Peaux Boy 3620 Gerstner Memorial Blvd 337-656-2883

Thinly Sliced BBQ Sausage PeauxBoy. Thinly Sliced BBQ Sausage with or without cabbage piled high on oven baked French style bread. Was not offered cabbage. This is so thinly sliced that the slices have disintegrated. It eats more like a Sloppy Joe and that was fine with me

The "One and Only" Boiled Crawfish PeauxBoy. A cajun favorite, boiled crawfish with potatoes and corn and our special seafood sauce served on oven baked French style bread. They included extra boiling spice if you wanted it spicier. The corn and crawfish had been tossed in the seafood dressing which was nice. It was a delicious and spicy interpretation of a crawfish boil. Bread excellent as all ways

Peaux Boy Deli

The Fat Cat Cafe

OUT AND ABOUT

The Fat Cat Cafe
723 Ryan St
Lake Charles LA
337-433-4363
www.thefatcatcafe.net
Monday thru Saturday 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM $1 to $10
Sunday 10 AM to 3 PM

Located in the old Chinese King, this establishment offers a lot of options but a majority of the menu is sandwiches. First go round was Chicken and Sausage Gumbo and CHINESE KING Cat. The gumbo suffered from under cooked rice. The sandwich (all of which are named for cats) proved outstanding. It is homage to the former venue. Fried chicken strips tossed in Tong Cho (spicy sweet and sour sauce) on a hoagie bun with Kim Chi (Korean pickled cabbage). The various textures and taste made it a well rounded sandwich for me. The French fries were OK but I never got the garlic flavor from them.

Next time in I ordered Clam Chowder and a TOM Cat. The chowder was good. The Tom is a vegetable sandwich on grilled Foccacia bread. You get grilled zucchini, roasted red bell peppers, caramelized onions, roasted eggplant with Swiss cheese and a marinara sauce. Have to say right away it is sloppy as much of these sandwiches but the deliciousness far out ways the slight inconvenience. The roasting and grilling bring out lots of flavor from the vegetables. I went with the sweet potato fries which were excellent, crispy and tasty.

I took my sister and our baking friend here. My sister went with the TOM and enjoyed it as much as I did. Our friend went with ZOE cat. Italian flatbread spread with roasted jalapeno mayonnaise then roast beef and Swiss stacked up served with an au jus. Looked and smelled fantastic. Up to this point the sandwiches had been heated on way or the other. I went with a cold one. The GEORGE cat on sliced sourdough with mayonnaise and Fat Cat mustard piled with turkey, peppered bacon, black forest ham, cheddar, havarti, red onions & tomato somewhat resembles a “Dogwood”. It tasted fantastic, the bacon and ham adding tremendous flavors. The soup disappointed again. The French Onion soup seemed to be made straight from a bouillon cube, way too salty.

I came in one Friday for breakfast. The veggie THUNDER CAT omelet with spinach, goat cheese, tomato and mushrooms filling a fold over three egg omelet hit the spot, both tasty and filling. Lastly a Sunday Brunch I attended with some old friends and new friends. One old friend tried the Breakfast Jambalaya, basically pork and bacon with vegetables and rice bound by eggs. The other old friend went with the version of Eggs Benedict. Both looked great. My new friend got what I went with and her husband ate Chili Cheese Fries. They smelled delicious but I don’t know if I could stomach them. I have been on a Shrimp and Grits jag. On a bed of cheesy grit’s a sauté of savory mixture of onions, mushrooms, and shrimp tails in a brown sauce. The tasty of the sauté played well against the creamy grits. Sourdough toast only made it better

They do a lot of off the cuff specials. Check the link on the website for Facebook. They usually post them daily. I just have not connected with this but I promise a review on them in the near future. Great addition to downtown dining

The Fat Cat Cafe

Jo's Creole Creations 2502 Broad St (337) 433-3744

I noticed the sign change over the last 6 months or so from Phil & Leona to Leona to Jo's. Since they changed the big sign to Jo's I felt a visit would be warranted. The regular menu seem pretty much the same except it seem shorter. I can tell much about a place by meatloaf and that was on the plate lunch. It came with mashed potatoes, gravy, macaroni salad, bbq beans and a corn muffin. The meatloaf was straight meat with not fillers and a nice spice level. The potatoes were instant and the gravy good. The macaroni salad had hard boiled eggs, sweet relish and celery. The beans good and the muffin overcooked and dry. All in all not too bad. I heard the owner talking to another customer about how she was looking for suggestions to add to the menu. I will check out their specialty burger to see if they use the same meat as the meatloaf and generally keep an eye on the place as it has potential

