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Dining Divas: Cajun & Italin Mix at Lagniappes
By Lisa Kampeter
I’d like to say that the Dining Divas picked a Cajun restaurant in September in honor of our Displaced Diva from New Orleans or in remembrance of Hurricane Katrina a year later. But really, we all just wanted something different and a little something extra, and Lagniappes (Creole for “something extra”) promised just that.
Located on 9th Street in Soulard, Lagniappes (pronounced “lanyaps”) sounds like a Louisiana-style restaurant, but it’s that and more. You can enjoy gumbo, red beans and rice, and jambalaya but also eggplant parmesan, chicken marsala, and baked mostaccioli. The owners of Lagniappes worked on the Hill for over 30 years and decided to offer some Italian along with a Cajun menu.
When we first walked into this historic brick building, I was surprised to see the immediate dining area. It was more like a hole in the wall (which a few of us Divas love) rather than the “nicer” type of restaurants we’re accustomed to. Fortunately, the hostess seated us outside on the patio… expansive and open with lots of plants. With the cool night, beautiful weather, full moon, and live music, Lagniappes served up their “something extra” right there on the patio. It was great.
We couldn’t help being distracted by a cricket that had to be the size of a deep-fried beignet. It competed with the violin, guitar, and flute playing its own rendition of a sad country song. Fortunately, it never showed its face. It just never shut up.
At Lagniappes, the chef gives the customers a complimentary taste of something extra each night, and this night, he was in the mood for bruschetta. What a great treat for all of us! We followed it up with flash fried spinach, portabella mushrooms, and crawfish beignets.
After what seemed like an eternity, our waitress returned to see if we were still hungry. The daggers we shot had to give her a clue that we were frustrated and still hungry. We hadn’t even ordered dinner yet, and we had every intention of continuing to eat (even though we had a lengthy conversation about gaining the “freshman fifteen” 20 to 30 years later).
The text message updates of the first football game of the season kept one Diva satisfied while she waited patiently for her food. Another Diva entertained us by sharing stories of her recent blind date and how she somehow got talked into date #2 even though she wasn’t thrilled with date #1. We discussed passing a collection basket to raise money for therapy for the Bitter Diva in the group. And we learned to perfect the New Orleans accent (take a New Jersey twang and mix it with a southern drawl). Sort of like Tony Soprano on quaaludes.
About a half hour later, our food arrived. Thankfully the “lagniappes” and the appetizers kept us from eating the head off that giant cricket. Fortunately the conversation kept our minds off of our growling stomachs. And thankfully the setting and music made the time fly by.
At our table, we had crawfish and shrimp etoufee, eggplant parmesan, jambalaya, and red beans and rice. The Diva dining on Italian had her plate licked clean in no time. The jambalaya was perfect with just the right amount of spices. The etoufee and beans were way too spicy for most everyone, and according to our New Orleans native, too spicy for real Cajun. It’s the “holy trinity” that gives Cajun its flavor (onion, bell peppers, and celery)…not spices. According to a few Divas, you almost couldn’t taste the flavors due to how hot it was. Those of us who could take the heat loved it.
A disappointment that the Divas have become accustomed to was the bread pudding. We’ve yet to find a restaurant that knows how to properly make the dessert. As the Italian Diva put it, who serves bread pudding cold? And fruit (raisins) doesn’t belong in bread pudding. If she wanted a healthy dessert, she would have ordered a fruit salad.
But we still liked the place. Regardless of some disappointments with our dinner choices, if Lagniappes throws in a little something extra, either on our plates or in the setting, everyone agreed that we’d love to come back.
Oh, and by the way, regarding pralines, the sugary Creole candy, it’s not .
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