Serranos 3347 Highland Road Baton Rouge, LA 70809-1970 (225) 344-2354

I went to lunch at this long time favorite of Baton Rouge situated at the gates of the university next to The Chimes.  The tortilla chips were fresh and I liked the salsa.  Good start

I got the  Ceviche for starters.  Fresh flounder, onions, serranos, citrus, avocado and pico de gallo.  This was arranged like a deconstructed dish.  I swear Blue Coyote must have come here for inspiration as this is the stupidest way I have seen ceviche done.  All the components were good but they would have been better mixed together.  However the serving dish was so small and the portion so large you could not do that.

Next was Dos Cubanos "The Two Cubans" The perfect combination of Cuban steak and marinated Cuban pork roast. Cuban Pork Carnitas is a marinated pork roast with garlic, spices, and grilled onions topped with our signature orange and lime mojo. Cuban Steak is grilled skirt steak topped with sautéed onions and finished with our tequila lime marinade.  These two were excellent.  Tender and full of flavor.  I especially loved the grilled onions.  Again the problem was too much food in too little a serving vessel.  I struggled to cut up the meat.

I got the Chile Lime Grilled Corn cobette and the Sweet Fried Plantains as sides.  No complaints here.

For dessert surprise Tres Leche A rich cake soaked in condensed milk, whole milk, and evaporated milk.  I know but I cannot pass it up and this one was worth it.  Fully soaked and delicious.  I would return here no problem except I would ask for a plate to mix thing on.

Serranos

Rocco 3358 Drusilla Ln # 2 Baton Rouge, LA 70809-1877 (225) 248-1999

Back story on this place.  Boy grows up in Chalmette helping his grandfather in a po boy shop.  Goes off to college at LSU.  Goes out for football.  Decides to open his own place.  Rocco’s Roast Beef hot roast beef and our home made brown gravy. Just like in New Orleans.  The roast beef was very good but not too sloppy.  Seemed not to be deli meat but sliced off a roast.  I did like the bread that much.  There was a choose between white and wheat.  They brought me wheat.  It did not have the crusty crust of a true New Orleans bread.

I opt for the bread pudding for sweet.  It was loaded with cinnamon and bread was well broken up to the point of being crumbs.  It made for a slightly dense but tasty portion.  Maybe I hit it at a bad time but this place seemed so sad it is unlikely I will return.

Rocco

Brewbacker 5580 Government Street Baton Rouge, LA 70806-6032 (225) 927-8131

Expedition to Baton Rouge with a stop-by in Lafayette.   Shrimp Remoulade boiled and chilled shrimp on a bed of lettuce topped with chives and a sliced egg served with homemade remoulade sauce on the side. This turned out excellent.  Perfectly boiled shrimp with some spice.  Flavorful horseradish based sauce.  The eggs were good also.  Did not partake of the lettuce

Battered onion rings.  Good while hot.  I will have to stop ordering them when they are in the appetizer column.  They send out too much.  Enough or a table of four.

Bacon Cheeseburger  Grilled hamburger topped with Cheddar cheese and bacon dressed with mayo, mustard, lettuce and tomato.  I 86ed the lettuce and tomato.  These days I just want a straight burger.  This one was excellent.  The patty juicy and flavorful.  Bacon crisp and smoky.  Cheese melted with a nice cheddar flavor.  I prefer cheddar to American.  All in all a nice experience  Would go back

Brewbacher

Johnny T and B&B BBQ

OUT AND ABOUT
Johnny T’s
2020 Ruth St
Sulphur LA
337-313-3105

11:00 AM to 10:00 PM Everyday $2 to $13

This new venue is housed in the old Bonanza building. As I never went in there I can only say it is nice inside now. BBQ seems to be a major component here so I went with the Sampler Platter to get as many tastes as I could. It comes out with ribs, sliced brisket, pulled pork, regular sausage, and jalapeno cheddar sausage. You can order two sides. I opted for baked beans and Cajun corn. Also appearing was dill pickle, raw onion and Texas toast. The meats possessed a light smoke to them. The brisket has a slight smoke ring. It was tasty and fall apart tender. The pulled pork was juicy and tender. The ribs had a little tooth to them but great flavor. The regular sausage was good. The jalapeno cheddar proved flavorful but I could only eat several bites before the spice sent me packing. I am just a medium spicy guy not a chile head. I loved the sides though. They were great. The beans were cooked with the brisket trimmings and had that sweet/tart flavor I love. The corn was cobbettes that had been seasoned then fried to a perfect delicious sweetness. The bread used for the Texas toast was a sweet sourdough virtually soaked in butter. It came like French toast. I could have eaten it for dessert.

Next time in I started with Spicy Corn Nuggets. The combination of the sweet corn and the spicy chile flakes makes for a powerful bite. This is the kind of contrast I love to eat. I ate them all and enjoyed the pleasant after burn. I followed that up with a Seafood Combo. I got the Grilled Shrimp and Grilled Catfish with Cole Slaw and Potato Salad. That wonderful Texas toast comes along for the ride. Although I suspect the seafood was griddled, they possessed a wonderful coating of spice and butter while being perfectly cooked. The potato salad contained large chunks of what I considered undercooked potatoes, not my favorite. The cole slaw however tasted like it had just been tossed with a light mayonnaise sauce with vinegar punch, crunchy and not too cloying.

