A few months ago I wrote a blog post on Mr. Keet's in Maurice, LA. Little did I know that a few weeks after my post I found out that the owners of Mr. Keet's would be opening a new location in Lafayette in the old Ryan's building.
It took me a while to finally decide to try the new restaurant. When I received an email from Living Social about a discount deal I said, well I guess I will give it a try with the discount, because I didn't want to be disappointed like the first time. 
Last Tuesday, I was out running errands and I had an hour to kill before having to pick up my baby girl from school. Since I was in the area, I decided to give Mr. Keet's 2 a chance. Though I had the coupon, I was really hoping that the food would be much better. For two reasons, one I was starving, two I didn't want to have to write another bad review about their restaurant.
Mr. Keet's 2 looked great from the outside. Though Ryan's was there for so many years, it was good to see someone take over the old building and transform it into a great looking place. Inside I loved the Cajun theme with The Rajun Cajuns being the center of attention.
I started with an appetizer. There were several to choose from like fried or grilled shrimp, oysters, crab fingers, catfish bites, etc..I decided on the fried rice dressing balls. The fried balls are like boudin balls. The balls are made with rice dressing, battered and deep fried. The rice dressing balls were huge!
The balls were pretty good. The dipping sauce was awesome, but in my opinion would have been superb with catfish or shrimp. The balls were fried perfectly. The sauce wasn't a tartar sauce but similar to one. Pictured below.
The appetizer was slow coming out, but I will say it was pipping hot. It was fresh and wasn't just sitting in the back waiting to be placed on my table. The portion size was large. I only ate one ball because I wanted to save room for my entree.
After looking at the menu and trying to decide on what entree to choose, I decided on the Catfish Po-boy & onion rings. The food looked awesome. The Catfish Po-boy was served on french bread with a special sauce, lettuce and tomato. The catfish was grilled perfectly and seasoned to perfection. The house sauce was delicious. They definitely need to bottle that, I would buy it.
My only disappointment was that the Po-boy could use a little more house sauce on it. I asked for a little more but it never arrived at the table. Lol.. 
The onion rings were homemade. The rings were golden brown and crispy without being over fried! I loved the onion rings at Mr. Keet's.
One thing that I didn't like is there were no lunch specials. Which could be a downside for some who are going for lunch. Having a lunch special would help to draw a bigger crowd for lunch. Some of the entrees were overpriced for a lunch meal. Because most people don't want a large portion for lunch. So they could also offer a smaller size of the entrees.
The Po-boys and salads were reasonably priced. I will say, I am usually not much of a poboy eater because the poboy bread is usually hard, but Mr. Keet's 2 passed the test because the bread was fresh and soft. The portion size as you can see in the picture above was awesome. I only ate half of my poboy and a few of my onion rings because I wanted to save room for dessert. The portion that I was served was enough for me to save for Brian to have as a snack after work. Kmsl.
The day I dined at Mr. Keet's 2 they were running a special, if you check in on Facebook at Mr. Keet's 2, your dessert is free. My mind was already set on trying dessert, but it was great that I could try on their dime. You could choose from the cheesecake or bread pudding. I love bread pudding so I choose bread pudding. The bread pudding was made from scratch with homemade rum sauce. The flavor of the bread pudding was superb. The only downside was that I like my bread pudding warm and the bread pudding was cold as well as the rum sauce. I would suggest to warm up the pudding and the sauce as well. But it was definitely tasty. One thing that was different about the bread pudding was that it had a topping that was similar to that of a meringue. A little different but delicious. 
Overall I was very impressed with the new restaurant. There are some areas that they need improvement in, but I would definitely recommend Mr. Keet's 2.
One of the things I didn't like was that waitress who waited on me couldn't take her own order and the lady who I am assuming was the head waitress didn't have a very good attitude. Also my dessert was bought out while I was still eating. Which is definitely a no no for me because I like to enjoy each course without one sitting waiting. Lastly, my ticket was placed on the table way before I was finished eating. I felt a little rushed, so I asked one of the ladies who came out what time they closed? She said not till 9pm, I said oh.. I did feel rushed but I took my time and even wrote my notes before leaving.
The setup near the bar area and the back of the restaurant was nice. There were 3 or 4 flat screen TV's which is perfect to watch the game. Allowing the people who may not want to watch the game to be separated on the opposite side of the restaurant. For those who drink, there is a nice bar area with TV's as well.
Mr. Keet's 2 serves BBQ on Sundays, though I have never had the BBQ I will definitely pick up a plate one Sunday after church. The restaurant also serves seasonal seafood like Crab, Shrimp, Crawfish, Alaskan crabs, King Crab & Dungeness crab.
My experience at Mr. Keet's 2 was much better than the Mr. Keet's in Maurice. I enjoyed the atmosphere and the quietness. The food was outstanding compared to the other location. I was pleasantly surprised that the food was so good. I can't believe I am saying this, but I would definitely recommend you give Mr. Keet's 2 a try.
Mr. Keet's 2 is located at 3253 Ambassador Caffery Parkway, Lafayette LA, 534-4345. The hours of operation are Sunday-Thursday from 11am-9pm & Friday-Saturday from 11am-10pm.
31 Aralık 2012 Pazartesi
Mr. Keet's 2 - Redeeming
Jammin' Java - A New Spot
Jammin' Java is a new speciality Coffee & Ice Cream Shop in Youngsville, LA. In passing, I had seen this shop a few times and said that I would dine in one day. A coupon for Jammin' Java was sent to me through Living Social Deals, so I decided to purchase the coupon.
