Cajun Table/SOTSOT

So I have been itching to try the Cajun Table or SOTSOT (“Some of this, some of that”), depending on whom you ask. This place is the brick and mortar version of the SOTSOT food truck. The sign outside the restaurant says Cajun Table, but much of the other items (menus, social media etc.) are branded with the SOTSOT name.

Anyway, I was on a tight schedule one day downtown and last minute ended up meeting a friend who was also downtown. They open at 11:00 (and I even called to be sure) but when we got there at 11:00, the doors were still locked. Shortly someone came and let us in (which was good because it was snowy and cold outside). The bad part was that they had clearly just gotten there themselves, and do not run the heat when they aren’t there. It was freezing in the restaurant throughout our entire meal, even after they did turn the heat on. A little tip to them, someone may want to show up an hour or so before the restaurant opens to get the heat going. We had to wear our coats the whole time. And it was still cold. The staff of two was exceptionally friendly though and apologized to us the whole time we were there.

We agreed to share several items from the menu, the shrimp po boy ($10 + $2 for fries), a pick two sampler with shrimp and crawfish etouffee and bourbon chicken ($11.50) and a cup of chicken and sausage gumbo ($5).  The po boy was huge! So big I found it nearly impossible to eat as a sandwich and just sort of ate it open-faced or ate the shrimp on their own. The shrimp were fine—seemed like they are premade frozen type of shrimp battered and fried, but there were a lot of them and they were very crunchy and had nice seasoning. The bread was nice too—had a great crispy edge to it. The star of this dish though? The sauce that was drizzled on it—especially combined with the lettuce and tomatoes on the bun. That sauce was great—super acidic, it was exactly what this sandwich needed. Because of it, I quite enjoyed the sandwich, even though the shrimp themselves were ok. The fries were standard seasoned fries and were just fine.

The other thing on the table that was really tasty was the gumbo. I am really glad we added it (you can’t get the gumbo as part of the combos). It had the most Cajun seasoned flavor to it. A real depth of various spices. Just the broth alone was really good. A couple chunks of chicken and veggies in a bite with some rice and that broth were great. The sausage was just ok—nothing super fancy going on here and the slices were quite big, but they were fine. The overall flavor though was very good.

The etouffee was okay, maybe a little bland. And the sauce sort of overwhelmed the pieces of shrimp and crawfish that were in there. The bourbon chicken was also fine; we agreed it tasted almost more like an Asian flavor profile—maybe some soy in there. Not bad, but not exactly what you are expecting when you are thinking of Cajun food.

The biggest downer for me though was the temperature of the place. I hate sitting through a meal with my coat on and still feeling cold. I think they need to rethink the cost savings on this one, or they may drive customers away. It’s a cute place inside though, with several booths and lots of brick and wood (the ceiling could use some sort of treatment though). And I am glad to see at least some of the food trucks doing well enough that they can move into a brick and mortar location, and that someone cared enough to rehab this very cool building. If you go, definitely get the gumbo. If they have the seafood version I see listed online, I would especially be intrigued to try that one.

Cajun Table/SOTSOT

2405 North College Ave

Indy  46205

317/602-5869

https://www.facebook.com/sotsot1catering 

B's Po Boy--Revisit

I know I’ve written about this place a ton before but B’s Po Boy really is one of our go-to family faves. We’d been wanting to go and the last time we tried we couldn’t get a table for 40 minutes, so we went to Bluebeard instead (such a sacrifice). We also wanted to gorge ourselves on American Food before our big European trip we had coming up (and hubby wanted Cajun food).  

We took a seat on the packed patio, looked at the menu and were very surprised. They had new items—this was exciting! We ordered the fried green tomatoes to start. It was actually a lot more than just fried green tomatoes—it was like a fancy salad with goat cheese, balsamic, fennel, lettuce and some fresh tomatoes. They were breaded with a cornmeal type batter similar to the shrimp on the po boys. They were tasty.

I’ve finally managed to get the whole family on the shrimp po boy bandwagon. After trying almost everything on the menu my daughter finally realized that the shrimp po boy is the best (we’ve been telling her this all along). So all four of us got shrimp po boys ($ market) and we all got extra shrimp. We always get extra shrimp. The shrimp were even more plentiful this time—maybe you don’t need the extra ones? It also seemed like they had amped up the flavor and spices on the breading. It was great! Of course this immediately made my son like them less (change is hard sometimes). They still import their bread from NOLA and I liked mine fully dressed with the lettuce, tomatoes and pickles. And mayo. Oh, and I always get a side of remoulade to add too. (I like saucy sandwiches). The kids eat theirs plain.

