OUT AND ABOUT


The Green Shack Diner

1021 East McNeese

Lake Charles LA

337-480-1986



Monday to Saturday 10:30 AM to 7:00 PM Cost $1 to $10

Sunday 10:30 AM to 3: PM



On the corner of McNeese and Louisiana, this venue used to be Crawfish Cowboy or vice versa. It did boiled seafood, plate lunches and short orders. However since it changed names it must have changed the cooks. To me the food is now several notches above the former place.



First foray was a plate lunch of Pork Roast, rice & gravy, potato salad, greens, and texas toast. First of all with lots of establishment doing loin roast this venue does it the old fashioned way with a pork shoulder. It is slowly pot roasted until it is fall apart tender with lovely gravy served over decent rice. The potato salad was a sweet pickle mashed potato style which I love. The greens possessed a dose of vinegar which suited my taste. It was a really great meal for a self proclaimed “hole in the wall”.



Next time I got a big bowl of Seafood Gumbo. Dark roux and great seafood flavored broth. Now it did have a bit of sausage but it had been used judiciously. It added spice to the dish without overpowering it. It also contained a number of medium shrimp. The kicker was that the crab meat came in the form of a whole crab. Not one of those gumbo crabs but a monster with huge claws. It contained a fair amount of meat. I was sticky everywhere after going after the meat is this behemoth. However I was happy and sated. I also ordered a crab pistolette. The stuffing was inside the product. Unfortunately it had not been fried long enough to get the center was hot, must have been cooked from frozen.



Last time in was their eight ounce steak burger to which I added bacon, cheese, and grilled onions. I hardly ever use this phrase but “OH MY GOD”. It was perfect in every way except for a smallish bun. The patty exuded this liquor of the gods. The smokiness of the bacon beyond the pale with the slices just the way I like them. Even the american cheese seemed unearthly. The onions were the icing on the cake. I literally inhaled it. It was almost a religious experience for me. Cannot guarantee it for the rest of you but you must try it.



Do go here. They offer boiled seafood, pork chops, smothered okra dishes, fried shrimp and chicken. They even do a Patton’s (New Orleans brand) sausage po boy. The interior is not fancy but the food will transport you out of there. There can be some confusion but they are so friendly that I can