The Big Easy

Even though I'm a Hyde Parker, I haven't been to this place since the spring.
They were closed for 4 months; a friend told me the owner had been in the
hospital with some kind of tumor.  Apparently he's healthy now because I
saw him on Friday night and he came to our table and was quite animated
and friendly.

Bottom line for my husband and myself is the stuffed Jambalaya. It's flat out
the best ever, although a bit weird as it kind of flows out of a crunchy chicken
breast.  It has a kick but not overly hot.  They use, instead of pork, chicken
andouille sausage in their Jambalaya.  We shared that and the Louisiana
catfish, which was just crispy enough on the outside and the fish juicy on the
inside.  Considering how many of us in the South Side have Southern roots,
it's annoying that you can't get a good piece of catfish around here.

We also tried the fried green tomatoes for the first time.  Nice crunch and the
tomatoes had a nice piquant flavor....and the remoulade dipping sauce brought
out the Creole slant we were expecting.

Try the Seafood and Lobster chowder.  I would have preferred it with more bite,
but it was filled with different fish and potatoes and dill.  Good for a cold day.

Their beer selection was just so-so, but their Chocolate Kahlua mousse pie
was to die for.

We'll be back in a couple of months.  Keep the owner healthy.

Diane G

We walked out.

We were seated pretty promptly, there were two other tables with customers.  The waitstaff talked to them, brought them their bill, etc.  We got nothing.  Not even water!  I'm not sure how long we waited but since we knew what we wanted before we walked in, it was way too long.  They were too busy clearing the desserts from the brunch.  

As we walked out, the person clearing the desserts asked if we were going to order and and we said we would have if someone had come to the table.

My boyfriend has been there before and he wasn't impressed with the service or food....

Imagine you're in China and you see some local folks staring at a brand new Panda Express  restaurant. The locals wonder how Americans make Chinese food, how is it different from the real thing?

As a New Orleanian I wondered the same about "The Big Easy" hoping to find an authentic representation of home cooking. Oh lord. These guys have never been to NOLA or hate the place so much that they decided to make fun of the place with this restaurant.

The Po Boys need to be made with French Bread, not with WTF bread. The catfish was passable, the only reason they get 2 stars, but the sides are pretty yuck. The sweet potato fries are cold, the mash potatoes not really true to form. I saw the beignets in the display case and wondered if modern people cannot faithfully reproduce something from a thousand miles away, then maybe nothing fossil hunters put together in museums can be trusted either. In short, the beignets look forlorn, like criminal pastries on the run from the law and caught on camera.

In short, this is not "cajun" it sho ain't "creole". The service staff was nice enough but the service itself is perfunctory. I think I have in passing said hello to the owner, who seems like a good guy, this place could be so much more than it is today I wanna tell him. I hope he reads these reviews--I would happy if he saved his business by trying harder and not phoning it in, like it seems has happened.