The Gumbo Shop

We had planned a family vacation to Seaside, Florida and my family decided to stop in New Orleans to spend one night and enjoy the French Quarter and it's food.  Having never been to New Orleans before, I was looking forward to my stay there.  We were only in town for about 16 hours total, so I was only able to sample a couple of places.  I always like getting recommendations from people who have lived in places I am visiting and one of the places that was recommended to me was The Gumbo Shop, which is located just off Jackson Square and was awarded best gumbo by bestofneworleans.com.

Courtyard at The Gumbo Shop

Our waiter recommended that we order the Complete Creole Dinner, which gave diners a choice of one gumbo, one entree, one side, and a dessert.  My wife and I both decided to order this because we wanted a sampling of several items  I started with the Chicken and Andouille Gumbo and I must say that it was very good.  My wife had the Seafood Gumbo and I tried some of hers.  I preferred my gumbo to hers, but she claimed it was some of the best seafood gumbo she has ever had.

Right-Chicken and Andouille Gumbo.  Left-Seafood Gumbo

For my entree and side, I ordered the Creole Combination Plate (Shrimp Creole, Jambalaya, Red Beans and Rice) and the Smothered Turnip Greens.  The Shrimp Creole was my favorite of the three items, but I was not overly impressed with the Jambalaya or the Red Beans and Rice.  Both items were rather bland and lacked the heat I was anticipating from "real" Cajun food.  The Smothered Turnip Greens were decent enough, but not what I was expecting.  It was my first time to try the dish and I guess i was anticipating more of a collard greens type of flavor.  The turnip greens actually reminded me more of spinach.  My wife had the Crawfish Etouffee and I thought it was really good and had much more flavor than the trio of items I ordered.

Creole Combination Platter-Red Beans and Rice, Jambalaya, and Shrimp Creole 

Crawfish Etouffe and Turnip Greens

For my dessert selection I chose the Praline Sunday and my wife chose the Bread Pudding.  My dessert was fantastic and I loved the toppings and the ice cream itself.  My wife's bread pudding was equally good and she claimed it was one of the top three orders of bread pudding that she has ever had.

Praline Sunday and Bread Pudding

The Gumbo Shop does have a kids menu and both of mine seemed to enjoy their grilled cheeses and chips.  The service was impeccable on this visit and we were lucky enough to have a table in the courtyard on a beautiful New Orleans evening.  While the food itself was far from bad, I can't help but wish we had tried some place else that had spicier dishes.  That being said, the trip to the Gumbo Shop did give us a chance to explore beautiul Jackson Square and take a horse drawn carriage historical tour of the French Quarter.

Family Photo at Jackson Square

The Gumbo Shop
http://www.gumboshop.com
Livin the Good Life Rating=3
 

VooDoo BBQ & Grill

VooDoo BBQ & Grill recently opened it's first Texas location in Frisco.  This popular chain originated in New Orleans and claims to combine barbecue with Cajun, Creole, and Caribbean-style dishes.  Being a fan of both barbecue and Cajun food, I was eagerly anticipating this opening.

I have dined at VooDoo BBQ & Grill twice since this restaurant opened in early May and I have sampled a variety of items.  One of the first items I tried was a bowl of Red Beans and Rice.  The bowl was quite large and the dish was topped with sliced spicy Cajun sausage.  I liked the taste and the fact that it had plenty of sausage, but it tasted even better when I added a little dash of hot sauce.  The portion was actually large enough for a meal, but I had it for appetizer.  

Red Beans and Rice

They have several different barbecue platters with meats that you could find at any barbecue joint, but the restaurant also serves Jerk chicken, Cajun slow cooked chicken, and The Carnival, which includes brisket, chicken, pulled pork, and sausage that is chopped and mixed with sauce.  I had the two meat platter, aka The Graveyard Platter, with brisket and pulled pork.  This item comes with two sides and I ended up adding a third.  

Clockwise From Top Left-Cornbread Pudding, Jambalaya, Brisket, Pulled Pork, Cornbread, and Cajun Fries.

