In my ever-curious mind and body to discover new and interesting places to eat, I found myself with some colleagues the other day at an establishment called the Louisiana Creole Gumbo on one of the major arterties that runs through the city of Detroit: Gratiot Avenue. It happened to be a first-time experience for my friends as well, so we were all as good as tourists in a town that we live and work in! (Well, I live in the suburbs, but you know what I mean!)
So, what we found was a most curious little place with bright signs in yellow and green of pictures of alligators (from the Louisana Bayou, you see!) beckoning us into a small room with a large menu printed on the wall on one side, and framed pictures of news-articles and other accolades received by the restaurant over the years on the other side of the wall. There were two tables, booth-style, but nobody really seemed to come in to sit down for a meal. You came in, we soon discovered, to line up at the window where placed your order, and then waited a couple minutes for your order to be filled. And it would literally be filled into paper-cup containers, put into a brown paper bag, and then you would take it to go. Unless, of course, you came with the intention to stay and eat your order right there. Which is what we did.
If we were surprised at the size and style of the place, we were in for a bigger surprise when we took our brown paper bags and dug into our cups of food. Surprised in the best possible way, that it! Because the food was truly fresh and delicious. It was packed with flavor, each dish: the Jambalaya, the Creole Gumbo, the Red Beans, the Corn Bread Muffins, even the 7-Up Pound Cake and the Peach Cobbler. Simple southern Cajun-style fare right in the heart of Detroit– who knew?!
And if I dare to call it a hole-in-the-wall type of joint, it would be with the greatest affection, just FYI! A hole-in-the-wall with a lot of character and flavor! See for yourself in the slideshow below:
Like this:
Like Loading...
