Kettle Chips

This flavor truly was like a backyard BBQ. Spicy with an underlying sweetness with a ketchup flair. I definitely like the regular chips. They seem to have more of the flavor and thinner. Another one I would buy again.

Cajun Singles

I am pretty sure I am at the end of this series. If you think I have missed one e-mail me and I will try and find it. The white beans and sausage were a head above the red beans. These were creamy with some juice after nuking with more sausage. The flavor was excellent
This was OK and I would eat it in a pinch. As usually it had more juice than the other but still the rice was undercooked in my opinion.

DeAngelo's

Was in the mood for a hamburger and I remembered the excellent one gotten here by my particular friend. So I popped in. Below is the tomato basil soup which was great. Smooth tomato broth with a nice basil punch
Here it is. On the left is the pasta salad that came with it. Just as good as the last time. Next the top half that had the lettuce, balsamic dressing and tomatoes. The bottom half with the patty, caramelized onions and gorgonzola cheese with pancetta add. While the burger over all was delicious with all the flavors my addition of the pancetta made it a little on the salty side. However that did deter me from enjoying every bite. Next time I will get it with no additions.

I got a Tirimisu dessert. It is has been awhile since I got one of these and I was enjoying it so much I completely forgot to take a picture of it. As good a recommendation as I can make

Bee Raw Honey

I told you about this honey I got through www.Blakemakes.com It is from a company called www.Beeraw.com. I agree with the raw unpasteurized honey concept. I have been doing that for years getting honey from some friends that kept bee hives until recently. However this honey which is wild raspberry is delicate for my tastes. My friends set hives around tallow trees which give a honey in color and strength of taste of buckwheat. In other words dark and strong. I was raised on cane syrup so I that is what I am use too. However I began to appreciate the nuances of more subtle honeys. The best way I enjoyed this was straight from the jar. It was sweet but not the sweet of a normal honey and with it's light flavor made it excellent this way. Other ways follow.
As a sweetner for a mild white tea its delicate flavors blended well with the tea

Bread and honey for tea. An English classic and also quite good. The slightly yeasty flavor of this ciabatta accented the flavor of the honey. You got more than just sweet.

Honey over cheese in this case feta. A set contrast in taste and texture. The salty dense cheese accented by the sweet and sticky honey. A delight to eat.

Honey and Greek yogurt. I first had this at a small cafe in Neal's Yard in London nearly thirty years ago. With the resurgence of this style I was able to enjoy it again.

The trick here is the contrast of unsweetened tart yogurt and the sweet sticky honey. Ambrosia of the gods (Greek gods that is). A just right dessert.

Finally more bread honey. With this honey the simpler the better. Although I wonder about this and Cochon mustard glaze on a pork chop

An excellent natural product that is made available straight from the hive to you with little or no handling.

P G Diner

OUT AND ABOUT

PG’s Diner
3048 Gerstner Memorial Drive
Lake Charles, LA
337-478-2925


Seven days a week 6:00 AM to10: 00 PM $1 to $12


The PG stands for Pitt Grill. This off shoot has been around for at least 15 or so. Just recently they did some exterior work. I popped in to see if the menu had changed enough for a review. It had. The interior has seen some new paint but the booths remain the same.

The breakfast menu served all day constitutes half the menu and contains several interesting things. I went for Egg in a Hole. I received two sunny side eggs (my choice) in holes made in two thick slices of their pan bread. The bread had been buttered and griddled. I opted for corn beef hash and grits as sides. The eggs were perfect, nice and runny. The bread soaked up all the good stuff. No place I know of in town does corned beef hash which I love. This one proved to be a canned product but one I know and love. They succeeded in making crispy pan fried patties of it which I never have been able to. The grits are some of the best in town. Stiff and completely hydrated they await butter and a ton of black pepper.

They do a plate lunch here. One day I got Beef Tips. They were served over mashed potatoes with brown gravy. The tips proved tender and flavorful. The side of lima beans and yellow squash were vastly under salted as was the mashed potatoes. A judicious application of salt brought up the flavor somewhat.