Last time was burger and onion rings, my favorite combo. The rings were thick cut (good) but heavily battered (bad in my eyes). I could only eat a few. The Bacon Cheeseburger was stupendous. A moist and tender patty (huge) topped with cheddar cheese and sturdy bacon with mayonnaise, thick sliced tomato and hunk of raw onion. It all came on a sweet sourdough bun. A singe bite with all the components made for an explosion of flavor in my mouth, everything a burger should be. A definite place to stop by if you are across the river at meal time

B&B BBQ
3584 East Napoleon
Sulphur LA
337-625-6653

Monday to Friday 10:30 AM to 6:00 PM $1 to $15

The shack these people are in has a long history of being a take away venue. They also seem to be following the Five Guys model. There are five meats available on plates or po boys, drinks, and chips. This is it and all take away. I got them to give me a combo with all five meats. It took two boxes. The first held sliced beef, rice dressing, baked beans, cole slaw, sauce and a hunk of French bread. The beef was not brisket but roast beef. I was a bit dry and had no smoke to it. I mixed in the BBQ sauce (tomato base with a vinegar tang) and made a sandwich, good. The fine rice dressing had a definite liver note. The beans possessed bacon bites and tasty like I make it. The cole slaw was ok, a little too much mayonnaise for me. The second box contained dark chicken quarter, ribs, pulled pork and sausage. All had a dark heavy smoke on them (I suspect pecan). Chicken was moist and tender with tasty skin. Ribs were fall off the bone with excellent bark. Pork proved itself moist and tender. The sausage was OK.

All in all good BBQ and I would not hesitate to stop there again

I Monneli 4017 Johnston St Lafayette, LA 70503 337-989-9291

This time the Bargain Bee led me to an authentic treasure. Perhaps the finest Italian food I have had in a while. Fresh ingredients and simple but precise cooking make it so. Below is the bread basket and butter.

Next I got an Oyster Rockefeller soup. The only oyster was the fried one you see floating. The soup was a creamy spinach with nice taste. It was like eating liquefied rockefeller base. It was a perfect riff on the dish in soup form. I enjoyed every spoonful

Sorry the mozzarella came out looking little yellow. This Salad Caprese was perfect. The perfectly ripe romas and fresh mozzarella with the pesto sauce tasted as a Caprese should taste. No fiddling around just clean pure tastes from the field.

I love mussels and the simpler the prep the better I like them. A simple lemon and butter sauce with tarragon. Great I would have been happier if they had been fuller but sometimes they are not. Nothing that can be done with them. I used up the rest of the bread to sop up the broth.

Not many restaurants bring a palate cleanser to the table these days. But they did. A lemon sorbet or sorbette.

I have a soft spot for soft shell crabs and these were prepared perfectly. Fried with a light coating and topped with lump crab to bring out the crab flavor. The simple and delicious butter sauce helped that along. The squash was great also.

I did not much care for my hazelnut mousse. It was fine but I was looking for tiramisu or cannoli to end this superb meal.

I would certainly return anytime to fabulous venue

I Monelli

Guadalajara 4414 Dowlen, Beaumont, Texas (409) 924-7718

I do not know if this place is related the Guadalajara recently closed in Sulphur. When I reviewed it certainly did have the same menu. The chip were just out of the fryer, hot, thin and corny. The salsa a little cold just the way I like it and a bit spicy. Perfect

Below is one of my new favorites in Mexican cuisine. Tostadas de Ceviche. Two tostadas with ceviche (shrimp, tilapia, and calamari) sour cream,lettuce, and shredded cheese topped with sliced avocado. Unfortunately their too much shredded lettuce. I knock most that off. They start with a tostado. The sour cream comes next in a thin layer. Then the marinated seafood, lettuce, shredded cheese (white fresca) and avocado slices. It is a surprising combo that works for me. Crispy, creamy, tart, and unctuous

I know this as Coctel de Camerone but they call it Shrimp Cocktail here. 12 jumbo shrimp in our special cocktail sauce with pico de gallo and sliced avocados served with crackers I dived right in but it did not have the heat level I am use to. It dawns on me that the Valentino sauce they brought with it (bottle hiding behind the goblet) was so I could spice to what level I want. I made one mistake however. I did not mix it enough. There was a tomato pico at the bottom which should have been brought up to the top in the beginning. I was left with it and no shrimp. Still very good and I would order it again

Tres leches cake was thoroughly moist and the best I have had in awhile. Another plus for this place

Guadalajara

Dippity 815 S. Main St., Lumberton, Tx (409) 755-3632

Had to return to try The Texas Tummy Tackler. Below is the excellent onion rings. Cut medium in a batter. You must eat it first because it goes sideways after they cool off. One of the disadvantages of using a batter

Here it is. I liked this big burger rather than two or three patties stack as they throw of the balance of bread and burger. They started out as a donut shop and bakery. No donuts but they bake their own bun every day. As you can see a nice patty crisp on the edges with nice melted cheese and three crisp pieces of bacon. These day I 86 lettuce and pickles and am about to forgo tomatoes. In future it will be just mayo, mustard, and onions. If this place bargain bees again I will purchase it. The burger is that good

Dippity