Evangeline Cafe (& KC Donuts too!)

Everyone needs a bit of Cajun food in their lives, and it's just too bad that I don't go seeking it out very often. Evangeline Cafe is pretty far south down Brodie Lane, but it's hard not to enjoy the atmosphere (even if it is in a strip mall) and friendly service once you're there. See their picture on the website; you can sort tell there's decor all over the place, from LSU Tigers to Mardi Gras to the wall-mounted duck that was "flying" above our heads! It's a great mish-mash of Cajun culture.

Arriving just before noon today, the parking lot was full, and my dining companion and I thought we may have made a mistake. However several tables were available, and while there were just two of us, the hostess happily put us at a four-top. They've got six daily lunch specials, and I was torn between a po-boy and the chicken-fried steak with cajun cream gravy. The gravy won out. The CFS comes with a side salad, which I ordered the remoulade dressing to go with it. The salad (basic green salad, all fresh, nothing overly exciting) came in about 2 seconds, and shortly thereafter, the half-order of thin sliced onion rings came as well. Their rings are delicious! I remember them from a previous visit, a couple of years ago. They are very lightly seasoned, fried up, and also served with the remoulade. Yum!

So a fat piece of CFS arrived with a huge bowl of gravy, slightly dirty rice, and a piece of toast. Very nice breading on it, and when I say fat piece, I mean it! It was thick, a bit thicker than I usually see for CFS, but the meat was also underseasoned. It definitely needed salt. A good dunk the gravy helped too! The rice was rather boring. My friend's catfish po-boy was large, and apparently quite tasty. It was accompanied by homemade potato chips, thick cut and not greasy. We both ate half our meals, and got boxes for the rest. Sort of regretting not getting a po-boy, but the gravy was tasty. In retrospect, I may not eat the rest of the CFS, but I think I'll make some biscuits to go with my gravy!


While we were fat and fairly happy, we couldn't resist going into KC Donuts, which is a couple doors down. All I really wanted was ONE donut hole, but they only sell them by the dozen (for $1.99). Ouch! Twist my arm! We asked if he would split a mixed dozen into two bags, which he was happy to do. Or maybe because he thought we're cute. :) And, I think because it was about an hour from closing time, he added extras to the bag; I think we each got 10! And darn, they're good! Cake donuts are my favorite, and so far I've eaten a chocolate and regular hole, and a glazed non-cake style. Great texture, not too sweet. Glad that place isn't real close to my house!

So, let the good times roll!