Next came a Philly Cheese Steak Po Boy. On an ok bun come griddled shaved ribeye, Swiss cheese and onion. No condiments as it should be. The flavor of the beef, cheese, and onion combo and the bread make a wonderful gestalt. The onion rings were of a medium cut coated with a crust that must be prefabricated since I have encountered it a lot recently. All right but give me my plain flour coating anytime.

Last time in I got a dinner option. It started with tomato vegetable soup that contained no salt. I went with a Hamburger Steak with Chili and Cheese added. The chili with beans seemed to be a canned product. It however worked well with the ground steak. It would have been better it the sautéed onions and cheese had covered the whole thing. The combination of the three favors on the meat proved wonderful. The hash brown I got, as a side proved wonderful, crispy on the outside and luscious inside.

Service in general is good for a rushed place like this. It was evident to me regular customers were viewed a bit different as it should be. All in all the food was good except for the breakfasts, which were outstanding. Since I am just around the corner I expect I will make it my breakfast stop no matter what time of day it is.

Daigle Sausage

Could not resist this one. Chaudin over rice with black-eyed peas and cantaloupe. Some chadin I have encounter were stuffed with rice dressing like boudin however this one was stuffed with their excellent sausage. It was then braise to tenderness and served over rice with the pan gravy. It was so tender that I was able to eat the stomach lining also. The peas were creamy style with just the right spice and what can I say fresh cantaloupe !!

Pat's of Henderson

Pujo St Cafe who I work for is a member of the La Restaurant Assoc. The local chapter holds a meeting every two months at which various topics concerning the industry are addressed. It is usually held at a restaurant that is a member. This past meeting was at Pat's. Meals are served and are mostly good. Here is what we had that night. A nice salad of mixed greens mainly iceberg with tomatoes and mandarin orange slices

Fried shrimp and a hush puppy with a baked potato. This reminded me of how well this establishment fries stuff. Every bite was delicious and the coating just right.

As usual I forgot to take a picture of dessert. As I recall it was a slice of light and tangy cheesecake with whole blueberry sauce. Just enough to end the meal on a high note

Cochon Mustard

I must apologize to Liz who sent me this sample several months ago. It got put away and forgotten. The other day I stumbled upon it and here is my take. This is a whole grain German Style mustard formulated by Donald Link and Stephen Stryjewski of Cochon using Abita Amber.
It is a lovely mustard that can be eaten out of hand because of the balance of it. Not too spicy
and not too vinegary with a big mustard kick. People in New Orleans can get their hands on it at Rouses and Whole Foods to name a few. They sell it a The Butcher. There is no source for us in the hinterland but snatch it up if you happen to see it. It is very good. Here are a few uses that I did I made pork burgers with some the last ground from the hog I had butchered. A good slathering of the mustard really complemented it

A charcuterie plate with stuff I had hanging around. Starting at the top going clockwise pita bread, feta cheese, gorgonzola, smoked pork tenderloin, usinger's mortadella, and white cheddar with Cochon mustard and jam in the middle

On hot dogs of course.

I would think mixed with some honey for an excellent glaze for pork. A good addition to a lot of cooking.

Cajun Singles

Since I liked the chicken stew I thought I might like this one. Guess what I did. Nice chunks of pork, carrot and potato in a spicy sauce. Definitely something I will buy again

This one was good also. Richards penchant for having more liquid after the nuke payed off here.
Crabmeat was not evident in this except in the taste. Nice broth and spicy level

blakemakes.com

There is a blogger in New Orleans who not only blogs about food in New Orleans but also gets samples of food that he talks about. He also asks for people willing to do this to sign up on the blog. He sometimes holds a contest to further distribute food samples to these people to report on. I was one of many who got the chance for honey samples. He must have a good relationship with the manufacturer as I got my sample directly from them. I an upcoming blog I will report on it. A preliminary taste proved very good. Here is a link if you want to see what he is about

http://www.blakemakes.com/

Daigle Sausage

Ok I told in the review I would go back and I have. Yesterday they had Turtle Sauce Piquante which I was heading for but they also had Shrimp,Crab, Egg Stew. I could not pass up on that. They gave me two poached eggs this time. Again the sh imp were small but not overcooked. The crab meat was harder to find since it had melted into the stew but you could taste it. The eggs of course had picked up the flavors of the stew. It was moderately spicy just the level I like and had a deep shrimp taste. I got mashed potato salad with boiled eggs. Creamy and would be excellent in gumbo. I also opted for purple hull peas. Cooked with their in house sausage it was perfectly simple and simply delicious

