Shop-a-Lot

OUT AND ABOUT

Shop-A-Lot Deli
2707 Hazel St
Lake Charles, LA
337-433-2135

Monday to Saturday 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM $1 to $21

This in-store deli situated in a somewhat iffy neighborhood has one claim to fame. Eric Cormier declared it has the best-fried chicken in the city. Having tasted it I will second his opinion. They have space for in-house dinning or you get it at the Drive Thru. If you can catch them on the phone, this will speed your way through. However I never could so I just took my chances and expected to wait at the window. The deli area is clean if a little shopworn. Most people take their items to go.

First time in, I got a three-piece dinner mixed that included drumstick, thigh and wing along with gravy and mashed potatoes. The chicken had a nice thick crisp crunchy crust with a nice spice blend. The interior was moist and a bit spicy from the marinade. It held the heat very well from my first bite to my last. The mashed potatoes and gravy did not meet the chicken’s standard. Next time I will go with just chicken,

I tried a Hamburger Steak plate lunch next. I received two hamburger patties in onion gravy with corn and mashed potatoes on the side. The sauteed corn proved delicious, as did the onion gravy. The patties did not seem to be formed there. They were OK. Mashed potatoes were disappointing

Last time through I went with Fried Boudin, Crab Burger, and a Shrimp Po Boy with onion rings. They do fried boudin here differently. It is not balls but the whole link dipped in the chicken batter and deep fat fried. I love it even through the skin can present a minor problem. The crab patty, shrimp and onion rings were prefabricated products. In such a small operation (3 people) such short cuts can be expected. However they choose superior products that worked well in their operation. The rings were beer battered and thick, which I like. The patty had great crab flavor and the shrimp was a breaded product that seemed to compliment the po boy bread.

In a perfect world everything would be made from scratch. Here the chicken certainly is, I feel these people put forth a good faith effort on the rest. The star here is the chicken and probably will always be




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