The brisket I had was absolutely abysmal, even by chain standards.  The lean slices I received lacked a smoky flavor, were cut too thin, and were extremely tough.  As bad as the brisket was, I absolutely loved the pulled pork.  It had an excellent bark and had the smoky taste that was lacking in the brisket.  The restaurant offers three types of barbecue sauce that included Mojo sauce (traditional sauce), Cane Vinegar sauce, and spicy sauce made with Crystal hot sauce.  Of the three, I preferred the Mojo sauce.  For sides, I had the fries, jambalaya, and cornbread pudding.  The cornbread pudding was out-of-this-world delicious and the the jambalaya was top notch as well.  The fries were sprinkled with Cajun spices, but were note even close to being as good as the other two sides.

Three Types of Sauce

On my next visit, I decided to try the Jerk Chicken Po' Boy with a side of Gumbo.  The Jerk Chicken itself was a thick sliced chicken breast and it had great flavor that one expects from Jerk spice.  The portion was quite large and filled up the entire six inches of the French bread.  The gumbo I received didn't have much chicken in it and was lacking in flavor until I added a little of the Crystal hot sauce to it.

Jerk Chicken Po'Boy and Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

I was also able to sample the Beignets.  Ir took about ten minutes for them to cook, but the arrived piping hot with plenty of powdered sugar.  The beignets were some of the best I have had in recent memory and I quickly inhaled all three of them in the order.

Beignets

VooDoo BBQ & Grill had some very good items and some I will take a pass on when I visit in the future.  The brisket, gumbo, and fries will not make my list of favorites, but I really liked the pulled pork, the cornbread pudding, the jambalaya, and the beignets.  There are better barbecue choices in Collin County, but I really thought this place was better than average and found the Cajun twist a pleasant experience.

VooDoo BBQ & Grill
http://www.voodoobbqandgrill.com/home
Livin the Good Life Rating=3

Bayou Jack's Cajun Grill

Downtown McKinney is one of my favorite places to dine in the DFW area.  The Square in downtown is really becoming a legit foodie destination.  New restaurants seem to be popping up weekly on the Square and Bayou Jack's Cajun Grill recently opened next door to Mellow Mushroom.  The small chain also has locations in Sulphur Springs and Roanoke.

Dining area at Bayou Jack's

I dined at Bayou Jack's with my wife, kids, and in-laws.  We really didn't know what to expect, because it is hard to find good Cajun fare in the DFW area.  Our group arrived shorty after they opened for lunch, but we were warmly greeted by the staff and received good service right from the start.  I was very hungry due to skipping breakfast, so I decided to start with a cup of red beans and rice.  The red beans and rice was flavorful, but the cup was somewhat on the small side.  I also had a side of the onion hushpuppies served with remoulade.  The hush puppies were of good quality, had a perfectly crunch exterior, and the remoulade was a very good one.

Red Beans and Rice

Onion Hush Puppies

For my entree, I ordered the crawfish étouffée    The plate arrived with the best looking servings of étouffée I have seen in some time.  It even was even topped with a very large crawfish on tope.  Luckily for me, it tasted as good as it looked.  The dish had a large quantity of crawfish compared to ones I have had at other restaurants.  The dark roux was very spicy, which was perfect as far as I was concerned.  This was one of the best plates of étouffée I have had in quite some time.

Crawfish Étouffée 

Other members of my group got the gumbo and the blackened catfish topped with crawfish étouffée.  Both my kids got the chicken bites with "bayou fries".  There was not a member of our party that was not pleased with their meal.  

Gumbo

Blackened Catfish topped with Crawfish Étouffée 

We were all pleased with our first visit to Bayou Jack's Cajun Grill.  The food was delicious and the service was outstanding.  The restaurant is very casual and kid friendly as well.  If anyone is looking for authentic Cajun food at a reasonable price, then you need to take a trip to the McKinney Square and give Bayou Jack's a try.

Kid's Chicken Bites and Fries

Bayou Jack's Cajun Grill
http://www.bayoujackscajungrill.com
Livin the Good Life Rating=3

Nola Grill

Many new restaurants have been opening in Frisco lately.  One of the ones I have been most looking forward to trying is Nola Grill. The owners of Nola Grill have been renovating the space formerly occupied by Josephine's and they finally opened their doors last week.  My wife and I were excited to have a new Southern style restaurant in the area and were able to dine at Nola Grill for lunch last week.

