Red Fish Grill
115 Bourbon St.
New Orleans, LA 70130
504-598-1200
www.redfishgrill.com
L- Daily: 11am-3pm; D-Daily: 5pm-10pm (Sat til 11pm)
This is one of the Ralph Brennan restaurants and the only one in the French Quarter. The restaurant caters mostly to visitors and the look is old world seafood eclectic. As in all the Ralph Brennan restaurants, their service is spot-on and their Gumbo is special.
They serve a Louisiana Alligator and Seafood Gumbo in an oversized cup for $8.00. I’m starting to have a problem with my search for the best Louisiana Gumbo. It’s a good problem though. I’m finding more and more great Louisiana Gumbos than average Louisiana Gumbos.
Here’s their recipe. It’s a dark roux gumbo with fresh herbs. The serving temperature was perfect, including the rice. This rice even tasted good. There was plenty of big chunks of alligator sausage and plenty of medium shrimp with a small amount of crab meat. It was a little on the salty side, but not to the point of ruining it. 
The seasoning level in their gumbo was right on the money and the alligator sausage gave off another seasoning level. Both lead to a great after burn. Now, the gumbo has okra in it, but it did not create a slime like other gumbos have.
If you want to enjoy this in the privacy of your own home, or someone else’s, here is the actual recipe: Red Fish Grill Alligator and Seafood Gumbo.
Red Fish Grill's Alligator Sausage and Seafood Gumbo
 Croux says “I’ll give it a 4 Spoon Rating”Taste: Excellent Texture: Excellent Spiciness: Excellent Serving Temperature: Excellent Stuff: Excellent Presentation: Excellent Price: Excellent *Read my Gumbo Rating System* |
The Louisiana Travelin' Man
My first stop was at Bayou Teche Brewing. Bayou Teche Brewing brews “cultural” beers in small batches and has just opened a new tasting room where you can sample these one-of-a-kind beers. Karlos Knodt is the brew master and he has a great selection with many more to come. During my visit, I sampled Saison d'ecrevisses (perfect with crawfish), Mardi Gras, Biere Noire and the Boucanee, a smoked wheat beer.
The Louisiana Seafood Gumbo is $1.00 more.
Fore the best PGA golf tournament this spring, drive on over to the Zurich Golf Classic at the TPC Louisiana course in Avondale, which is also one of the 10 golf courses on the Audubon Golf Trail. 156 of the best golfers in the world will be trying to chip their way to the lead. Here is the big challenge for these pro golfers: with all of the great food in New Orleans and on the course, it’s going to be difficult for them to not partake in Charbroiled Oysters from Drago’s, or the great food from Arnaud’s, Galatoires, The Bourbon House and 
Louisiana, but I hope they are not serving eagle gumbo, and I plan to trap myself in the food tent until I am asked to bogey on home.
I have to talk about the Court of Two Sisters before I tell you about the two Louisiana Gumbos I ate at the Tavern. What is New Orleans known for? Correct. Food and Jazz Music. New Orleans is also known for beautiful courtyards. Well, you have just described the Court of Two Sisters. Every time I walk through their courtyard, hear the Jazz music, see the foliage and see all the people, (mostly out-of-towners) enjoying a bountiful array of Louisiana foods, it puts a smile on my face.
(see below), coffee, tea, juices and all you can eat. Now, I have eaten dinner at the Court of Two Sisters which is first class and the surroundings in the restaurant are elegant, but casual. Even though I am searching for the Best Gumbo in Louisiana, I can tell you The Court of Two Sisters has one of the best Turtle Soups in Louisiana. This is a must.
If you are on the Southshore of Lake Pontchartrain and want to get to the Northshore, why not take the longest bridge in the USA. The Causeway is just shy of 24 miles long, and from there you can get to Mandeville, Covington and Madisonville very easily.
The Gumbo has a medium to dark roux and has a great Gumbo aroma. I’d like to refer to it as Eau de Gumbo. Dab a little behind your ear and the Cajuns will come a runnin’. Their Louisiana Seafood Gumbo uses Gulf and Louisiana seafood, mostly small shrimp and a fantastic Louisiana Andouille which gives it a great spice level. There was plenty of shrimp and Andouille. It was also on the thicker side and there was a hint of okra, but it wasn’t slimy. The salt level was on the higher side but not unpleasant. The after burn was perfect and lasted for a while. The rice was served warm, but didn’t add or detract from the Gumbo. This is worthy of a bowl the next time I go to Gallagher’s Grill.
Here’s the recipe. Really, here it is: 
Croux says “I’ll give it a 5 Spoon Rating”
and over 12,000 people came to experience the event. This year, the event has moved to City Park and it will be even bigger and better than last year. I will be a judge at this year’s BBQ cook-off. Even though I’ve been searching for the Best Gumbo in Louisiana, I have judged other BBQ cook-offs. So, why not join The Louisiana Travelin’ Man for a great cause and great BBQ at Hogs for the Cause.
Unfortunately the gumbo was not. Here’s the recipe: they serve a Chicken and Andouille gumbo at $4.50 for a cup and $6.95 for a bowl. The gumbo had a medium roux, with small pieces of chicken and andouille. The bowl was not filled all the way, but after tasting it, I didn’t complain. It was served warm and the rice was bland and cool. It was a fairly thick gumbo with a good spice to it and did get spicier as I got closer to the bottom of the cup. It just didn’t have that pizzazz that one would expect from a great local restaurant. I have been back several times and enjoyed my meals, I just didn’t order the Gumbo. Some of the things to order are their Gourmet Po' boys such as the Fried Green Tomatoes and Shrimp Remoulade, or The Legend, which is Cochon de Lait and BBQ Shrimp. 
