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Blue Orleans-August 31, 2013

September 1, 2013

Blue Orleans is a New Orleans-inspired Creole restaurant in downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee, opened by a family displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

So, when I wrote about Enzo’s Market a few weeks ago I believe that I mentioned that we were actually planning to try Blue Orleans but they are not open for lunch.  They open at 4:00 p.m., so we decided yesterday to head there again with our friend Rachel for an early dinner.  We got there about 4:30 and were the first patrons in the restaurant, so we were of course seated immediately.

Blue Orleans is a New Orleans-inspired Creole restaurant in downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee, opened by a family displaced by Hurricane Katrina.  The walls are brick, the floors hardwood, and the tables shiny wood.  The restaurant is decorated with fleur de lis and some Saints gear, but nothing gaudy (which is what you often find in Creole/Cajun restaurants).  It’s a nice, tastefully decorated place, smaller than we imagined based on the outside.

Our server, who was lovely (and I believe my have been one of the owners), took our drink order.  They serve 20-ounce bottled Coke products for $2.00 each (this is the second place we’ve been in the last month that serves bottled drinks-unusual indeed), unsweetened tea, beer, wine, and of course water.  Philip and I ordered water and Rachel decided on unsweetened tea.  One thing I can say is that they kept our drinks full to the top!  Our server and another very, very friendly lady came around frequently to refill our glasses.  Philip tried to talk us into some gator bits but Rachel and I weren’t convinced….plus at $9 they were a little steep.  That was one issue that I had-the menu items were priced pretty high, with the least expensive entrée being a $12 po’boy and they quickly went up from there.

I decided on the shrimp po’boy, “dressed” (remoulade, lettuce, tomato, and pickle).  The sandwich was huge, served on a large portion of French bread with breaded fried shrimp, shredded iceberg lettuce, and pickle chips.  The shrimp were large and well-cooked, not chewy or gummy.  The remoulade lent a bit of spiciness but was not overly spicy.  The sandwich was a little “bready” and I ended up pulling a lot of the excess bread off, but it was still pretty good.  I ordered Cajun fries with it; the fries were obviously from frozen, but I appreciated that they were not overly doused with Cajun spices like some that I’ve had…just enough to give them a mild spice.

Blue Orleans

Philip went way authentic (that’s sarcasm) and got a black and blue Orleans burger, which is topped with bacon and blue cheese and dressed with lettuce, tomato, pickles, and mayonnaise.  This was really one of the largest burgers I’ve ever seen…it looked like one of those truck stop burgers that if you eat the whole thing they put your picture on the wall (by the way, Philip would have gotten his picture on the wall).  The burger took up almost the whole bun, though, like me, Philip did pull a bit of the bread off.  I wouldn’t call the burger itself a masterpiece…I don’t think there was anything “special” about the meat, but Philip did really like the combination of bacon and blue cheese with the other toppings.  Philip got regular fries, which were just the same frozen shoestring fries that I had but just salted, not seasoned-nothing special but not bad either.

Blue Orleans

Rachel decided on the shrimpalaya-spiced cajun rice with sliced andouille sausage and seasoned sautéed shrimp.  It was a pretty generous portion.  Like my shrimp, Rachel’s shrimp was well-cooked, not chewy or gummy.  The sausage was mildly spicy but not overwhelming.  I tasted the rice and found it to also be well-cooked, not mushy or sticky and also not hard or crunchy, and it was spicy without being overwhelming (by the way, I need to get my aunt’s recipe for jambalaya to share with you guys!).

Blue Orleans

We decided to get some beignets to share for dessert.  I love beignets, but, believe it or not, I’ve never made them from scratch.  I really should soon.  They are yeast-raised and most of the recipes that I’ve found for them contain evaporated milk, which is not an ingredient I generally keep on hand.  I used to buy boxes of Café du Monde beignet mix at the grocery store and make them from that….not from scratch but still pretty delicious.  Anyway, our server made sure that we were okay with waiting 10-15 minutes for the beignets to be prepared (we were) then brought out dessert plates for us.  Beignets are basically yeast doughnuts without a hole.  Strips of dough are fried till brown, during which time they puff up, and then they are generously doused with powdered sugar.  These were very tasty-yeasty and a good sweet tooth solution without being tooth-achingly sweet.