Chocolate Kingdom Delights, LLC. 2220 Ryan St (409)540-7684

There is a new bakery in town. It started in Groves Tx. It features two of the trendiest items in recent bakery history plus an old one. Cupcakes are all the rage in the big cities. Houston has at least a half dozen if not more devoted to these little cakes. New Orleans has at least three. Cupcakes are the only thing that is made there. The second is the cake ball. I know of one place in Baton Rouge that specialties in them. I have not heard of other places but I sure they are around. The last thing is to coat everything especially savory items in chocolate. Below is just a small sampler from the new place.

At the top is chocolate covered bacon which I particularly like as you get not only salty but smoky. They also have nuts, pretzels and jerky among other things. Below that is mini cupcake of red velvet, orange and lemon. The have three different sizes (mini, regular , and large). Along with the appropriate icing they are filled with whipped cream. That was a little too much for me on the minis. You only get about 20% cake. I happen to like the cake. And this cake was nice and moist not to mention flavorful. Have to try a regular next time. The thing that looks like a truffle is the cake bite. I asked for red velvet and carrot but what I got was german chocolate instead. Delicious. What it seems to be is a bite of cake that has been soaked in a simple syrup then covered in a chocolate ganache icing. A mini caloric bomb for sure but extremely tasty. So rich I am sure you can only eat a few but great flavor. I suggest you try this place for yourself. The staff is very friendly



Chocolate Kingdom Delights

Izzo's 625 West Prien Lake Road (337) 562-7902

For these wintry days Izzo's has a new item. Chicken Tortilla soup. They make it in house from the co-owner's recipe. They are also smart how they serve it. If you get a bowl you can load it up with the freebies. You can also chose the protein you prefer making it steak or shrimp tortilla soup. I went with chicken. The smart thing is the chicken has not been sitting in the soup all day on the hot line which has to be kept at a certain temperature for safety reasons. With the turnover the chicken you get it is fresh and tender. Also the seasonings help the soup. So I started off with chicken to which the soup is added to the top. It is chicken broth based with a good amount of tomato and just enough chipotle pepper to give it a smoky back taste and a slight spice kick. I added cheese and guacamole to mine. But you should consider sour cream and some corn to compliment it. The topper of course in the fried tortilla strips.

With the add ins it becomes a hearty meal that eats more like a stew than a soup. I enjoyed every bite especially the one with a little guacamole in it. It lent a certain richness. Weather getting you down head over for a bowl of warmth and sunshine to pick you up.

Izzo's

Peaux Boys

OUT AND ABOUT
Peaux Boys Deli
3620 Gerstner Memorial Hwy
Suite H
Lake Charles LA
337-564-5301
www.peauxboysdeli.com

Monday thru Saturday 10:30 AM to @ 2:30 PM $1 to $10
While I consider the dubious name of this establishment in askance, there is no doubt that delicious food is served there. Next is the address. Where the heck is that? Let me give it you to you in Lake Charles old boy speak: Head south on 14. Pass the 210 look to the right. When you see the Sonic turn into entrance right before it. Head down to Southern Mobile Supply, on your right about two-thirds down is it.

I tried the weirdest sounding po boy on my first time in. I ordered a ½ Crawfish Boil along with a ½ Beef (more traditional). Boiled crawfish with potatoes, corn and a special seafood sauce comes on it. On the fantastic bread is layered slices of red bliss potato topped a mixture of corn and crawfish. It truly tastes like a crawfish boil with all the right seasonings and heat. Potatoes on a po boy, you say. Well they have been putting fries on po boys since the beginning. There are places in New Orleans that still do that. On the other deli sliced roast beef drenched in an in-house au jus appeared. I opted for a sliced jalapeno mayonnaise. I held way too many jalapeno slices for me and pick most off. After that adjustment it was just fine and I ate every beefy bite.