Croux says “I’ll give it a 2 Spoon Rating”
On this visit, I had the Chicken and Sausage Gumbo. As soon as it was placed in front of me I could tell it was going to be very good. It had that great Louisiana Gumbo aroma. The gumbo had a medium roux, the texture had some body to it and it had a good amount of stuff. The smoked sausage had a Louisiana taste and there was enough chicken to satisfy my taste buds. It was served hot, had a great spiciness which kept getting spicier as I reached the bottom of the cup. The after burn left me wanting more. The rice was average as most rice is.
Croux says “I’ll give it a 3 Spoon Rating”
Now back to Charlie’s Restaurant. This is a very family friendly restaurant that serves good local food and plenty of it. Their menu has 300 items to choose from. As you guessed, I ordered their Louisiana Seafood Gumbo. They have three sizes: Cup at $4.95, Bowl at $7.95 and a Quart at $13.95. The Louisiana Seafood Gumbo had plenty of stuff and had a great gumbo aroma. The stuff was mostly smoked sausage and shrimp with a small crab finger and some chunks of okra. There was a taste I couldn’t figure out. I asked the owner and he said “it’s a secret.” It had a sweet acidic taste so if I had to guess, I would say it was a Balsamic Vinegar, Worcestershire Sauce combination. I asked where his sausage came from and he said it was Hillshire. I didn’t question why, but there are so many other local options to use. The Louisiana Seafood Gumbo had a medium roux with a good blend of seasoning and good body. It left a very good after burn as I got to the bottom of the cup. The rice was warm, but didn’t add anything to the gumbo.
When a waiter serves you Louisiana Gumbo, the first thing that hits you is the aroma. It’s usually the roux that hits your nose first. When this Louisiana Gumbo was placed in front of me, there was no aroma. Even when I went in for a closer smell, not much there. More about the Gumbo specifics later. Speckled T’s has two Louisiana Gumbos on their menu. They have a Louisiana Seafood Gumbo and a Chicken and Sausage Gumbo. Both are priced the same: $4.95 for a cup and $6.50 for a bowl. I had the Chicken and Sausage Gumbo. It had a dark roux that was very thick. As you can see in the first photo, there was plenty of stuff, what you will see in the second photo is most of it was sausage. We are talking about sausage pieces
that were bigger than my spoon, and the sausage did not taste like a good Louisiana smoked sausage. It tasted more like a Kielbasa that you can buy anywhere in the USA. Now for the worst part of the gumbo: it was so salty that I couldn’t eat it. When I tasted the rice, it was ice cold. This is the first time I was served rice that was taken directly out of the walk-in cooler and served.
and one of the locations of the hit show Swamp People. Right down the road from the Houma Visitors Center is one of the locals' favorite lunch spots, Boudreau & Thibodeau’s. 
The Gumbo had a medium roux with PLENTY of chicken and sausage. One of the first things I noticed was the thickness of the Gumbo. If you have been reading my Louisiana Gumbo reviews you know I’m not a fan of okra in my Gumbo, but the thickness in this Gumbo comes from them stewing the okra to the point that the slime factor is gone, but you still get the taste of okra. The chicken was tender and tasty and the Louisiana sausage had a good spice. There was a great spiciness to the Gumbo but not overpowering. It did leave a very pleasant after burn. A great Gumbo keeps getting better as you get to the bottom of the cup (or bowl) and this one was as good as they come. The rice was warm but, as usual, didn’t add anything to the taste. There was a whole bay leaf in my Gumbo which should have been removed before serving, but no big deal. Many of the Louisiana Gumbos I’ve tasted had a high salt content, but this one was right on the money.
Croux says “I’ll give it a 4 Spoon Rating”
Mardi Gras dates back over several thousand years to the pagan celebration of spring. More recently, the religious leaders of Rome decided that with excess comes sacrifice, so Carnival season became a prelude to the 40 days of penance between Ash Wednesday and Easter. Mardi Gras is the culmination of feasting, excess drinking and revelry before Lent.
Saturday, October 27 begins with a square dance at 11 AM and the music continues until Midnight. The Blackpot cookoff which consists of three categories, Gravy (sauces, Gumbo, etc), Cracklin' and Jambalaya, begins at around 5PM with the judging ending around 7PM. I will be one of the judges for the cookoff.
Now back to the gumbo. It had a medium to light roux and a pleasant aroma. The presentation was average, but the rice was served hot. One of the few that I’ve had served hot. The rice wasn’t anything special. The gumbo was also served hot and had plenty of shrimp. There were small strips of crab meat, but you really couldn’t taste it. Even though there was Okra in the gumbo, it wasn’t slimy as others gumbos have been.
New Iberia is home to some of the great attractions not only in Louisiana, but in the United States. Does the name Tabasco® mean anything to you? New Iberia is the home of Tabasco®, and Tabasco® is the Legacy sponsor of the 23rd World Champion Gumbo Cook-off which is put on by the Greater Iberia Chamber of Commerce. The festival is from October 12-14, but the cook-off is Sunday, October 14 and they are expecting over 85 teams. Do you realize how much Gumbo I will be tasting? Not a problem. Bring it on. Oh, by the way, almost anything can go into the gumbo. As a visitor, you can purchase a pass to taste the gumbos, but the early bird gets the gumbo,as there is only so much to go around. Also, the teams have no electricity to cook with. It’s BYOF (bring your own fire), and they have to make their roux from scratch. The Gumbo Police will be patrolling the grounds to make sure nobody breaks the rules. For all the info you need, just click here: 
October 26-27: 
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