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January 9, 2007: Gelano's Chicken and Gumbo House
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The Krewe du Review Rating ScaleA Introduction from Reviewers Steve Montooth and Christy Williams: We, as members of the Krewe du Roux are delighted to be included in the Killer Rubboard E-zine… and what more appropriate role for us to play but food reviewers!There are those out there who are skeptical about finding Cajun food in Alaska (outside of the kitchens of a few notable home cooks). So we've taken our job seriously. Can good Cajun food be found this far from Louisiana? What is the definition of a good gumbo? Can French fries be considered a Cajun dish? Can a quick mart/gas station be considered a "restaurant"? Undaunted we set out, with friends in tow, to sleuth out Cajun food in Southcentral Alaska. The desire to eat was obviously no problem…agreeing upon a rating scale however was more difficult. Here is what we came up with: Ours is a five- crawdad scale-the more crawdads, the higher the marks. The rating categories: 1. Food. This is an obvious one, but controversial too! How spicy should the food be? What is a great remoulade sauce? Should gumbo be soup-like or have more of a gravy quality? After a bit of quibbling we hope to agree upon an overall rating of the food quality. 2. Atmosphere/Ambiance. For Alaskan establishments this can be difficult to rate, as they range from posh and swank, to funky and fairly marginal in the area of comforts. There are obvious points to rate-is there a place to sit? Is there heat (not just in the food, but in the room itself)? How is the service? Is there "any" service? 3. Mardi Gras Spirit. We felt it important to include this category. Are there any festive touches noting a tie-in to Cajun culture or Mardi Gras events? We kept a keen eye out for beads, masks, Mardi Gas colors, etc. And as a thought-would we want to be with these individuals on the same Mardi Gras float? 4. Lagniappe. This translates to "a little something extra"! This section provides a place to put those all-important comments and observations that have no place else to go, but say so much about the establishment. Disclaimer: We are not trained chefs or Zagat's surveyors, but we do enjoy good food and the company of our friends. We have fun sampling the food and talking about it and hope you enjoy reading about it. We welcome your thoughts and comments and hope that you get out and explore the Cajun food in your community too! Bon Appetit!
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January 9, 2006.9th and F Street Gumbo House611 W. 9th Avenue, Anchorage. 222-2930OVERALL RATING:![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
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January 9, 2006.
Gelano's Cajun Fried Chicken3636 Mountain View Drive, Anchorage 277-3555 OVERALL RATING:![]() ![]() ![]()
This is a restaurant worth the visit. Served with our order was Cajun fried chicken, jambalaya, dirty rice and Cajun fries. Well worth the visit. Upon initial contact there were two very eager employees ready to take our order. They were cheerful in the florescent- lit quick mart and gas station across from the Alaska Super Pawn Shop on Mountain View Drive. There were a few tables set up next to the display of cold medications and jerky. Upon walking into the restaurant I was distracted by an Anchorage Police Department officer detaining a psychotic man hearing voices. The middle aged man taking our order was not distracted and engaged our foursome with an eager smile and delightful response to our food questions. Slightly distracted from screaming outside and flashing lights, our food was served at the table in short order. |
January 16, 2006.Mumbo Gumbo Cafe2446 East Tudor RoadAnchorage, Alaska 99507 770-4996 OVERALL RATING:![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
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January 23, 2006.THIS WEEK FROM THE KREWE DU REVIEW: TAKE-OUT CAJUNThis week, the Krewe du Review looks at Cajun take-out options. At first we'd wanted to review "fast food" options around town, but we discovered, happily, that Cajun food took a little more time to prepare. We found some great choices and a few surprises cooked while we waited and packed up to take-out. There are a few interesting drive-through options too. Steve and I wanted to see if we could find a drive-through for Cajun food. During a trip to Louisiana we had been intrigued by their drive-through daiquiri stands. Yep, daiquiris -- by the single " go-cup" serving or by the pitcher, in a wild range of flavors. On weekend nights, the tiny stands would have lines five or six deep. Louisiana has drive-through daiquiris, Anchorage loves its coffee carts --- maybe we could find Cajun food in a drive-through.--- Christy Williams and Steve Montooth | |
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January 23, 2006.Tommy's Burger Stop and Po-Boy Shop1106 W 29th, Anchorage, AK 99503(907) 561-5696 OVERALL RATING:![]() ![]() ![]()
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January 23, 2006.Popeyes Chicken and Biscuits2960 C Street, Anchorage569-1919 (Also located at 360 Boniface Parkway. 333-3363) OVERALL RATING:![]() ![]() ![]()
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January 23, 2006.The Gumbo House (take-out menu)611 W. 9th Avenue, Anchorage222-2930 OVERALL RATING:![]() ![]() ![]()
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January 30, 2006.
