<![CDATA[EATROUGE - Seafood/Cajun]]>Thu, 30 Sep 2010 00:46:41 -0800Weebly<![CDATA[Niche Bar and Grill]]>Wed, 11 Aug 2010 17:26:44 -0800http://www.eatrouge.com/9/post/2010/08/niche-bar-and-grill.html
Picture
By Daniel Hembree
Long have I been a fan of food, but only recently was that love reignited with a fresh take on it. Newly opened in July of 2010 Niche Restaurant has found a place in my heart and stomach.
I decided to order their special for our appetizer, homemade pepper jack cheese sticks. For our entrees, my wife ordered a bowl of Crab and Corn Bisque and for myself the grilled mahi - mahi with mango salsa and garlic mashed redskin potatoes.

When our appetizers first arrived we could not believe the size of the sticks! 5 overgrown fried cheese logs sat in front of us extremely hot from only moments before being lifted from the fryer. While we started to enjoy them we did notice 1 was missing the best part, THE CHEESE! However, after making our server aware, a manager came out and replaced the entire appetizer without the slightest hesitation. Shortly before the second appetizer order of cheese sticks arrived our entrees were brought out. I was not thrilled. If this was to be my only complaint, I am sure our readers would have some witty comments on my maturity and the size of utensil protruding from my mouth.

If it had not been for the remake of the appetizer, entrees would have been timed perfectly. My wife’s bisque was truly amazing. Creamy, chunky, and the best part of all is that it did not feel as though it had been sitting in a steamer all day waiting on some poor sap to order it. The Fish was fantastic and light; fell right apart in a flaky efficient fashion. Topped with an amazing mango based salsa that screamed go ahead you know I am just too pretty to not eat.  

Bring on the desert. A trio of red velvet, peanut butter chocolate, and key lime ice cream based cakes. The red velvet was light and creamy, while the peanut butter chocolate was thick and rich. In the end the key lime pie was the perfect follow up to the transition on desert leaving a very pleasant feeling in your mouth and stomach.
 
Food Rating: 5 out of 5

Service
The staff is very knowledgeable of the food since they make sure to have all staff sample the food which is always an A+ in my book. Regularly prompt on refilling of drinks, checking on us after service of food, and outlining of specials and events for the restaurant mixed with a collage of information and personal thoughts made a very warm experience. Minus the overall mishap of our appetizer, the service was friendly, generally attentive, and experienced.

Service Rating: 4 out of 5

Atmosphere
With a light hearted environment, lively music (without drowning out idle conversation), a patio out front for the cool breezy days, wide beer selection, and over all ambience; there is much to be desired with this truly Cajun Experience. Bring your family and friends, for, in this humble critic’s eyes, I have finally found my Niche and you can too.

Atmosphere Rating: 5 out of 5


Overall: 14 Out of 15

Niche Bar & Grill
6606 Siegen Lane
Baton Rouge, LA 70809
(225) 300-4916
www.nichebarandgrill.com
]]><![CDATA[Dempseys]]>Mon, 03 Aug 2009 17:44:48 -0800http://www.eatrouge.com/9/post/2009/08/dempseys.htmlToday I got to review one of my favorite restaurants in Baton Rouge, Dempsey’s. Dempsey’s is a small café located on Coursey Blvd. that offers home-style poboys and authentic Louisiana cuisine.
On today’s visit, I started off my meal with one of Dempsey’s favorite appetizers: Fried Mushrooms. This was my first time trying the fried mushrooms.  The mushrooms are served in a basket that could feed at least 6-8 people as an appetizer.  They were excellent and featured a nice seasoned flavor instead of that soft shroomy taste that can sometimes be a textural nightmare. The mushrooms also came with a ranch and remoulade sauce for your dipping pleasure.

Dempsey’s offers amazing daily specials that are usually very reasonably priced. Today I decided to go with the special: Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya with Fried Catfish. Where else can you select two main entrees on one plate?

I first laid into the catfish. Yes Saaaaaaa! Excellent. The fish was very fresh and fried in a nicely seasoned batter that was perfect.

Next I took my first bite of the jambalaya that was piled high on the plate. The jambalaya was a little bland, but was very meaty and had that good homemade jambalaya taste. After shaking a few drops of Tabasco sauce in the jambalaya, it was ready to eat with a nice little kick. Spiciness may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but when it comes to Cajun food, the hotter the better for me.

As a side note, another favorite of mine is the Cup and a Half. It comes with your choice of a cup of soup or gumbo and a half order of one of their poboys. This gives you a taste of two of Dempsey’s most popular items.

