Earlier today I made my inaugural visit to Bayou Brothers after a missed attempt last week. Their initial menu is made up of several po-boy sandwiches (including soft-shell crab and alligator) and jambalaya. Last week, during an uncharacteristically late lunch for me, I went and checked out the menu for the first time and was unexcited to see the po-boy subs only were stacked with lettuce, tomato, pickle, and mayo, whereas I otherwise was expecting something more kicked up in the dressing department. I would have gotten a soft-shell crab sandwich, but plain old mayo really turned me off, and the jambalaya was sold out. Another time .... Later that day I tweeted suggesting the need for a more interesting condiment.
Less than a week later, I was pleasantly surprised to see mayo was gone and remoulade was in! I'll take that soft-shell crab po-boy now, please! The good: the bread was fresh, light, and well suited for the sandwich, and the sliced pickles added nice crunch. The not-so-good: the batter used on the crabs wasn't very interesting, and I would hardly call the remoulade anything more than a lightly seasoned mayo...! Gimme that with some whole grain mustard, more herbs and spices, something tart, and some heat.
At $14, the sub (+Lays chips) is the same price as the last time DCers had soft-shells being served from a truck, but the earlier one was executed substantially better and came with a high-end side. The folks running around in a sweet update to the retired Eat Wonky truck are still quite new, but don't (yet?) compare to Cajunators. 3 honks at the moment, but I'll check it out again in a month or two.
In a follow-up to Friday's post, over the weekend I was finally un-full enough (after that marathon eat-fest at Farragut Friday) to heat up and enjoy the Brazilian tomato soup from newcomer Chef Driven. It was creamy, rich, and light all at the same time. Totally delightful and I can't wait to try a full meal from this sweetheart trio of gentlemen. A little birdy told me the destination and menu for Tuesday, and I think I may actually have to make the extra hike to go grab some saffron scented shrimp risotto with roasted tomatoes, bacon, and olives. Whoa! Rating will come when I am able to catch up with them again.
Finally, I don't think I mentioned it previously, but hopefully folks caught my premiere blog post as a contributing blogger for the Cooking Channel's Eat Street program, which airs in the US and Canada. Next post in progress.... Stay tuned.
