D.wight L.
Yelp
Often when I'm passing through a small town, I don't make rigid plans to eat anywhere. I simply park, walk around (the more the better) and see what I can stumble upon. Enter The Hummingbird, and what a cool stumble it was.
Artsy diner vibe with a New Orleans connect, cool photos that seem to have a personal touch, and jazzy/bluesy tunes on pipe. I love how this little downtown-y area of Fairfax has zero chains, everything is independent and quirky.
Almanac Kolsch ($9/4*) Came during lunch and it was a very warm day. I got this as I've had it many times and know its a good light bodied beer, that's always good with food. They also have PBR, but I ain't quite anti-culture like that. If I would have come earlier for the breakfast hours, I would have tried one of their coffee drinks.
Cup of Everything Gumbo ($13/3.5*) So they have a basic gumbo, which I think is just chicken and sausage. This version has seafood like crab and shrimp. It is a very tiny cup but is actually the perfect size if you want to nosh on something before an entree. It is pricey for the size, but I felt I got enough quality bites that I wasn't that perturbed.
Yes it was dark and murky, just like the mighty Mississippi River...the way it should be. That means they properly browned that roux to nutty status. But unfortunately I couldn't taste much of the roux as they spiced the broth with something tangy and slightly sweet. My guess a good dose of Worcestershire. It wasn't bad, just not what I associate with a knockout gumbo. There were also good hits of small plump shrimps and sausage. Never really got any crab except for one spoonful, where I got a chunk with possibly even some crab fat as it was very custard-y.
The Peacekeeper Po' Boy ($27/4.5*) Okay I know that price seems really steep for a sandwich. But this is fried shrimp and oyster po'boy and they add a few slices of thick sliced bacon for good measure, ya know to 'keep the peace'. Man when this thing came out, my eyes almost bulged outta their sockets. They put so much fried seafood in this thing that it was part of the presentation for it to be spilling out all over the plate. The skrimps and oysters were not miniscule and were fried perfectly in a seasoned cornmeal coating. So instead of trying to stuff everything back in the sandwich, I just ate the sandwich (which already was stuffed adequately), and I just forked whatever seafood was on the plate. With a few dabs of hot sauce (many are on the table), this made quite the epic late lunch.
I was camping down the road, so I went back and napped amongst the redwoods. Imma round up here...no shame son.