Food Rating: 5 out of 5 Tails Up!

Service
The service was pretty good today. We were easily seated and got our meals out quickly. The waitress was friendly and service was prompt.

Service Rating: 5 out of 5 Tails Up!

Atmosphere
Dempsey’s is a nice little café that has definitely outgrown its boundaries.  The atmosphere inside is cute and clean, but is very cramped and a little loud. While I was there I had to scoot the table back a little to be able to get into my chair. The entire meal, I was back to back with the table behind me.

Atmosphere Rating: 2.5 out of 5 Tails Down!


Overall: 12.5 Out of 15

Dempsey’s Poboys
13580 Coursey Blvd # F
Baton Rouge, LA 70817-1335
 (225) 752-1199
www.dempseyspoboys.com‎
]]><![CDATA[Copelands of New Orleans]]>Fri, 20 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0800http://www.eatrouge.com/9/post/2009/03/copelands-of-new-orleans.html
Picture
For my girlfriends birthday we decided to go to Copeland’s to celebrate. Copeland's has recently reopened after a $1 million renovation of the restaurants interior. The new look gives the place an even more formal feeling with a much needed modern update.

I decided to try the Crabcakes and Shrimp Alfredo. The dish featured fried crab cakes lying over a bed of pasta with Alfredo sauce and topped with grilled shrimp. Like any dish at Copeland’s, this one was huge and piled high. You can always be sure that you will never leave Copeland's hungry.

The dish was incredible. The creaminess of the Alfredo sauce complimented the saltiness of the crab cakes and of course went well with the shrimp. Overall, this is a great classic dish with a twist that really works well. My hat is off!

My girlfriend ordered the shrimp platter, one of the most popular dished at Copeland's along with the seafood platter. The Shrimp are large and fried to a golden brown. They are well seasoned and have fresh taste. The platter comes with more shrimp than most can handle and sits upon a bed of fries and fried onion strips (which are fantastic). The platter also comes with fried crawfish tails.

Don't worry, I ate my share of her plate!

Food Rating: 5 out of 5 Tails Up!

Service
The servers at Copeland’s are very friendly and show a lot of class. The only problem I had during this visit was with my daughter’s cheeseburger. They brought out two buns with a pea sized hamburger patty. It was ridiculous. The waitress was quick to take it back and get her a new hamburger and gave us dessert on the house. Great job satisfying your customers when a mistake is made! That's hard to find in most restaurants now days.

Service Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Tails Up!

Atmosphere
The renovation of the restaurant completely opened up the restaurant and added more seating. The walls and lighting are just two changes in the dining area. The first thing you may notice when walking into the restaurant is the new bakery that has been added and a new wall fountain that towers behind the greeters. It is a very formal and warm atmosphere.

Atmosphere Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Tails Up!


Overall: 14 Out of 15

Copeland’s of New Orleans
4957 Essen Ln
Baton Rouge, LA 70809
(225) 769-1800

]]><![CDATA[Taste of Louisiana Cafe]]>Sun, 08 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800http://www.eatrouge.com/9/post/2009/02/first-post.htmlNestled deep in the heart of the Denham Springs Antique District you will find this quaint Cajun and seafood café.  Taste of Louisiana is a small joint, roughly the size of my living room which can make it seem a little cramped.

I decided to try the chicken and sausage gumbo and the fried shrimp basket.  I started on the gumbo first which was loaded with sausage and chicken. It wasn’t the best gumbo I’ve ever tasted but it was pretty damn good. After devouring the entire bowl in less than a couple minutes I moved on to the shrimp basket with fries. The shrimp were a descent size, not too big or too small. The flavor was also descent. Once again not the best I’ve ever had, but it is good enough.

The one complaint I had was the fries during this meal. They were a little on the soggy side and didn’t taste that fresh.  It’s ok though,  I didn’t go there for the fries.

All in all I would say the food was good and I would recommend it as a good lunch stop if you are in the Denham Springs area.

Food Ratings: 3 out of 5 Tails

Service
Service was descent. Had no problems with our waitress and the food came out pretty quickly.

Service Rating: 4 out of 5 Tails Up

Atmosphere
As I was saying above, the place is very small which made me feel a little cramped since it was a busy day.  But that’s really not much different from most small café restaurants.

Atmosphere Rating: 2 out of 5 Tails


Overall: 9 Out of 15

Taste of Louisiana Cafe
105 N Range Ave
Denham Springs, LA 70726
(225) 664-4181

]]>