Woo doggy. With no Chicago competitions worth tuning in for now, we decided to put our own little match together. My brother Craig LaBan, distinguished restaurant critic for the Philadelphia Inquirer and, more importantly for this exercise, former restaurant reviewer for the New Orleans Times-Picayune, and I pulled up to the table two weeks ago to decide who's got the best Mardi Gras fare in Chicago. We skipped the jambalaya, because, as Craig asserts "For real deal New Orleans cooking, jambalaya is not a good barometer. It's not very challenging to make, and they usually come out with a reddish color for the tourists - real Cajuns make it brown. A good gumbo, on the other hand, is a real treasure to find and just as rare. Red beans and rice are also a tell-tale dish."
We carried out batches of gumbo and red beans and rice from some of the best known Cajun contenders in the city, then, dug in to play the spice is right. Unfortunately, not much measured up to Craig's exacting standards. Only the red beans and rice from Dixie Kitchen & Bait Shop and Crawdaddy Bayou were deemed "acceptable to a native," and the gumbos, overall, were disappointing:
5 Beans: Dixie Kitchen & Bait Shop:
The clear winner, coming in first with Craig for gumbo, as well as red beans and rice. Craig gave the nod to Dixie's seafood gumbo but asked, "Was that a shrimp or a potato?" Dixie's red beans and rice scored for their "complex, subtle smoke flavor."
3 Beans: Crawdaddy Bayou:
Three beans earned totally on the merit of the restaurant's red beans and rice, which were Craig's runner-up favorite and which got his approval for extensive use of celery, bell peppers and fresh-not canned-beans, but took second place due to a distinct taste of file powder, which Craig says doesn't belong in the dish. Unfortunately, Crawdaddy's thin gumbo didn't fare as well, coming in dead last. "Too soupy, like broth with meat in it."
3 Beans: Joe's Be-Bop Cafe:
Joe's gumbo came in second with Craig for its "good okra and nice brown roux" even thought it was "too tomatoey." The restaurant's red beans and rice didn't get quite the same praise.
2 1/2 Beans: Heaven on Seven on Rush:
Some might be surprised to hear Heaven on Seven ranked no higher than third and as low as fifth for both of its dishes. Craig gave the restaurant's beans and rice a bronze for their "real New Orleans look;" We both pronounced the restaurant's gumbo "overcooked."
2 Beans: Louisiana Kitchen:
I liked Louisiana Kitchen's offerings more than Craig did, who ranked them both second-to-last. He noted the gumbo as having a "wussy bland roux" and commented that fish should never be served in the dish. The restaurant's red beans and rice tasted bland and finished in the middle of the pack.
1 Bean: Redfish:
Redfish's gumbo was not a hit. The restaurant's red beans and rice were, unfortunately, "really dreadful." Craig's only comments were, "Wallpaper, anyone?"
Note: Although not part of the competition, the country gumbo from the Maple Tree Inn, which I tasted a month earlier is absolutely superior. No official bean rating here, but we recommend you check it out.
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