Shea S.
Yelp
The weekend of October 11th while in New Orleans I had the pleasure of dining in a little small quaint restaurant on Airline Hwy in Kenner. Upon entrance I was greeted with a warm welcome by the Queen herself. Immediately I felt like I'd stepped into someone's southern dining room with the aroma of seasonings and herbs mingling in the air. There is bistro style seating and tables with protective plastic covering. There is a window a/c unit that competes with the afternoon heat. ,
Ok, now on to the good part. There is a small steam table with steaming hot entre's and side items. On this day there was mac & cheese (N'awlins style w/spaghetti pasta), collards, rice, sweet potatoes (not drunk in sugar), and other southern veggies. Entre's were stuffed bell pepper, stuffed crawfish étouffée', fried pork chop, ribs, fried catfish, crab meat stuffed fried catfish, and seafood gumbo. The menu rotates daily. You get an entre' and 2 sides. It all looked so good with steam coming from each item (you know I like my hot food hot), I was so indecisive on what to order. The Queen told me, "take a seat and let me feed you". You don't argue with the Queen, I think that would be disrespectful so my son and I took a seat. We were immediately brought our drinks and corn bread. Shortly there after, there was a processional line of food coming to our table. I was in awe!!!!! Total disbelief!!!!!
I had the best fried catfish I've had since I moved away from New Orleans 24 yrs ago. The filets were huge and didn't have that ole nasty taste of dirt like big catfish often have. It was fried perfectly golden brown, picture perfect. The Queen obviously filters her oil, because there was not one brown speck and the fish was tender and delicious!!!! The stuffed catfish is also fired and stuffed with a crabmeat dressing (also known as stuffing to some of you). It too, was delicious and well seasoned. The greens were perfectly cooked with pork that was neither salty or fatty. The mac & cheese made with spaghetti pasta was creamy and cheesy and perfectly baked. I had gumbo that had a nicely seasoned roux with excellent color and flavor, full of shrimp, sausage, and crab claws. The pork chop was fried golden brown and tender. My son devoured the étouffée' and was amazed by the stuffed crawfish heads that were stuffed with ground beef and maybe a seafood filling; swimming in a tomatoy roux that was nicely seasoned.
All in all this is the spot you tourists need to come instead of the expensive traps in the quarter and on Canal St. This is real food, nothing processed, prepackaged. fatty or salty, This is a prime example of REAL New Orleans food at reasonable prices that don't hurt your wallet. Daily specials are less than $12. You can't beat it. The service is superb and the food is out of this world! Get there and let the Queen love on you!