We rounded off our meal with our usual order of beignets and chocolate sauce ($5.50). As with the rest of our meal B’s had made some changes. The beignets were a little denser and more like the beignets we’ve had in New Orleans. Hubby even declared them better than any he’d ever had in his four years of living in NOLA. I’m not totally sure I agree, but they are darn good beignets.

All in all, it was exciting to see some additions and changes at B’s, while they still maintain the level of quality that we have always enjoyed. Combine this with their bocce courts, life-size Jenga games, and corn hole and you have yourself a family favorite.

B’s Po Boy

1261 South Shelby Street

Indy  46203

317/916-5555

www.bpoboy.com 

Borel’s Cajun and Creole Cookery

You know we love our Cajun and Creole food—hubby went to school in New Orleans and spent a lot of years “studying” the cuisine. His love for it has spread into the rest of our family and it was my daughter who kept nagging me about going here (that, and she has been a little obsessed with my blog lately and wants to make sure we go to new places).

The first things you notice about the place are the cute interior and the super friendly people. They have done a nice job decorating the interior with murals of scenes from New Orleans and the entire place is pretty much purple, gold and green—the official mardi gras colors. It’s a big place too—a fair amount bigger than I expected. 

The people who work there couldn’t be friendlier. They are excited to tell you about the menu and help you make your choices. This enthusiasm is infectious. I was really hoping to like the place—the people are just so nice.

Hubby and I split a couple of things to try and get a taste of as much as possible. We had the soft shell crab po boy ($11.95) and a sampler of the entrées. This is a good deal for $9 for three choices, as most of the individual entrées are $3.50-$5.50 per cup if you buy them on their own (for the small size). I got the soft shell crab po boy because my son was getting the shrimp ($9.95), which would often be my first choice, and I knew I could try it too. My daughter had the catfish po boy ($8.95). All the sandwiches come with fries as well.

Hubby and I really enjoyed the crawfish etouffe that we had in the trio sampler. It had that nice rich, buttery flavor with chunks of peppers and onions and some really nice, really tender, pieces of crawfish. Like actual, recognizable pieces of crawfish, unlike some etouffes I have had in this town. It was seasoned really well and was my favorite. Hubby loved the red beans and rice—he declared they were the best he’s had outside of New Orleans. They were good—they had a nice creamy texture, not that watery consistency this dish sometimes has. Our least favorite was the seafood gumbo, although, it wasn’t bad—just not as good as the other two. Of course, we tend to not be as big a fan of gumbo in general, so it may be a predisposition. There were nice pieces of scallops and shrimp in there though—and it was made with a nice dark roux (there’s crab in there too, according to the menu, but I couldn’t see any particular recognizable pieces). I liked that with all three of the dishes, they put just a small dollop of rice in there, giving it just the right amount of texture without turning it into a rice dish with a little bit of sauce. They also give you some nice French bread with it.

As for the po boys, my favorite was definitely my son’s shrimp. The shrimp themselves were nice and plump and juicy and breaded and fried well. The bread is pretty authentic. The only thing I would say is that I wished for a bit more moisture on the sandwiches—I had mine fully dressed (my kids got theirs plain) and it was just lettuce, tomato and pickle on the bread—there was remoulade sauce served alongside, which I appreciated, but I needed that plus some mayo on the bread. And maybe some hot sauce too. Typically, I expect some mayo on a dressed po boy, and I think it would have improved it a fair amount. The soft shell crab on mine was large, and fried pretty crisp. Between it and the pretty dense bread and the little bit of sauce, it was kind of dry. The catfish was also good—probably my second favorite sandwich. The fish was more lightly breaded and nicely seasoned and was wonderfully juicy inside still. Next time I would get he shrimp and ask for mayo as well and I think it would be a darn good combo. Oh yeah, and with a side of that etoufee (you can sub it in for a surcharge instead of the fries). The fries were decent—those seasoned, lightly breaded fries, but the homemade stuff there is so much better.

We also had the beignets ($4.50) for dessert. If there is fried dough, and my kids are with me, that’s gonna happen. We tried the chocolate and caramel sauces as well ($1 each). The beignets are good. Possibly more authentic to what you get at Café du Monde in New Orleans than most, although, I tend to like the ones with the slightly crisper outsides. These were still very good though. I preferred the chocolate sauce. I was a little surprised that they charged a dollar for these little cups of sauce—seemed a little steep to me. I think it might be nicer to just up the price a bit (maybe $5?) and include one sauce. Just a thought.

