Cajun Tex review,
4 stars is my review.
I had to deduct a star and a half because the food is just good, not fantastic and this place is semi-cafeteria style. You order at a register, sit down and they bring the food to you. Not what I call a "proper" restaurant. Halfway towards cafeteria.
So that leaves it at 3-1/2 stars but I gave a half star back because the staff is great. Very friendly and helpful...so 4 stars it is.
A very cool, wide variety menu, and for your average schmuck I'm sure the food is fantastic. I cook and I have a darned good knowledge of great tasting food. This food is good, not fantastic.
My wife ordered the Cajun tomatoes appetizer for her meal. A great concept; two fried green tomatoes, topped with a crab cake, topped with hollandaise, topped with crab meat and the whole thing sprinkled with Cajun seasoning. She said it was good but not great and that my fried green tomatoes with green tomato white gravy blows it away, and I make a simple microwave hollandaise that would put theirs to shame. Again, if you don't cook well, you may think this stuff is top notch so your mileage may vary.
I ordered the fried pickles, the gumbo and the Boudin plate.
The fried pickles were good, not the best I've had. The gumbo was very chunky and full of meat and vegetables and was good, but fell way short of the deeply developed flavor of a solid gumbo with a dark roux like gumbo is supposed to be. Again, my own home cooked gumbo, as a lifelong Virginian is way better than this gumbo just a few miles from the Louisiana border.
The Boudin was unremarkable, but decent. I did think the way they fried it was cool and it made the casing snap when bit and totally all edible (it is not usually done this way, normally it is boiled or steamed and you squirt/suck it from the casing and discard the casing). I can tell you where to get awesome Boudin but I don't know if this site allows that. I have also made much better Boudin myself at home but I can't stuff the casings properly.
The Boudin balls were pretty good, but not knee buckling. I liked the crispy exterior but I would step on the flavor big time with both the Boudin and the balls. I suppose most people are afraid of flavor and heat so that is why so much Boudin out there is bland. Boudin should smack you in the face with flavor and some heat.
The dirty rice was not bad at all. It tasted a lot like their Boudin, which is better as a rice flavor but lacking for Boudin flavor.
The portions were very large. A cup of gumbo at this place is literally a bowl. The bowl at this place is a serving dish that would normally be put in the center of the table for everyone to serve from. You will not leave this place hungry.
Obviously I only tasted a tiny percentage of the menu, but for a place with Cajun in the name you can judge pretty well just from gumbo and Boudin. This is a very popular place with the locals and we had to park down the street at lunchtime.
Oh, the tea was very good and they have a few very nice sounding desserts as well. My wife bought a piece of pecan cobbler to take with us.
Give this place a try. We will probably never be through here again, but if we were, I would go the 5 miles off rt. 20 again in a heartbeat to try more of the extensive wonderful menu. I wish this place were in my hometown. read more