Short Order Reviews: Jefferson Parish Edition

In today's short order reviews, we head into Jefferson Parish to see what's cooking on the other side of the 17th Street Canal.

Caretta's - Everytime I walk into this place, I just feel like part of the herd being pushed toward the food trough. But to be honest, the food is not horrendous. Cheese enchiladas are entirely serviceable; I prefer the red sauce instead of the verde version. The accompanying grilled flank steak surprisingly resembled beef more so than shoe leather. White queso is thin in consistency and flavor. The rice is fair enough, but the beans too runny in consistency. Plain and simple, there are about 50 other Mexican places that I would opt for instead. But what The Folk Singer wants, she gets.

Caretta's Grill - Bogie
2320 Veterans Blvd.
(504) 837-6696
Lunch & Dinner Tue-Sat

Mr. Gyro's - Before the proliferation of Lebanese restaurants in the city, Mr. Gyros was one of the few choices for its namesake dish. The building has minimal creature comforts or ambience; the most exciting part of the service is the flaming kasseri cheese on the bar and the accompanying "Opa!" shouted by the server. Grape leaves - short, stubby, and dense with rice and ground beef - were the best dish we tried but even those were nothing special. Thin pucks of falafel were hard on the outside, dry and brittle on the inside. Grecian Pizza uses soft, thick pita as the base with tomato sauce, gyro meat, peppers, onions, and melted mozzarella. I have no idea why I ordered that. The taste is what you would expect, but that's not to say that the flavors came together well. Nothing that a few spoonfuls of tzaziki can't fix though.

Mr. Gyros - Bogie
3620 N. Causeway Blvd.
(504) 833-9228
Lunch & Dinner Mon-Sat

Harbor Seafood - I have heard and read about lots of high praise for this neighborhood café whose fame is built upon fresh seafood borrowed from the attached Fisherman's Cove market next door.  The small, narrow dining room is no frills. Seafood gumbo has a thick, tan base that has the consistency of a stew. It’s loaded with baby shrimp and a handful of oysters perfectly poached. Different, but good. Onion rings are tall and coated with a simple batter which cracks and sometimes falls off with each crunchy bite. The specials menu boasts all of the fresh fish of the day, all of which you can order fried, blackened, or grilled. Cobia was a thin, fresh filet that was disappointingly small. Plate included rice topped with shrimp étouffée (not very flavorful) and corn on the cob straight from a spicy seafood boil.

Everything tasted fresh, but I still left feeling that the food fell below my expectations. The Folk Singer says that my palate has become "too sophisticated" to appreciate neighborhood restaurants like this. But I love Sammy’s on Elysian Fields, so what gives?

Harbor Seafood - Par
3203 Williams Blvd.
(504) 443-6454
Lunch & Dinner 7 Days