Overall, I think this place is a nice addition to our local independent food scene. It’s a cuisine that isn’t oversaturated, they are super nice, the food is good and they even have local beer (Sun King) and wine. The kids really enjoyed it and look forward to going back. I look forward to perfecting my order on another visit.

Borel’s Cajun and Creole Cookery

2274 West 86^th Street

Indy 46260

317/228-9928

http://borelscajunrestaurant.com/ 

Yats

Yats.  A place that is clearly an institution in Indy, and one which people have extremely strong feelings about.  And a place I had never been until this visit. Not sure why, possibly because I just get nervous about places like this—it seems like there are expectations to live up to and sometimes in this town I find with places like this (see, Mug n Bun),sometimes people’s sentimentality dominates their taste buds. (Actually, I could name a list of places that this applies to now that I think about it—Hollyhock Hill is the first one that springs to mind, not to mention a LOT of Italian places in this town).

But, it was cold, really cold, one day and I wanted something warm and comforting and thought it was as good a time as any to check it out (and I had an appointment on Mass Ave, so it worked out).  I felt as though it was a requirement to get the chili cheese étouffée with crawfish, as untraditional as it may be, just because it is the thing I always hear people talking about.  But I wanted to try more than one thing, so I also got the drunken chicken (a two plate combo is $6.75). 

You know, I liked the chili cheese étouffée ok.  As in, it was a cold day, and it hit the spot. I can see how you could develop a taste for it.  The texture is quite smooth (thinking processed cheese here) but the chili part of it added some depth. I enjoyed the bits of crawfish I got, but I have to say, they were few and far between (maybe like 3-4 pieces of crawfish, no whole tail pieces).  They were tender though when I stumbled upon one.   Couldn’t really describe it as Cajun in my opinion, but I am no expert there.  It certainly was not overly spicy.  The rice was kind of minute ricey, very un-sticky if you know what I mean and honestly, I can’t believe I am saying this, there wasn’t really enough rice to absorb the sauce and make the right proportion. I know most people would probably like more of the higher priced part of the food, but it needed more rice for balance.  I basically felt like I was eating stew off of a plate.

I wasn’t a fan of the drunken chicken.  It was a beer and tomato based sauce with other seasonings, but didn’t really have a whole lot of flavor to me.  Also, even with the chicken, I had a hard time picking out much meat.  I don’t know, I just didn’t get a lot of flavor from this dish, and I didn’t really care for it. I was glad I had gotten the étouffée because I much preferred it.  The dishes are served with a side of garlic bread which was pretty darn tasty—very garlicky in that bright yellow kind of way, but in the way that you just can’t stop eating it.  I can see why they offer extra sides of it for 50 cents.

So I wouldn’t put it in the same classification as the restaurants above. I think at least they are doing something unique (although I couldn’t really say it was truly authentic Cajun food) and you get something that they have actually made themselves for a very reasonable price.  It hit the spot for me that day, and I can see how it might pop to mind when you’re cold and you are running low on cash.  But not sure it lived up to my expectations of what I was hoping for….or I don’t know, maybe it did.  Maybe it just didn’t live up to the hype.

Yats (various locations around town)

659 Massachusetts Avenue

Indy  46204

317/686-6380

www.yatscajuncreole.com

Gumbo a Go Go

I met a friend for lunch the other day at Gumbo a Go Go.  Honestly, I hadn’t really even heard about this place until he mentioned it to me.  I am a fan of Cajun food in general, so of course I was game.  This is more of the slow cooked types of Cajun food—things like gumbo (obviously), étouffées, jambalaya, etc.  None of the po boy type sandwiches or fried items on their menu.

So I went  for a combo plate with 2 items (regular size, they also have a larger size) ($7).  On mine, I chose shrimp étouffée and chicken yaya.  The étouffée was only okay—it is a lighter colored roux flavored with Cajun seasonings, but this one was a little bland.  There were several good sized shrimp in there—I am thinking they threw them in just before serving, probably so they wouldn’t get rubbery, but they didn’t taste very seasoned either.  Not sure how to remedy this, maybe crawfish would have been a better choice, because it doesn’t get as rubbery when overcooked, but usually when I order crawfish out, it seems like they don’t put much in, so I thought I would try shrimp this time.  Overall though, I think I would skip the étouffée and get something else next time. (To be fair, my friend told me he didn’t think the étouffées were their better items, but I like them so much in general, I wanted to try anyway--and besides that, I am stubborn).

