Biscuity goodness

For the longest time, I've wanted to go to Brenda's Soul Food Cafe. The only time I actually physically got to the door, I found out they weren't open on Sundays. This week, since I'm not working, I've been determined to get myself to this restaurant to try out their "beignet flight," but discovered that it's now open on Sundays but *not* open on Tuesdays, my original planned day to visit.

Argh!

*Finally* I got myself there today, after deciding to postpone my workout until the afternoon and forget all the other projects I was hoping to get done today.

Was it all it was hyped up to be? Well, I can't completely answer that, since I only had the beignets and a biscuit, and none of the other food people rave over (po'boys, croque monsieur, gumbo, pancakes, french toast, grits and grillades, etc etc). The wait wasn't nearly as bad as people made it sound - I was there at 1pm, had maybe 5 people ahead of me, had to wait maybe 10 minutes, and then was quickly seated at the first available table (to my feeling of guilt - there was a couple behind me, yet I was one person seated at a table that could fit 3 - they later very apologetically asked if I'd be willing to move to a 2-person table, and I happily did so). The place seats 30 max (I counted) at several tables and one counter. The service was very friendly - all 3 waiters/waitresses had smiles whenever they walked by, and were very nice.

As for the food? Well I've only had beignets once before, at the Cafe du Monde in New Orleans, and actually wasn't all that impressed there. I think beignets are not really my thing. To my surprise, my very favorite beignet was the first I ate - the savory crawfish beignet. It wasn't at all spicy, but it was warm, salty, cheesy, and tasty, and I enjoyed every last bite. I didn't at all expect that b/c I'm a sweets lover and not a huge crawfish fan. As for the rest of the beignets... the Cafe du Monde beignet was fluffy and soft and spilled powdered sugar *everywhere*. The ones at Brenda's were fried in a more crispy way, and a couple of them had somewhat hard edges. This helped them to retain their structural integrity *and* keep the powdered topping on, but did change the texture somewhat. The plain beignet with sugar on top was fine, and made better by adding the homemade jam on the table. The chocolate one was all right, the apple cinnamon one was all right..neither was particularly special. Not bad, mind you, just not amazing. If I were to go back and order beignets again, I think I'd order the crawfish one...and maybe not the others. But like I said, I'm not a connoisseur of beignets - I didn't even like the one at the source of supposedly the best beignets ever in New Orleans.

After I finished my beignets, I wrestled my conscience a bit and then ordered a biscuit because people had raved about them and the photo on the website: Brenda's Soul Food looked delectable. Turned out to be a very good decision for my taste buds, if not my stomach. That was the best biscuit I ever had - warm, flaky, buttery, oh-so-subtly sweet, and delicious. I added a little bit of jam at one point but it was so very good by itself. Didn't need the butter pat at all. I was stuffed when I was done but so happy to have gotten the biscuit. Wow that was good. I also got the watermelon sweet tea, and despite not being the hugest fan of watermelons *or* tea, really enjoyed it. It's a subtly sweet, refreshing drink.

All-in-all, I'm kind of wishing I got the croque monsieur or the bbq chicken po'boy on the specials menu instead of the beignets, but I'm glad I tried them to satisfy my curiousity. The food seems as good as advertised, and I'd love to try something else there... BTW by 2pm (it closes at 3) there was pretty much no wait. They're open 8-3pm every day except Tuesday. Must try them again...