One of the best food destinations in the world is New Orleans. Our family loves the fresh seafood and spicy Cajun and Creole flavors of the Crescent City. Since we can't always hop in the car and head to New Orleans every time we need a Cajun kick, we are happy when a new Big Easy style eatery opens up nearby. The Cajun Steamer is Huntsville's latest restaurant to offer the cuisine we love and we've been eager to check it out.
Rob and I got the opportunity on a recent trip to the Rocket City. The Cajun Steamer is located on Pelham Avenue in the new Twickenham Square development in downtown Huntsville. First of all, let me say, parking is tricky. We first tried to pull into a nearby parking deck. We had a handicapped sticker due to my recent foot surgery and since I was still in a boot, we hoped to be able to find a space close to the restaurant. Unfortunately, the entire bottom floor of the parking deck was dedicated to the Publix grocery store. Since this was our first time and we weren't sure how easy it would be to get from the higher levels of the deck to the restaurant, we chose to leave the parking deck and try to find a parking space on the street. After circling the block a few times, we finally found a handicapped parking space right in front of the restaurant. I was very grateful for that nearby parking spot.
We hobbled (well, I hobbled, Rob fairly ran) into the restaurant and were quickly seated in the bright, open dining area. The place was doing a pretty brisk lunchtime business, but that didn't keep our server from quickly bringing menus and taking our drink orders.
After studying the menus, we decided to get started with a smoked yellowfin tuna dip appetizer and we were so happy we did. It was smoky and delicious. We smeared it over crackers, drizzled it with Tiger Sauce, and ate every bite. We were off to a great start.
Rob and I both chose oysters for our entrees. He went with a dozen char-broiled oysters topped with garlic herb seasoning, melted butter and parmesan cheese. His bivalves were accompanied by steamed corn on the cob and new potatoes. He said the oysters were really good and that must have been true, because they were all devoured.
Rob's oysters also came with a side of hushpuppies with ranch dressing for dipping. They were so good! I am surprised the Cajun Steamer doesn't add them to their appetizer choices. They were spicy and light, not heavy at all and wonderful dipped into the creamy ranch sauce. Seriously, if you order a sandwich that doesn't come with hushpuppies, as I did, you should definitely ask your server to bring you a few of these little nuggets.
I settled on a broke (half-size) oyster po'boy with seasoned curly fries. The oysters were piled high onto a chunk of French bread with lettuce, sliced tomato and creole mustard. Coated in a cornmeal crust, my oysters were well prepared, fried, but not greasy at all. The only thing I would have preferred would have been a little more lettuce and tomato and perhaps some pickles and onion. The oysters were delicious, I just like a bit more of a salad-y crunch on my po'boy. I also enjoyed the spicy curly fries. I mean, who doesn't like a curly fry?
We couldn't resist ending our meal by checking out the Cajun Steamer's version of bread pudding. Take note, this is a large dessert. Unless you can eat a lot of bread pudding, I suggest you do as Rob and I did and share it with someone. Even with the two of us sharing, Rob and I still had to ask for a to-go box, because were unable to finish the whole thing. The dense pecan studded bread pudding arrived at our table sitting in a puddle of rich caramel bourbon sauce, nestled next to a fluffy pile of sweet whipped cream. We loved it. Sometimes the sauce for bread pudding can be spiked to the point of overwhelming the entire dish, but not this one. The caramel bourbon sauce was deee-licious. I had to resist the urge to lick the sauce off the plate.
Altogether, Rob and I enjoyed our maiden voyage on the Cajun Steamer and we will definitely be coming back to try more selections in the future. In the meantime, you should make plans to check it out for yourself. Let us know what you think!
Three Friends and a Fork give Cajun Steamer 3 spicy Yums UP!
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