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(Login ArthurHebert) from IP address 209.215.39.11
OUT AND ABOUT
Jean Lafitte of Jennings
15358 Hwy 26
Jennings
337-616-9000
Tuesday - Sunday 11:00 A.M. - 2:00 P.M.
Tuesday - Saturday 4:00 P.M. - 9:00 P.M. $2 to $23
Remember the original Plantation House. The people running it retired. Next thing you knew they opened Jean Lafitte. That closed and off they went again. Well you guessed it they’re back and now in Jennings. If you know where Don E’s was then you know where they are. Those not in the know take the first Jennings exit from Lake Charles and head north. About two miles up on the left stands a motel. Jean Lafitte occupies the building right before it, a simple one-story structure and a lot smaller than the previous venue in Lake Charles. Inside is a small waiting area and a somewhat larger dinning area. The walls are white, table and chairs simple and the floors carpeted.
On New Years Eve eve my group indulged ourselves. It was a bit crowded and we had a 10-minute wait to be seated. However once seated it went smoothly. We ordered the Crab Bienville appetizer for the table. What came out were six oyster shells on rock salt. The shells contained jumbo lump crab sitting under a spicy, crisp and unctuous crumb topping. The contrast between the sweet crab and spicy topping lit my culinary fire and boded well for the evening. With the meal you get a cup of gumbo, salad, and potato or fries. Tonight the gumbo turned out to be shrimp. They prepare it just the way I love it. Dark roux blended with a shrimp stock and shrimp with a medium spice level, tasty.
My enthusiastic friend got Stuffed Catfish Extravaganza and it was. Grilled catfish stuffed with crabmeat dressing then topped with both crawfish etouffee and lump crabmeat. It was huge and my taste proved excellent. They also do this with snapper. The balance on this dish achieved perfection. My bite exploded in my mouth. My royal friend, who does not care that much for spicy food, ordered Lump Crabmeat Sauteed in Butter. The richness of this dish proved beyond belief. The rich sweetness of crab paired with the salty sweetness of butter. Sometimes the simplest of dishes are the most profound. My baking friend also went simple, plain Grilled snapper. However the flavor proved more than just plain and simple. A light coating of crisp spice revealed a moist and tender interior, again perfect balance. I went with my standard for testing seafood joints. Make no mistake this is seafood joint. There are only 10 items on this menu that are not seafood related. I of course ordered the Seafood Platter. I received 5 fried shrimp, 4 fried oysters, 2 fried catfish filets, stuffed crab, fried crawfish pie and crawfish jambalaya. All the fried items came out perfectly, non-greasy. The coatings on the shrimp, oysters and catfish proved light with moderate spice with moist succulent and tasty interiors. The crawfish pie was this new fangled way of putting the crawfish in a crimped puff pastry square and frying it. Ok but I prefer the traditional way. I do not care for seafood in jambalaya and this proved no exception. However the stuffed crab was magnificent. The dressing proved light and tasty unlike most others, which are compacted and soggy. It possessed a good percentage of crab with vegetable seasoning you could see and taste with just enough filling to bind it. I could have eaten a bowl of it.
They offer a lunch special similar to the former Lake Charles venue but with less items. They open on Sunday to offer an expanded version. So if you have been hankering for Jean Lafitte experience, it is now only 25-30 minutes away. Take advantage of it.