Next time in I went for the ½ BBQ Shrimp and ½ Special. The juicy shrimp sautéed in a butter herb sauce needs Worcestershire sauce to make it New Orleans style in my opinion. However I looked at it like excellent shrimp scampi. I ate away while licking my chops. As in all the po boys the fresh baked New Orleans style French loaf made all the difference in the world. For Instance the bread here (crispy crust, soft crumb) made the special with its Cajun roast beef, smoked turkey, honey ham, au jus gravy, American, Swiss and provolone give the other special in town a run for its money. The crushed jalapeno mayonnaise was excellent on this sandwich as I thick it would on any other

I took my sister and our baking friend here for a treat. My sister got beef with lettuce and tomatoes. It looked good and she ate every bite. Our baking friend had the Philly without cheese. It came out with roast beef, au jus, sautéed mushrooms and sautéed onions. It smelled wonderful and again every bite eaten. She even complimented the bread which is high praise for her. I went with the Spicy Shrimp Salad on wheat berry bread. It was ok but it would have been better on the French bread.

Since I had hit these guys in their early days, I laid off for a coupled of weeks. By the time I got back they had a full and complete menu done up in a lovely trifold. They now had Salad, Wrap, Sandwich, Soup and Appetizers besides Po Boys. I went for the Boudin dip. It consisted of a green onion boudin out of the casing mixed with a cream cheese mixture and served with pita chips. It is a bit unusual but very tasty and creamy with a little zing. Last thing I had here was a Veal Roast po boy that was the special of the day. It was done up like Mother’s Roast Beef Debris in New Orleans. Chunks of melt in your mouth meat doused in spicy gravy

Seek out this venue. It offers great food. You must try one of the Peaux Boys if just for the bread, indescribably delicious.

Burger King "Stuffed" & Popeye Wings

On a junk food jag the other day. I would hardly call the new burger stuffed as the cheese and jalapeno are mixed into the burger. However it is a decent burger
It does not seem to have tomato or pickles just mayo and lettuce.

The cheese melts into the meat which is a good thing as it make it nice and juicy. There are just enough jalapeno bit to give it so real heat without blowing your taste buds off.

The wings are a fried batter product which is tossed in a sweet heat sauce. Not to bad. Have had better

Lamb and Cous Cous

My New Years dinner. Marinated and grilled lamb shouder chop over pine nut cous cous.

Little Bitty Burger Barn. 5503 Pinemont Dr. Houston, TX 77092 (713) 683-6700

Not enough for regular review but still worth visiting. Note that you have you have go the northern nether regions of Houston. It is not much. Basically a trailer with about five tables. Over the years they have hosted a couple of challenges. In the near future they will be featured on "Outrageous Food" on Food TV.

Double bacon cheeseburger with onion rings. Two quarter pound patties, two slices of cheese and four slices of bacon. Nice char and still juicy although cooked through. Lightly batter rings good until they went cold

Quarter pound hot dog with chili and raw onions. It was ok. I think I am loosing my taste for hot dogs. They just don't seem to taste right anymore.

Nice stop if you are in north Houston.

Little Bitty Burger Barn

Yelapa 2303 Richmond Avenue, Houston, TX 77098 (281) 501-0391

This one falls into an even stranger category. It is still there but the chef who created the menu has moved on and this is suppose to become a standard Tex-Mex. At this point the online menu does not reflect that. It is the same one as when I visited several months ago. All I can say is check with the restaurant by phone before going and expecting this.

Below is a table snack of spiced nuts. It also had those fried pasta wheels which I ate before the picture was taken. Nice bar snack.

They had several non-alcoholic drinks of an unusual nature like the Limeade Kicker I got. Limeade sweetened with a jalapeno simple syrup. Kick ass. Nice and refreshing with a good spicy note.

There is a ceviche like dish that is name for a bay near Mexico called Campechana. Popular in Texas. I am presently on a quest to try all I can. Usually has boiled shrimp and crab in a spicy tomato base. This one had rock shrimp, crab finger, spicy tomato sauce and avocado. Less wet than some I have had but quite delicious. I like the combo.

I also like Marisco which is seafood soup. This one had shrimp and fish with posole which is fairly unusual for this soup. It looks angry but was well within my tolerance. I suspect there is some kind of red pepper that is not as spicy as it looks that they use in these soups. As you can see there is some red jalapenos on the side along with lime wedges behind the bowl to adjust to your taste. It is also served with tortillas. Not as good as some I have had but acceptable.

Dessert was Flan with a lycee and ginger syrup. Denser and firmer than most I have tasted. It was OK but I prefer much more custard like one. The syrup was excellent

Yelapa