Loading ...
Restaurant Review: Gumbo’s Louisiana Style Café
My spouse’s best friend celebrates her birthday only a few days before my spouse celebrates hers. Actually, they celebrate these anniversaries whenever they feel like it, and sometimes they take a Mulligan if the first try wasn’t celebration enough.
Whatever the excuse, we trekked over to Gumbo’s Louisiana Style Café on Monday to get the first try under our belt and get Ms. D some home-style cookin’. (She’s from Baton Rouge, and every so often she’s just gotta do it right.)
Gumbo’s is a cozy place that looks like an old stone house. There’s nice landscaping, and a small outdoor seating area (which wasn’t being used, as we had thunderstorms in the area). The foyer only seats about six folks, so it’s really best to call ahead and make a reservation. The greeters were very pleasant, but busy; there was a wine-tasting dinner already in progress when we arrived, so the place was hopping.
There are only two dining areas in the restaurant, a small one that, if you are really friendly, you could get about 15 others in with you. I think there were usually three tables of four in there. It’s semi-private, and you can dine without the hubbub of the main room to disturb your romance.
We were seated in one end of the main dining area; most of the room was occupied with the wine revelers. The main area holds a dozen or so tables for four, usually, arranged around a big, stone fireplace that adds to the old European farmhouse feel. A nice setting to relax and enjoy a meal.
Gumbo’s wins awards every year for their food and service. Zagat’s rates them at 22-24 on a scale of 25; excellent! Chef Dave Gore manages the kitchen, and if he has time (he didn’t on Monday; full house!) he’ll stop by and chat with you for a moment. He has a nice grasp of Cajun and Creole cooking, and it shows.
On to the food! The two ladies started out with gumbo (one seafood, one crawfish), while I tried their Greek Salad. We chose not to add another appetizer, although they have a very nice selection, from Oysters Rockefeller to Escargot, Étouffée, Crab Cakes and Stuffed Mushrooms. Seafood predominates, but if you have an allergy to shellfish (or just want something different) ask your waiter and they’ll tell Dave; I’m sure he can meet your needs.
Yes, they have salads. My Greek Salad had kalamatas, peppers and greens with fresh tomatoes and cucumbers. A generous serving of tasty feta waited in the center for me. Very nice! The greens were cold and crisp, and the vinagrette was hand-made and aromatic. They also serve simple Spinach salad and Cajun Caesar, among several others.
As you can imagine, there are many zesty dishes featuring shrimp, fish and crawfish, some with pasta. Only a couple of chicken dishes are featured, but there is a whole section of the menu dedicated to beef tenderloin steaks. That’s what I went for! (The ladies tried Sweet Potato Catfish and the Shrimp and Crawfish Tails Pasta.)
Ahh, my steak! I ordered Tenderloin Santa Fe, a blackened, 8-oz piece of Angus beef that was so tender I could cut it with my fork. Chef Dave takes the steak and coats it with a chipotle sauce, then rolls it in crushed tricolor corn chips. It was served with a chipotle vinaigrette that was zingy-scrumptious, topped with shaved Parmigiano and fried onions, and accompanied by garlic mashed potatoes and a wonderful corn relish inside half of a tasty, ripe avocado. The mix of flavors was well-balanced, and the aroma! It’s too bad that the Chile Underground hasn’t perfected the scratch-and-sniff Internet yet, or you could check it out.
I heartily recommend this establishment; and not just for celebrations! If you’re wondering about cost, Zagat’s estimates a meal at $31 a person at Gumbo’s, excluding adult beverages. We ran a bit more than that, as we had a nice Saar Riesling to wash everything down…
Enjoy the (Cajun and Creole) Heat!
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
Leave a Comment Here... (We're Moderated)