Lunch. N'awlins style
Tucked away up high above Pine Street between a Vietnamese restaurant and a ghetto movie theater, lies a little place called "Gumbolaya". I had noticed it before but i had yet to eat there. The prices seemed a bit high for what i had assumed was a small Asian owned theme restaurant. My assumptions were partly right. It is indeed Asian owned and the prices are a bit high...BUT! the young Asian owners speak with a most amusing N'awlin's accent as they guide you through the menu, detailing why their crawfish will outshine anything from Orange County and how their "Mardi Gras" sauce is so good they are looking to bottle it and sell it in stores. And then you get your food....wow!
Easily the best catfish I have ever eaten, fresh and light and a smidge of cajun love. The fries were cajun salt seasoned and the shrimp were pefectly breaded and all of it tasted even better dipped in a little bit of "mardi gras" sauce. The fried oysters were as good as one can expect...for an oyster (not a fan of that particular crustation in any form). The crawfish though...the crawfish were as good as promised. Bright red and bursting with the perfect amount of cajun flavor to make your lips tingle for a good half hour after your done eating. Unlike other places, Gumbolaya takes the time to season their crawfish in such a way that the flavor doesn't just sit outside on the shell but actually permeates the meat itself. This was all in two meals as I was sharing all this with a coworker and we took most of it togo (except the crawfish, a full pound was annihalated). We attempted to limit ourselves intentionally for one very specific reason. This blessed place serves fresh Beignets beautifully dusted with powdered sugar and served with condensed milk for contrast. Brill - freakin- tastic.
So yeah, my image of New Orleans is no longer jazz musicians and french themes, its filipino twenty somethings and yummy lunches. Gooood stuff!!
Easily the best catfish I have ever eaten, fresh and light and a smidge of cajun love. The fries were cajun salt seasoned and the shrimp were pefectly breaded and all of it tasted even better dipped in a little bit of "mardi gras" sauce. The fried oysters were as good as one can expect...for an oyster (not a fan of that particular crustation in any form). The crawfish though...the crawfish were as good as promised. Bright red and bursting with the perfect amount of cajun flavor to make your lips tingle for a good half hour after your done eating. Unlike other places, Gumbolaya takes the time to season their crawfish in such a way that the flavor doesn't just sit outside on the shell but actually permeates the meat itself. This was all in two meals as I was sharing all this with a coworker and we took most of it togo (except the crawfish, a full pound was annihalated). We attempted to limit ourselves intentionally for one very specific reason. This blessed place serves fresh Beignets beautifully dusted with powdered sugar and served with condensed milk for contrast. Brill - freakin- tastic.
So yeah, my image of New Orleans is no longer jazz musicians and french themes, its filipino twenty somethings and yummy lunches. Gooood stuff!!