Blue Orleans

So my verdict on Blue Orleans?  Well, I am going to qualify this by saying that I have basically no experience with Cajun or Creole food.  I’ve never been to New Orleans and the only “Cajun” restaurant where I’ve ever eaten before was Meo Mio’s.  I’ve made “Cajun” recipes before or ordered “Cajun-seasoned” foods at restaurants.  I am no expert.  This food was definitely better than what we had at Meo Mio’s, but I have no idea how authentic it was.  It was pretty good, but was it worth the price?  Eh.  I probably won’t go there again just based on the price for what we got.  I will say that I thought the atmosphere was really nice, and the staff was very nice.  I do believe it’s the only Cajun restaurant in town anymore (correct me if I’m wrong), so if you like Cajun food you’ll have to try it yourself to decide on the authenticity.  Have you tried it?  What are your thoughts (be nice/constructive and  remember my comments policy!)?

Blue Orleans is located at 1463 Market Street (on the corner of Market and Main), Chattanooga, TN 37402. You can call them at 423-757-0088. You can find more information, including the Blue Orleans menu, at the Blue Orleans website.  They are open Monday-Wednesday, 4-9 p.m.; Thursday 11-2 p.m. and 4-9 p.m., Friday 11-2 p.m. and 4-10 p.m., and Saturday, 4-10 p.m. (closed Sunday).

Blue Orleans Restaurant on Urbanspoon

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Filed Under: By Location, By Type, Downtown Chattanooga, Restaurants, Southern & Barbecue Tagged With: Cajun/Creole restaurants, downtown Chattanooga restaurants By Mary // Chattavore 10 Comments

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Comments

  1. Paige Phillips says

    September 1, 2013 at 9:50 am

    No comment on Blue Orleans, but like you, I would love to see more places with fresh cut fries! Where do you think has the best fries in Chattanooga? I think the Boat House has the best (just wish they served a burger). I also like Five Guys' fries and the fries at the Meeting Place.
    Reply
    • Chattavore says

      September 1, 2013 at 10:11 am

      Paige, I too love the fries at the Boat House & Five Guys. I haven't had them at the Meeting Place. I also love them at the Terminal....but my favorite are at Blue Ribbon Café in Soddy-Daisy. I really just love good hand-cut, skin-on fries wherever I can find them....to me, when a restaurant takes the time to make their own fries that really elevates them a notch. Fries are very, very important to me!
      Reply
      • Vanderbilt Wife says

        September 1, 2013 at 11:05 pm

        Mmmmm. Those fries at Blue Ribbon Cafe are so good! The Boathouse may not have a burger, but their Mignon Chopped Steak sandwich with tomato gravy is SO INCREDIBLY GOOD. I now feel like I need it right now.
        Reply
        • Chattavore says

          September 2, 2013 at 8:06 am

          Ha! I need to go back there. The chicken sandwich I had when I went was to die for....and the cheese dip. Mmmmm.
          Reply
  2. Tiffany Merritt says

    September 2, 2013 at 6:00 am

    I've only had the beignets at Cafe Orleans, and I thought they were yum (though Enzo's also makes great beignets!). I haven't been for a proper meal strictly because Cajun cuisine doesn't really do much for me. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the place, though!
    Reply
    • Tiffany Merritt says

      September 2, 2013 at 6:45 am

      and by cafe orleans, I mean blue orleans. Oops!
      Reply
      • Chattavore says

        September 2, 2013 at 8:05 am

        I knew what you meant, Tiffany! I didn't even realize that Enzo's made beignets-I'll have to check those out! And I get what you're saying about Cajun cuisine...I am actually only interested in certain aspects of it myself!
        Reply
  3. jezmyopinion says

    April 5, 2017 at 8:07 pm

    I'm cajun and I tried Blue Orleans. It is not authentic creole food and I won't spend another penny there. The female owner was quite rude and although there were but a few diners, we had to wait almost 10 minutes to be seated.
    Reply
    • Mary // Chattavore says

      April 5, 2017 at 8:12 pm

      This was several years ago...our experience was fine but I was kind of appalled at the prices. I have no experience with Cajun or Creole food...but I have heard other unpleasantries about the owners.
      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Clyde's on Main - Chattavore says:
    September 25, 2014 at 9:20 pm
    […] restaurants in this area: Mean Mug Coffee House, Blue Orleans, Terminal […]
    Reply

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About Chattavore

Hi, I'm Mary! Welcome to Chattavore, a destination for people who want to feed themselves and their families well every day! Life can be crazy, which means that getting dinner on the table can be a challenge (more often than not!) and my mission is to take all your favorite recipes and figure out how to serve them on a Tuesday.

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Want recipes from scratch & restaurant reviews in your inbox weekly?
Subscribe below to get Chattavore's weekly newletter AND a free set of recipe cards to help you learn to cook from scratch!
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