I did really enjoy the chicken yaya.  It was shredded chicken slow cooked in a sauce made from tomatoes, vinegar, garlic and several kinds of hot sauce.  It was the vinegar in the description that sold me, and rightly so.  It was nice and spicy, but still had a great tangy kick from the vinegar—this is exactly the kind of stewed dish that speaks to me because it has that slightly sour balance to the spicy deep flavors that come from lots of hot sauce and lots of time on the stove.  All the stew type items are served over rice, and honestly, I wasn’t a big fan of the rice—it was like minute rice to me, you know, where each piece of rice is distinctly individual and has no chewiness to it.  I like it to be a little soft. But that is clearly a matter of personal preference.

The seasoned French bread that is served alongside the meals is delicious—it has a garlic butter seasoning on the cut half and is lightly crunchy.  It was really good with a bit of the chicken yaya on top.  I also had a bite of my friend’s “Datwich” sandwich which was shredded slow cooked turkey in a spicy tomato and beer-based sauce.  It was somewhat similar to my chicken yaya but without the vinegar flavor (although it has a deeper flavor than just tomato because of the beer).  It was a well seasoned, very tender topping on more of that French bread.  He loves it and I can understand how it might be something that a person might crave.

This is a small little place in a strip mall (in the same shopping center as Oakley’s and Stein Mart) and has a very casual feel.  The owner/cashier was really friendly and happily told me about the menu items (on a chalkboard, so they change somewhat).  The other thing I noticed was that while they had a steady lunch crowd throughout the entire time we were there, there were probably 5 men in there for every 1 woman.  Interesting.  And hey, if you’re looking for a date ladies, maybe this is your place…  J

Gumbo a Go Go

1420 West 86^th Street

Indy  46260

317/337-9420

www.facebook.com/GumboAGoGo

Nawlins Creole Café

My sister lives in Avon and recently tried this place and emailed me right away about it knowing that hubby is always looking for good Cajun/Creole food and that I am always looking for good food in general.  She qualified it with the fact that she had never eaten a po boy in New Orleans so she couldn’t verify its authenticity, but she really liked it and had talked to the owners who are from New Orleans and fly in several ingredients direct from there. I have had a couple of readers recommend it too, so I knew it was time to get over there.

It is quite a drive for us, but we met them over there the other day for lunch.  The place was pretty busy for a midweek lunch, so service started out a touch slow, but once we got the order in, things moved a long a little quicker.  The lady who runs it with her son, was a maybe a little gruff in the start, and it is the kind of place where you may just want to wait to speak until spoken to—she has a regimented way of taking orders, and you are probably better off letting her lead you through the process (hubby and I commented that it reminded us a little of the Soup Nazi episode on Seinfeld).  But by the end of the meal, after chatting with hubby about New Orleans, she warmed up to us (and her son is exceptionally friendly).

I ordered the sampler plate which included jambalaya, red beans and rice, and shrimp or crawfish étouffée or gumbo and some toasted French bread.  You also get two sides. I had the crawfish étouffée and I loved it—it was rich, but had amazing depth of flavor. It tasted like it was made from very well-tended roux.  There wasn’t a ton of crawfish in there, but enough to get a piece with most bites.  The jambalaya was also nice—a very spicy rice dish with mainly pieces of sausage and maybe a couple bites with shrimp as well.  The red beans and rice were nice—not all mushed together.  You could separate the beans from the rice if you wanted to and had a very nicely seasoned flavor. Spicy, but not overwhelming at all (not nearly as spicy as the jambalaya).  Hubby really liked them and ended up eating probably half of mine.  One of my sides was potato salad and I loved  it as well.  It is almost like mashed potatoes seasoned with celery and egg and chilled.  It was also a great counterbalance to all the hot and spicy dishes I was eating.  I would certainly always get some of the potato salad as a nice variation in taste and texture to the other things.  The macaroni and cheese was great too (my other side), and clearly homemade. Creamy, but not bright orange (which I like) and seasoned with pepper.  It had maybe a tiny smoky flavor.  Really good.  Again, hubby kept going after it out of my bowl.  I enjoyed everything I had, but I am pretty sure next time I go, unless there is some special that sounds good, I will be ordering a full order of the étouffée (maybe I will try the shrimp next time) with my side of potato salad and mac and cheese.  Wow, I want it right now just talking about it.

Hubby had the shrimp po boy.  He was very happy with it as well.  I am pretty sure they told us that they actually fly the bread in from New Orleans and apparently, it is the right kind of bread (according to hubby).  It is dressed with mayo and shredded lettuce, tomato and pickles.  The shrimp were seasoned and fried and were really tasty.  Hubby added hot sauce (Louisiana of course) and was amazed at how close his sandwich tasted to what he remembered from his college days at Tulane.  The only thing he wished is that there was more shrimp because there was so much bread, it was a little out of proportion to the shrimp.  He decided next time he would ask for a double order of shrimp and see if they would just do that and charge him accordingly.  It was a tasty sandwich.  You can get fries on the side for an upcharge.  He had the Cajun fries which were pretty tasty heavily seasoned fries.

