Village Inn

[kcdixiecat]

Bam and I went last night. That whole Ash Wednesday sacrifice was taken to heart...they were out of Crawfish, Crabs AND Oysters on the half shell when we got there. We stayed and checked it out since we were there.

We both had the seafood gumbo, which we thought was pretty darn good, and the crawfish Veronica, a cheesy cream sauce over pasta. Very heavy but good. Could have used some green onion but whatever.

Kinda reminded me of the mom and pop places in Maine that I don't see much around New Orleans. Looks like a place I would have worked at in high school.

We may try Charles Sea Food next...it's hard getting me out of uptown though..

ya know...you had to go right past my house to get there....you should have called! It would have gotten me out of cooking. As for Charles' Seafood...it has yet to impress me.

[LauraMc]

ya know...you had to go right past my house to get there....you should have called! It would have gotten me out of cooking. As for Charles' Seafood...it has yet to impress me.

As much as I love Brigsten's, I have to say I haven't been impressed with Charlie's either. I think if he hadn't said he was going to go back to how it was and make it a neighborhood place again, I wouldn't be so disappointed. The menu is still limited. We used to go a few times a week for boiled seafood after Alonzo's on Central closed. But even before Katrina, the boiler had left and whoever was boiling only believed in super spicy.

Charlie's still doesn't have boiled seafood. We were going to Seither's but it got to where you could tell the crabs had been re-boiled.

What's going on with Venezia on Central? I passed by the other night and their sign is still up but the door has a painted logo that says "Fats Restaurant and Bar".

[kcdixiecat]

What's going on with Venezia on Central? I passed by the other night and their sign is still up but the door has a painted logo that says "Fats Restaurant an'd Bar".

I don't know! I just noticed that today. That sign is new because we were over by there on Sunday for dinner..but they were closed. We've only been there a couple of times...we tend to forget about it. It's so close ...we really should go more often. Lately, we've been going to Seymour's on Hickory when we want seafood. Only problem is..they don't boil anything

I agree with you about Seither's...the first couple of times ..the food was great...went downhill after that.

[EatinAintCheatin]

Here's my take on the seafood dives in the Reefer Ridge/Harahan area:

Village Inn - Excellent boiled crabs and crawfish. Excellent fried shrimp and oysters. Very good raw oysters though they hammer the knife in the shell to open them so sometimes there's bits of shell in the oyster. Very good fried onion rings. Good cheesburger poboy. Stay away from the buffet in general especially the salad bar.

Charlie's - When Frank and Marna are there it usually spot on; however, if you go in the evenings obviously they won't be there. I ate there last Thursday and:
Boiled Shrimp - perfectly seasoned but very hard to peel. Waitress asked how it was and I told her. She walked off never to bring it up again.
Roast Beef PoBaby - Very good beef but.... order without mayo and it came with it. Bread not toasted.
Shrimp Poboy - excellent all around.
Fried Onion rings - Very good large and crispy.
Expect to pay a buck or two more for each item at Charlie's but when it's on it's worth it.

Seither's - They fry very well but the 2 times I've had boiled crabs there it was terrible. They told me the crabs were running nice and everyone was a featherweight. You'd do much better at Village Inn for boiled crabs.

Seymour's - I like the chill down plate which is shrimp romaulade, shrimp salad, shrimp cocktail, lettuce and tomato. Their poboys are just OK. Have not had their specials.

Bobby's Seafood - Mainly a take out place. Good fried shrimp, boiled crawfish and boiled crabs. We buy live crawfish here every year. Excellent quality.

[BTG]

A group of my co-workers wanted me to tag along with them to Charlies on Friday for lunch. I laughed at them for trying to hit that place up on the first Friday in lent. They came back almost two hours later telling me that they should have listened to my warning.
Sounded like the kitchen couldn't keep up, but at least the staff realized it and comped a few items to make up for it.