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| - Wish I could do a review in pictures but I can't. Nonetheless, I have uploaded before and after pictures to illustrate the scrumptiousness of the food.
Battiste and Dupree will be a 'Nay!' for you if:
1) You are in a hurry. By 'hurry' I mean you allocated an hour for dinner.
2) You are feeling averse to friendly banter with Junior Battiste or the regular(s) sitting at the bar.
3) You are looking for a four page drinks menu - they have bud and Abita brews and four or five mixed drinks.
4) You want upscale decor - this is a hole in the wall.
Battiste and Dupree will be a 'Yay!' for you if:
1) You appreciate and applaud the spirit of independent restaurateurs committed to serving good food. Scratch 'good food' and make it 'GREAT food'.
2) If you enjoy a 'neighborhood hang out' kind of atmosphere where regulars wave hellos and goodbyes to you (no doubt put in good humor because of the delicious food they have consumed or are about to consume) and the chef (who is also server and bar keep) asks your friend if he would be a gentleman and grab the beers your group wants from the cooler!
3) You are not in a hurry - Junior Battiste IS the chef, server and bar keeper and everything tastes like it is made from scratch...which it probably is. After my friend got an offended look for asking 'What's good?' (What do you mean what's good? EVERYTHING is good!), I did not dare ask if my etouffee was made from scratch.
4) You love cajun food.
The crawfish etouffee was delicious. It is a little on the spicier side - I stole pieces of french bread from my friend to soak the sauce up. The shrimp po boy was layers of flavor and huge. Cajun bbq shrimp disappeared alarmingly quickly. Husband had to defend his deluxe platter from the marauding horde at the table - polish boy (succulent), fried catfish (with breading that is light, non greasy, crisp and magically adheres to every bit of the fish aka no gross, oily, soggy, thick breading that falls off the fish in clumps here), wings and fries.
Go here. Be prepared to wait for your dinner, enjoy an Abita brew and conversation with Junior Battiste and other customers while you wait, leave with the warm glow that only an evening spent with friends/family enjoying good food and drink can provide.
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