po'Boy sandwiches and then said the Catfish Po'boy was very popular. My counterpart mentioned the catfish as well, but the last time she had it was ten years ago. Could things have changed over time? I figured on this go-around, I'd try something I never had before, so for starters, we ordered Alligator Beignets. For my main dish, I ordered the Chicken Creole over the gumbo and jambalaya, because I liked the description. Everything is good when tomato sauce is involved, and plus, it's good for the prostate.

After a few minutes, the appetizers came out and the main course followed. We probably only had 2 minutes to enjoy the alligator, which tasted like chicken, but was very fatty, before the main dish came out. I only had 2 pieces and left the rest for my partner. Needless to say, I wasn't very impressed.

On to the main course, chicken creole! Since I have never had creole before, I had nothing to compare it to. I really didn't know what it was supposed to look like, but gumbo is normally in soup form and jambalaya is usually a bunch of stuff mixed in with rice. The creole was spicy tomato sauce with peppers and onions on top of white rice. It tasted good, but, I feel like it could've been much better. The chicken wasn't dry and might have been the best part of the dish.

For dessert, without a menu nearby and recommended by the server, I ordered the Beignets. Beignet's are New Orleans doughnuts. Even after years of working in a bakery, I never knew or heard of anything like this before. When it came out, there were three 2.5 by 2.5 pieces topped with powdered sugar. I guess the idea was to dip into the mound of sugar in the middle of the dish. I'm not a huge dessert fan, but this was actually decent. My dining partner said that maybe they should've topped it off with honey as well, and I think that would've made it 10 times better. If I were to rate this on a scale of 1 to 5, I'd give it a 3.

Overall, I really don't have too many descriptive words for this meal. At 9pm, I was starving but, I didn't finish my meal and it was at half size. Something has to be said when you're asked if you want a to-go box, and you have to think twice about getting one. It was just too plain. For a non-cooker, I probably could've done this myself, minus the chicken and alligator. It was a good experience, but maybe next time, I should try the brunch which was recommended over looking for something to get through the night.

She said:

The recent need for an impromptu late night meal lead me on an online search for casual, cheap fare. A quick review of Washingtonian Magazine’s latest edition of Cheap Eats brought my attention to a longtime Bethesda staple, Louisiana Kitchen and Bayou Bar. Previously known at a different location as Louisiana Express, the current owners were former employees at the old restaurant and brought the recipes with them when they opened the new location.

I have never been a huge fan of creole/Cajun cuisine, but I am always up to try something new and this night was no exception.

Louisiana Kitchen is a small restaurant with plastic checkered tablecloths and a random array of dusty looking New Orleans inspired decor. With a limited drink list and wines listed simply by varietal; this is a place you go to for cold beer and spicy food. After searching to no avail for Dixie beer, an old New Orleans favorite, I chose a Modelo Especial over the heavily flavored types of Abita beer offered.

Service was consistently attentive without being overbearing and the server was more than willing to provide thoughtful answers to our many questions. We were one of only a few tables when we arrived and among the last to leave.

We started off the meal wanting to be a little adventurous. Included for starters were an assortment of gumbos as well as seafood soups and a multitude of fried finger foods. We opted for Alligator Beignets, served with remoulade sauce for dipping. The use of the word beignet seemed to be a bit of a misnomer as there was no dough or breading involved. It was flattened chunks of alligator tail deep fried in a cornmeal batter. The alligator itself was decent in flavor but odd in texture. There were small bits of meat surrounded by huge globs of chewy fat. It was rather unappetizing and I never made it past my first piece. I enjoyed the batter and remoulade so in the future I might be tempted to try this again but go for the Catfish Beignets instead.

In an attempt to really taste some traditional Louisiana fare, I went with a Cajun Rotisserie chicken served with vegetable jambalaya instead of the Fried Shrimp Po’Boy that initially caught my eye. The chicken was good. Deeply flavored and cooked to perfection, this would suit a variety of tastes. The jambalaya was not my cup of tea. As I mentioned before, I am going out on a limb with this type of cuisine as I know I generally don’t like it. It is hard to say whether it was good or not. I did not like it one bit. But I have a feeling that people who really like Cajun food would probably enjoy it. Besides the flavor not meshing with my taste buds, I felt that the rice was overcooked, giving it a mushy consistency. I also kept biting down on something that was difficult to chew through. I never figured out if it was a spice or a part of the rice husk, but it was definitely unappetizing. Served with a dried out biscuit, it just wasn’t doing it for me. Just goes to show you- always trust your instincts. I bet that Shrimp Po’Boy would have really knocked my socks off.

To round out the meal, there was a nice variety of desserts and coffee. I went with Bread Pudding served in a Whiskey Sauce. You know the famous scene in “When Harry Met Sally” when Meg Ryan rather vocally displays her enthusiasm for all to see? This is how I felt while eating the little slice of heaven that is the bread pudding at Louisiana Kitchen. The bread is moist and dense and chock full of pecans and raisins. Served piping hot and gooey with a nice little whiskey kick, it was so good I couldn’t get enough.

I would return to Louisiana Kitchen for a cheap meal but next time my Yankee tastes will stick to the basics and hold out for the big finish from the Big Easy.