Address: 630 Saint Peter Street
Website: http://www.gumboshop.com/
Type of Meal: Dinner
For a city that has bustling nightlife areas (Bourbon and
Frenchmen), it’s surprising that most restaurants close so early. Having taken
our time getting ready, we didn’t make it out for dinner until 9pm and found
very few options still opened. After asking around, The Gumbo Shop was
recommended and thankfully still taking people. Upon arriving we found a long lineup, obviously
there were like minded individuals, but it moved quickly and we were
seated in about 20 minutes.
Being fairly famished by this point, luckily they started
us off with two large po-boy buns. It’s a type of bread that’s synonymous with
New Orleans with its airy centre and dry flaky crust. Although it is derived
from a baguette, it lacks the chewiness and aromatic fragrance the French
counterpart embodies. Nonetheless, when you’re hungry everything tastes amazing.
To begin we each ordered a bowl of gumbo (after all, we
were at the Gumbo Shop)! I opted for the seafood okra version ($4.99 for a cup
or $8.75 for a bowl; cup shown below), which was thick and contained real
pieces of crab and shrimp. The dark brown soup had a chowder consistency but
was a tad gooey from the addition of the okra. It was very flavourful but
overall wasn’t that good as it simply wasn’t hot enough. Really, a slimy
lukewarm liquid, no matter how flavourful it is, isn’t the most appetizing
thing to eat. As my first experience with gumbo in New Orleans it was pretty
disappointing, luckily after a couple of tries I did end up having a decent one
at Peche.
To try a few things at once, we ordered the Creole
combination platter ($16.50). On the left was the shrimp Creole, the most simple
of the three in a spicy tomato sauce. It was okay but when paired with the
other options seemed somewhat plain. The scoop of jambalaya in the middle was
the best part of the meal. Thick and flavourful it arrived with tons of
slivered chicken and wedges of plump smoked sausage. Lastly, on the right was the
crawfish etouffee, a flavourful stew spiced with cayenne pepper which gave it a
kick and a more appealing colour. Like the gumbo the dish needed to be hotter,
this one was a bit better but still nowhere near a temperature you’d except
from a freshly made dish.
All in all, the restaurant had promise as each dish had
nice flavours. If only they weren’t such a tepid temperature the experience
would have been much better. Understandably, it could have been due to us
arriving at a late hour or the fact we were seated at one of the draftiest
tables in the restaurants. So, perhaps during normal times and conditions
things would have been better. Alas, the stars didn’t align for us – we were
able to satisfy our hunger but it wasn’t a fulfilling experience.
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Gastro World's Grading System
- Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
- 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
- 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
- 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
- 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
- 10 - absolute perfection!
