The French Quarter Bistro

A late night at work for us and our empty bellies lead us to FQB. I had the Andouille Meatloaf and my wife had the upside down pizza. We loved them both!  Upside down means it was built cheese under sauce. Yes, the dough is still on the bottom. A sweeter sauce on a nicely crisp, but not too thin crust. Very tasty. My meatloaf was really good too. On the side, dirty rice and a creamy corn with onion, celery and spices that was awesome. I know it has a real french/creole name that escapes me for now but I'll get to know it better next time.  It did take a little time for our food but at least to me, it looks and tastes like its being done right. Freshly prepared with a little heart. I know others haven't given good reviews but for my wife and I it fit the bill and exceeded our expectations this time.
  Tons of beers to pick from and a small, good humored crowd who is not afraid to pick from the deepest tracks of the karaoke library. No American idols but there were a few that we couldn't stop laughing with.  We will be back!

This is an interesting place. I couldn't quite figure out the vibe. Our waitress was very nice and the place seemed clean but something was off. It really got weird when our waitress said she couldn't do something because "the owner is here tonight."

...ok?

The menu is quite large and offers lots of options. The fried pickles were good. The beer selection is decent. I got the Stromboli pot pie and it came in a Pyrex baking dish. It was HUGE and another member of the staff came out with our waitress just to see my reaction to getting such a large dish dropped in front of me. My husband has the sausage sampler and wasn't wowed. The sauerkraut ruined the whole dish because it was overly sweet and the wild boar was incredibly gamey. The portion sized vary by a mile. Our one table mate had the tacos...there were three on a plate and he was still hungry. Our other table mate had the mac and cheese and it looked like an appetizer sized portion (that seemed to work out because it was very rich). Another had the chicken cheese steak and took some home. Meanwhile my husband and I are juggling HUGE dishes.

The vibe really got weird when this guy started walking around every table interrogating every guest about their meal, the weather, the staff, etc. He was kinda erratic and was wearing gym shorts and a wrinkly polo shirt. Well, apparently he was the owner. It was...very strange.

I would def give this place another shot because we have friends who live close by but the vibe makes me not want to go after dark.

The food here is incredible. Cajun cornbread to start with, huge portions, and basically any crazy Cajun dish or spice you can think of is available. Alligator sausage, fried pickles (amazing), even plain hamburgers for those who can't decide. They definitely know this genre of food. I will admit it usually takes a decent amount of time to get your plate, but the food is so good that it's understandable. It's very well priced and one of the places I always tell people about when they visit.

However.

The atmosphere is straight up weird. One side of the restaurant is the dining area which is fairly nice, but has a 'deconstructed' feel that you can't tell whether or not it's on purpose. The servers have always been incredibly nice and knowledgeable though, and I've never gotten an unsanitary vibe, but it looks like they couldn't decide on a decor, so they just threw whatever they could find around the place and painted a few walls. The other side of the restaurant is a dive bar. A straight-up, "We'll laugh at you if you get a martini" dive bar. It's lit with insanely bright florescent lights and I would describe it as the opposite of "homey". Everyone seems to be a local and every time I go, at least one patron is personal friends with the bartender and gets treated as such. It's really uncomfortable for people who aren't "regulars."

This place has all the ingredients for an awesome establishment, but I think they need to agree on what kind of atmosphere they're aiming for.