A new “Taste” downtown: New Orleans cafe worth a visit

I try not to eat out much. It’s not a price thing, really; I just know that given the pathetic nature of the downtown dining scene, there is a 95% chance that I can cook a better meal for myself than the chefs at, say, The Olive Branch, are likely to provide. That being said, as a slightly obsessed foodie I consider it something akin to a sacred duty to investigate new restaurants that open near campus, in the often-vain hope that I’ll find something worth spending money on. It was this drive that took me to Taste of New Orleans Café, the newish Creole restaurant that opened up at 333 N. Tejon St. at the end of January.

I am by no means an expert on Creole food. In fact, aside from a few pathetic all-you-can-eat spots I hit while living out of my car in New Orleans, and a deep abiding love for Popeye’s Fried Chicken, I’m pretty much clueless. That said, I was impressed by the food served by Beth, the proprietor and, as far as I could tell, the only employee of the establishment.

I was admittedly unimpressed upon first walking into the place. The single room was crammed with kitsch, ranging from Mardi Gras masks to little signs declaring trite sentiments like “you don’t have to be crazy to run a restaurant, but it helps.” I also found myself slightly neglected upon entering, I actually had to walk up to the kitchen and get Ms. B’s (as she prefers to be called) attention. After that was dealt with, I found myself surprisingly comfortable in the mostly empty dining room, relaxing in my seat and bathing in the jazz constantly emanating from the speakers.

I decided to keep it simple on my first visit since I wasn’t sure The Catalyst was going to pick up the bill, and anyway I always like to make sure a place has a grasp of the basics before I go for anything fancy. If a restaurant can’t make a decent baked potato, I’m not interested in dropping the money for a steak, you know? I settled on a skrimp (yes, skrimp) Po’ Boy ($9.50) and a glass of sweet tea. Normally I’d go unsweetened, but sometimes there is something to be said for tradition.

The tea was maybe a little sweeter than I wanted it to be, but with a slightly larger lemon slice it would have been perfect. The sandwich, however, was delicious; a healthy portion of deep-fried breaded skrimps with lettuce and tomato on crusty, delicious French bread with mayo, which I took off. It was simple, yeah, but the overall effect was perfect. I’ll admit to some slight disappointment that they didn’t have Crystal’s Louisiana Hot Sauce, since that just seemed like a gimme, but whatever they had was a reasonable facsimile. The sandwich came with a small cup of potato salad as well, which quite simply blew me away. There are not a lot of things I love more in this cold, dark, world than a good potato salad, regardless of my loathing for mayonnaise, so my standards are admittedly high. Nevertheless I was firmly impressed.

There are a wide variety of other dishes available at an impressive range of price points. As I said, I wasn’t willing to splurge on this lunch, but I was tempted by the pecan-coated catfish ($12.50) as well as the seafood jambalaya ($16.50), not to mention the dessert menu, which I was simply too full to sample but includes bread pudding and that Louisiana standby bengiets. 

So yeah, the décor is weird, and you’ll probably be waiting for a minute for Ms. B to take care of you, but it’s fitting that you have to take it easy for some N’awlins style eatin’. Check this spot out; it’s a great alternative to another Chipotle burrito or yet another trip to The Ritz Grill.