The renovations made the space look much different from the previous occupant.  We were warmly greeted by the staff, who accommodated my wife and her knee scooter.  Yes, I said knee scooter.  Her recent foot surgery has resulted in her being relegated to a knee scooter.  I understand the medical need for her having a knee scooter, but I don't understand her insistence on putting a wicker bicycle basket on the font of it.  She insists that it is both stylish and practical.  Needless to say, my wife is very lucky to have a husband who was still willing to take her out to lunch when she is wheeling around looking like a cross between the Wicked Witch of the West and a village idiot.  

Onion Rings with Tabasco Infused Ranch

Since we had both skipped breakfast and were starving, we decided to start with an appetizer of onion rings served with Tabasco infused Ranch dressing.  I also ordered a cup of the duck and andouille gumbo.  The onion rings were extremely good with a very nice flavor and an outstanding batter.  The order was on the small side, which left me wanting more onion rings.  The gumbo was very good as well.  I am not usually a big fan of duck, but it mixed really well with the seasoning and the andouille sausage.

Duck and Andouille Gumbo

For my meal, I got the Uptown Special ($9), which was a fried catfish filet, two fried shrimp, and fries.  The catfish was a pretty thick filet and was a little undercooked for my liking, but the crispy batter was seasoned well.  The fried shrimp were some of the best I have had in quite some time and the fries were tasty as well.  The meal was somewhat small for my liking, but it was the lunch portion.  My wife got the Down South Combo ($10), which was a blackened catfish filet and Shrimp Creole on a bed of rice.  She liked her meal, but was disappointed that it only came with two shrimp.

Uptown Special

Down South Combo

We were still hungry after our meal, so we decided to get dessert. She got the bread pudding and I got the strawberry layer cake.  My strawberry layer cake was very good, but not as good as my wife's bread pudding.  Being the kind husband that I am, I helped her finish her bread pudding.

Strawberry Layer Cake 

Bread Pudding

Overall, we both liked Nola Grill.  The food was very tasty, although I wished the portions were bigger.  Having said that, the lunch menu was very affordable and we felt like it was a good value for the quality of food.  All the wait staff was very attentive and the plate presentation was terrific.  While eating, some customers sitting near us ordered Po' Boys.  They looked delicious and I will have to order one next time I visit this place.  My wife and I are also very curious to try the dinner menu at Nola Grill, so we will plan a trip back for dinner in the very near future. 

Nola Grill
http://nolagrillfrisco.com/
Livin the Good Life Rating = 3

Acme Oyster House

On the last day of our vacation to Florida, we took a short drive to the Village of Baytowne Wharf.  We walked around for while and explored the area.  My daughter enjoyed the playground and "piloting" the remote control boats.  While there my wife did some shopping, but didn't buy much.  She always says that shopping with me is like going hunting with the game warden.  When finished exploring the area, we decided to grab lunch at Acme Oyster House.  Several of our friends have been to the New Orleans location of the restaurant and it came highly recommended.  

I started off with a bowl of the chicken and andouille sausage gumbo.  The gumbo was good, but was not as spicy as I like.  My wife ordered a dozen fried oysters and they were tasty.  They were covered in corn meal, had a crispy crust, and were served with a spicy remoulade.

Chicken and Andouille Sausage Gumbo

Fried Oysters

For my main dish, I had a hard time deciding what to get.  I was torn between the jambalaya, the red beans & rice, and the fried fish platter. I decided on the fried fish platter and it was good, but not as good as one I had had previously at Seagrove Village Market Cafe.  My wife ordered the seafood etouffee.  She was less than impressed and said it tasted more like a bisque than etouffee.  

Fried Fish Platter

Seafood Etouffee

The other members of my wife's family ate there a while later and were much more impressed than we were.  One of my brother-in-laws said that we just ordered the wrong items.  He claims the chargrilled oysters at Acme are life changing.  Although we ate at better places on our trip, I still thought this place was pretty good.  If I go back, I will definitely try the chargrilled oysters and the jambalaya.  The original Acme Oyster House has been around since 1910, so they must be doing something right.

Acme Oyster House

http://www.acmeoyster.com/menu_sandestin

140 Fishermans Cove

Sandestin, Florida
Livin the Good Life Rating = 3