Kettlecorn

Only available ,at least that is the only place I have seen them, at Wal Marts and Sams. Sams has the just the original but the Wal Marts carry different. The original is wonderful and exactly like getting it at the fair. Now this flavor does not seem to that salt/sugar crust to it but the flavor profile is wonderful. Just like eating a wing coated with the sauce and dipped into the dressing. I literally sat on my couch and consumed the whole bag handful by handful. Need to try it if you have not

Charlie G's Lafayette

Spring Tasting

3 for $30

1st Course Choices:

Southern CaesarSALAD Seasonal SOUP
Smoked Duck & Adnouille GUMBO
2nd Course Choices

blackened MAHI MAHI,baby bay shrimp & saffron risotto, grilled aspargus, mango sauce

Charley G's blue point béchamel CRAB CAKES, creole green beans, bell pepper coulis

SURF & TURF, 4 oz petit filet, grilled shrimp, smashed potatoes & marsala demi glace

Dessert

seasonal CHEESECAKE




Happy Hour
Featuring

$5 appetizers
$3 cocktails
$5 specialty wine by the glass
$3 featured import beer

Everyday 4-7pm! Join us!

MUSIC
Wednesday: Kurt Boudreaux
Thursday: David Egan
Friday: Larone Rubin
Saturday: Mike Guidry


Strawberry Abita is back for a limited time! Join us for a beer!


Cigars Under the Stars

Whiskey & Cigar Tasting
Thursday May 6 @ 7:00 PM
1st Course

Louisiana Crawfish & Corn Bisque

2nd Course

20 oz Allen Bros. Porterhouse, shallot-lemon butter, blue cheese smashed potatoes & grilled asparagus
3rd Course

White Chocolate Bread Pudding

Cigars by Cigar Merchant

Spirits by Glazer

Food by Chef Holly Goetting

$125.00 per person (tax & tip included)

Limited seating,by reservation only

Quick, Casual Lunch
@ Charley G's



Daily Lunch Specials:

MONDAY: slow cooked red beans & Louisiana rice with
southern fried chicken 9

TUESDAY: crawfish half & half, crispy crawfish served over crawfish etouffee 14

WEDNESDAY: pork grillades & grits, sautéed green beans 11
THURSDAY: woodgrilled pork chop, caramelized onion & apple glaze with smashed potatoes & green beans 15

FRIDAY: grilled fresh fish of the day, baby bay shrimp sauté, roasted roma tomatoes & grilled asparagus 15



Join us for Mother's Day Brunch

Sunday May 9
available seatings: 10:30, 11:15, 12:45
& 1:30. by reservation only, call 337-981-0108

Menu:

First Flavors
Smoked Duck & Andouille Gumbo

Roasted Garlic & Brie
Smoked Duck & Tasso Spring Rolls

Roasted Corn & Crawfish Bisque

Southern Caesar Salad

Southern Inspirations

Eggs Benedict, two poached eggs, andouille sausage, buttermilk biscuit, crawfish etouffee 33

Charley G's Blue Point Crab Cakes creole green beans, & bell pepper coulis 30

Pork Grillades & Grits grilled pork cutlets, creole brown gravy, stone ground grits & green beans 26

Brunch Surf & Turf petit filet, crab cake, smashed potatoes & marsala demi glace 35

Crawfish half & half crawfish etouffee, Louisiana popcorn rice & crispy crawfish 30

Spring Gulf Pasta grilled shrimp, smoky bay scallops, spicy garlic white wine sauce, angel hair pasta 37

Pecan Encrusted Black Drum crawfish sauté, maple-ginger roasted vegetables, sherry garlic aioli 40

10 oz Allen Bros. Rib Eye yukon gold smashed potatoes & grilled asparagus 38

Desserts

Turtle Cheesecake, Creme Brulee,
White Chocolate Bread Pudding or
Chocolate Raspberry Tower


reservations, call 981-0108!

Per the Charlie G's newsletter