I also had a fried oyster that came on my brother-in-law’s fried seafood platter (oysters, shrimp and catfish).  It was breaded and seasoned and fried and wasn’t bad, but I think I like the fried shrimp better.  The portions are quite generous though, especially with all the sides you get.

The restaurant does not have a liquor license (quite hard to come by in Hendricks county apparently), but they are allowed to pay for one on a day by day basis (which makes no sense to me, but that’s just my opinion) and they usually buy one on Fridays and Saturdays and offer beer and wine as well.  They also regularly offer special things on the weekend and have fairly regular shrimp boils (the next one is this Saturday, October 23^rd I believe). 

This place is a great example of a restaurant where a family has great recipes to share and seems to care about what they are doing.  This is also another place I wish was closer to my house.  Hubby declared it to be the best New Orleans style food he has had outside of New Orleans.   I can’t speak to that, but I know what I like, and I liked this place.

Nawlins Creole Café

1118 North State Road 267

Avon, IN  46123

317/272-1077

www.nawlinscreolecafe.com

Mudbug’s Cajun Café

I think I have mentioned that hubby went to college in New Orleans, so whenever he hears about a Cajun style restaurant, he gets all antsy to try it. Mudbug’s was no exception. And again, a beautiful day, outside seating, and we were there.

They have quite a few things on the menu (and will happily give you free samples) so I was really glad to see the “pick 3 combo” for lunch priced at $8.95. I ordered the shrimp po’boy sandwich, the shrimp étouffée and the Chicken Courtbouillon with a side of potato salad. Hubby ordered the shrimp po’boy as well, and the red beans and rice and crawfish casserole.

They really give you quite a bit of food for the money. The po’boy option is half a sandwich. I enjoyed the sandwich quite a bit, mainly because of the remoulade sauce. It was pleasantly spicy with a tangy flavor that was nice with the deep fried shrimp. The shrimp were breaded and fried. They were not bad, but I can’t say they tasted as fresh as the ones I have had elsewhere. Apparently po’boys are also all about the bread in New Orleans, and hubby said while he thought the bread was good, it wasn’t really authentic—it was too dense he said. It was like a toasted hoagie bun, which I thought was good, but then again I have sadly never had a po’boy in New Orleans (yet).

They actually brought me the crawfish casserole the first time (which is pictured to the right in my combo). I switched it out for the shrimp étouffée I had originally ordered. I was really glad I did because I think the shrimp étouffée was my favorite thing (pictured below). Étouffée is sort of like a seafood (or meat) stew that is traditionally made with a roux base, which is flour cooked with fat (butter or oil) until it browns. This dish was a nice reddish brown color and had a very buttery flavor. You could see various veggies in there (celery, onion) and the shrimp, which were of the very small variety. I would have appreciated some nice big chunks of perfect shrimp, but the flavor of this was so yummy, I was still happy. And the shrimp, although little, were not tough at all. It was all served over rice.

I also had the Chicken Courtbouillon which is also a stew containing similar ingredients veggie wise, but with chunks of chicken, and the stew was a tomato base (and again over rice). I liked that you could really taste the freshness of the tomato flavor, but the chicken tended to be a bit tough and this one just didn’t do it for me as much.

The potato salad was just too bland—I was hoping for a more refreshing side dish knowing that all the things on my plate would be so rich, but I would take a pass on this next time. It did seem homemade, but it was just missing something for me.

Hubby also had the Crawfish casserole which was a creamy rice casserole with some bits of crawfish mixed into it along with veggies and cheese. I tasted comforting and homey, but it was so rich I couldn’t really eat more than a couple of forkfuls. They also serve a nice buttered piece of French bread across the top to eat along with the stews.
The red beans and rice was the last item, and I actually didn’t get any of these. Hubby said they were good. Nothing amazing, but gave you what you needed for a red beans and rice fix.

As we ate, as we often do, we discussed what we would order again on a next visit. About this time, one of the servers came out and told us that on Mondays and Thursdays at lunch they offer a “pick 2” lunch. That would be ideal for me size-wise. And I think we agreed we would both get the same thing. Half of a shrimp po’boy and the shrimp étouffée. And next time, we hope to have room to try the beignets.

Mudbug’s Cajun Café
20 west Main Street
Carmel, IN 46032
www.mudbugscajuncafe.com