Tonight before heading to the movies to check out the Robin Hood flick, I dropped in the new cajun restaurant called the Louisiana Seafood Restaurant (yes, I know, clever name!). At first glance this restaurant came as a great relief due to a recent closure of one of my favorite restaurants in the area, Crabdaddy's. Crabdaddy's was never spectacular but the food was decently priced and the seafood, especially the gulf shrimp, was very fresh. The cajun dishes at Crabdaddy's were pretty good versions compared to the same dishes in nearby bigger cities. Unfortunately Crabdaddy's had a shit location behind the McCallister's Deli. So I had great expectations for this new cajun joint. My first course was the seafood gumbo, by which I judge all cajun restaurants. I believe if you f*** up this dish, you shouldn't be in business. Their version happened to be just a generic dark roux version that can be found in any restaurant, thin on the seafood, and wasn't very impressed (but wasn't off putting). The main dish was the grilled seafood platter. It contained a fillet, scallops, oysters, and shrimp. In a pure grilled dish with no sauces, a restaurant should be showing off the natural flavors of the seafood and it's inherent freshness. The fillet was not flaky, the shrimp nor the scallops were tender, and the oysters were rubbery. At $16.99, the plate was to say the least,...eh. What would realy have made this dish much better and wouldn't have made it any more expensive on their end, would be to cover the dish in a sauce. A sauce would have at least made up for some of the lackluster seafood; maybe a beurre blanc, etouffee sauce, or even a cream sauce would have kicked it up a notch. I believe the restaurant takes the place of a vacant seat left by Crabdaddy's but doesn't fill it's shoes. It will be up to the citizens of Temple to decide whether this restaurant sticks around, but I have my doubts.
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