THIS WEEK FROM THE KREWE DU REVIEW: BREAD PUDDINGThe Krewe du Review received a special assignment this week from editor Aileen-sample and review the bread pudding available in restaurants around town. I'd only had the stuff once, and that was years ago. I didn't know until Aileen explained her request, that it is a staple in New Orleans restaurants. What a wonderfully creative dish-take stale, old unappetizing leftover bread and make it into an elegant dessert. Add a little sauce laced with something "strong" as my grandmother would have put it, and you really have something. The recipes all have a basic structure that they spring from-- bread, eggs, butter, milk and sugar. From there on, anything goes!For this round of tastings, we picked up our orders of pudding from around town and gathered together to enjoy them. Before diving into the desserts, we agreed that the real fun of the past few weeks has been to have an excuse to get together more often, eat great food, and to talk to cooks (and wait staff) about their approaches to cooking and the dishes they serve.
-- Christy Williams and Steve Montooth Gumbo House9th and F Street, Downtown AnchorageRATING:![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
Our first pudding was from the Gumbo House. The dessert was a generous, hefty rectangle of sliced or torn bread held together by the custard it was baked with. It was a light golden color, toasted brown on the top. Steve and I smiled to recognize the pattern on the top pieces of bread-it looked exactly like the rolls from the po' boys we had tried last week!
Snow Goose and Restaurant and Brewery717 West 3rd Avenue, AnchorageRATING:![]() ![]() ![]()
While Aileen waited at the restaurant for the pudding to be packed up she copied this description from the menu: "Made from scratch using the full bodied John Henry Stout which boasts nice hints of roasted coffee, with chocolate notes and blended with a sweet apple ale sauce." Sounds like a wine review, doesn't it? The Snow Goose has its own brewery so it makes sense that they use their own specialties in making the dessert. A waitperson named Rena chatted with Aileen and told her that after long busy shifts at the restaurant the staff often sits down to share an order of the pudding at the end of the night. With the description and vote of approval from Rena we could hardly wait to dig in.
Fire and IceOff of International Airport Road, between C and Arctic, AnchorageThe Krewe du Review has made several trips to this quirky little restaurant over the past few weeks. Sometimes they have menu items and sometimes they don't, depending upon how busy the family running it is that day. On our "bread pudding day," I went to pick up some from them but was told that they hadn't had time to make it that day. We did decide to print the description on their menu--so intriguing that I'm sure we'll keep trying to catch them when they have it.
Simon and Seafort's420 L. Street, Downtown AnchorageRATING:![]() ![]() ![]()
We needed to wait until the evening to sample our third pudding as Simon's didn't open until then. We were all headed to a square dance with the music of T Improbabillies as part of the Anchorage Folk Festival so we picked up a few orders and brought it along. Friends and a few band members sampled along with us.
FINAL NOTE FROM CHRISTY: After our bread pudding quest I hopped onto the Epicurious website-my favorite place to find recipes. The variety in the list was unbelievable- some use french bread, others plain white sandwich bread, chocolate, pumpkin, whipped cream and some are more like soufflés. Like the old-time tunes we were listening to at the dance, the pudding started out with a simple, accessible framework---then was picked up, embellished, added onto, twisted, jazzed up and carried into endless wonderful directions. Special thanks goes out to the "Improbabillies" for providing us with great tunes over the past Folk Festival weekend-a perfect and inspiring "pairing" to our food review adventures.
For recipes and links related to bread pudding and cooking, check out our LINKS PAGE for January 30, 2007.
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February 6, 2006.Little New Orleans Restaurant8201 Old Seward Highway, Anchorage (Off Dimond Boulevard)RATING:![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
Of all the restaurants we've visited so far, Little New Orleans is the only one owned and operated by a bona fide Louisiana native. Not only does the Krewe du Review feel that the restaurant deserves "extra credit" for this, but also for the fact that for the past five years the owner and chef, Johnny Duplantis (great name, non?), has sought to bring real Louisiana food (and music) to the people of Anchorage.
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ABOUT THE REVIEWERS: ABOUT THE REVIEWERS: Steve Montooth and Christy Williams are members of the Anchorage-based Krewe du Roux and know a good gumbo when they taste one. Comments about these food reviews can be sent to KILLER RUBBOARD EDITOR. |
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