Camellia Café
525 Hwy 190 West (Gause Blvd. West)
Slidell, LA
985-649-6211
Monday-Thursday: 7 a.m.-9 p.m.
Friday-Saturday: 7 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Sunday: 8 a.m.-3 p.m.
www.thecamelliacafe.com
By Jane Feehan
I’ve driven by this place a few times and always find its parking lot nearly full. A busy restaurant in Louisiana is usually a good restaurant, so I pulled in recently to sample a meal.
Camellia Café serves so many things – burgers, ribs, steaks, a good selection of salads, red beans and rice, muffulettas – New Orleanians’ favorite sandwich - oysters, and shrimp. Some items that day not always on the menu were an oyster and artichoke dish, and a shrimp and squash casserole.
I settled on shrimp corn crab bisque – and wow; it was exceptionally good with a generous amount of seafood. The bisque tasted like it was made from scratch in a home kitchen. I guiltily followed that up with one of their new dishes – fried shrimp (I know - overkill but I hadn’t had it in years). The shrimp were fresh and the batter was light. The cocktail sauce could have been spicier so I just added a few drops of hot sauce from a bottle already on the table. An additional condiment of mayonnaise and horseradish added zip to the meal. There was enough to bring home for an entire second meal.
What also impressed me was the way the kitchen and wait staff interacted with each other – they were actually having fun. Camellia Café is a fun place. Breakfast, lunch and dinner served. Full bar. © 2009 All rights reserved.
