Address: 542 Frenchman Street
Website: www.pralineconnection.com
Type of Meal: Dinner
The Praline
Connection has been serving good ole’ Cajun-Creole style soul food for almost
25 years. True to form the portions are gigantic with each entrée accompanied
by corn bread and two sides (greens, beans, macaroni & cheese or potato salad).
The cornbread is likely the healthiest part of the meal, likely lacking oil in the batter it tasted a bit dry. Of course, there were pats of butter on
the side so you could slather on extra moisture and flavours if you wanted.
Sharing three
entrees and an appetizer between a table of four there was still too much food!
As we were waiting for the entrees we decided to get some fried pickles ($5.95)
to munch on. Cut into circles rather than lengthwise, the pickles were
crunchier given the higher batter ratio. Overall, they weren’t bad but could
benefit from being dried longer (as they were getting soggy near the bottom)
and being dusted with cornmeal as well.
When I think
of soul food, fried chicken ($13.50) often comes to mind. So, we had to try an
order. Praline Connection’s had a light coating - similar to what you'd find at
KFC except crispier. Although the chicken meat was very tender and moist, the
breading needed a bit more flavour in terms of salt and/or spices. However, it
did go nicely with the thick and creamy potato salad. The salad had hints of mustard and something tangy in it (perhaps
vinegar) which helped to round out the flavours of fried foods nicely.
The barbeque
ribs ($17.95) had a wonderful thick tangy sauce slathered all over them (albeit
no smokiness). Also very tender, this was the sole dish of the evening that
left me wanting more. The collard greens were decent with a hint of spice; if only they weren’t as mushy it would be even better but I understand they are
generally served this way.
Lastly, the
fried catfish ($15.95) was another moist and freshly made dish. The fish, lightly
dusted with a thin crispy crust, was a fair portion. The lackluster tartar
sauce did need more relish in it as it resembled mayonnaise more than tartar. The
macaroni and cheese was fairly cheesy with two types of cheese used throughout,
yet wasn’t too heavy. Additionally, the macaroni noodles were quite long so
that you could almost twirl it around a fork. Unfortunately, it was under
seasoned and could have used a bit more salt.
The Praline
Connection is ideally located on a busy corner of Frenchmen Street. Indeed,
during our visit upon leaving the restaurant we were greeted with an impressive
live jazz performance street side. So, if you’re looking for a place to start
the night, The Praline Connection may be a good choice. But, you may want to
share to avoid feeling overly stuffed for the rest of the night.
Overall mark - 7 out of 10
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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!