When I entered, I was very impressed with the set up. The decor was like a Malt Shop combined with a coffee shop. The lady greeted me with a warm smile. She was very friendly and handed me a menu to look over before ordering. I looked around quite a bit before ordering.
The Coffee Shop is not very big, but spacious enough to really enjoy your dining experience at Jammin' Java. The owner and I began to chat a little about her business and how long they had been opened. She reminded me a lot of the mom in your neighborhood that everyone would want to go over to her house to enjoy her cooking. 
The coffee shop is a great place for a meeting, to take the kids after school, for young people after a game or a place to pick up breakfast before you head to work. The menu offers a variety of items. You can stop by anytime of the day to dine in and you would find something on the menu to accommodate your food needs. 
Breakfast examples are stuffed biscuits, breakfast paninis, scones, muffins or biscotti just to name a few. On a separate occasion, I had an opportunity to try the Bacon, Egg & Cheese Breakfast Panini. The panini also had a special sauce and jalapeno cheddar cheese. It was very good. A little on the spicy side but it was delicious. It wasn't too hard, pressed perfectly. I enjoyed it. 
Jammin' Java also serves Coffees, Teas, Cappuccinos, Smoothies, Frappuccino & bottled drinks. The menu items may not be as extensive as your typical coffee shop but there is definitely many items to choose from.
I also ordered a Caramel Latte with Caramel drizzle (not pictured on a separate occasion). I was impressed. The Latte was delicious. It was sweet enough, I didn't need any sugar. The caramel was potent enough. It was shockingly good.
One thing I like I love is that there is an area for the children. I am always looking for places to enjoy with lil mama. There are crayons, color sheets & paper for the children to enjoy. As well as the big chalkboard with chalk for the children to have a blast!
As far as for lunch a few options are the Chicken salad sandwiches on white, wheat or a Croissant, a Turkey or Spinach & Feta Panini.
I decided on the Chicken salad croissant with lettuce and pressed on the panini machine (pictured above). The chicken salad was homemade and pretty good. It wasn't dry, there was more than enough chicken salad on the croissant. She definitely wasn't stingy with the chicken salad. 
To drink, I ordered the root beer in a cold mug. Reminded me so much of a Malt Shop. I loved that she offered this with cold mug. More places should sell the drinks that way. If I had time, I would have ordered a root beer float.
Can't leave without a dessert, so I ordered a small ice cream. There were about 20 or so ice creams & sherbets to choose from as well as assorted toppings (pictured above & below).
I decided to keep it simple and order the Caramel Swirl which was vanilla ice cream (pictured below) The ice cream was delicious. Very creamy and the caramel was so yummy. A great afternoon treat for anytime of the year. 
Overall I will say, I enjoyed my experiences on both occasions at Jammin' Java. The Coffee/Ice Cream Shop is nice and cozy. The atmosphere is warm and welcoming. I will say that there is room for some growth for Jammin' Java. I would recommend offering soups with the sandwiches instead of chips. Maybe adding a few more items to the list, like lunch or breakfast specials.
Jammin' Java is located at 3366 Verot School Road Suite 100, 337-857-6955. Opened 7 days a week Monday-Thursday 7:30 am - 9:00 pm, Friday 8:00 am - 10:00 pm, Saturday & Sunday 8:00 am - 9:00 pm. In addition, Jammin' Java has a drive thru, so if you don't have time to get down, place your order at the window without getting out of your car. What a great thing!! Check them out on Facebook!! Be sure to ask her how she came up with the name, pretty cool!!
Sushi Roxx - Always a great experience
Sushi Roxx is a place we love to eat. One of the reasons is that the environment is quiet and relaxing for us. Just recently my husband & I met there for lunch one day. We were able to order our lunch and enjoy some time together. The sushi bar is our favorite place to sit in the restaurant.
There are many sushi restaurants here in Lafayette, but very few of them have such a nice atmosphere. We have tried several of them, but there is just something about Sushi Roxx that we love. Sushi Roxx is located in a bit of an odd place but the Broussard area is growing rapidly. 
We tend to try the same thing all the time because it is so good. As a starter, we ordered the Roxx'n Shrimp. The Shrimp is fried then tossed in a special sauce. This shrimp appetizer is amazing. The shrimp is fried perfectly with a little crisp on it. The sauce is delicious. The shrimp is served on a small bed of lettuce. A must try if you dine at Sushi Roxx. 
As you can see we enjoy sitting at the Sushi Bar. We enjoy watching the Shokunin (Sushi Chef) prepare our sushi rolls. We always say if we watch enough we will be able to make our own sushi at home. We have yet to attempt making a sushi roll. Kmsl, why do it when you can get the best service at a restaurant like this one!
Sushi Roxx has several roll choices. There are many to choose from both raw & cooked. We decided on the Yo Momma Roll & Crunchy Craw Daddy.
The Sushi Chefs do an awesome job with preparing the rolls and making the rolls quickly and efficiently. The presentation is always phenomenal.
The Crispy Craw Daddy (pictured below) is a sushi roll with sauteed crawfish, snowcrab, cream cheese, jalapeno & panko fried with wasabi. This is one of my favorite rolls. The pepper will catch you off guard, but so so good!!
Yo Momma rolls consisted of fried snapper, cream cheese, snowcrab, jalapeno, cucumbers, topped with sliced avocado & crabsticks, spicy mayo & tempura flakes. Omg.. Amazing. The rolls is spicy but delicious. I guarantee you won't be disappointed with the roll. Pictured below. 
Sushi Roxx has over 30 sushi rolls to choose from. In addition, there are several appetizers. Egg rolls, Spring rolls, Beef Tataki, Edamame just to name a few. There is also a few Soups & Salads on the menu.
For those who may prefer a full meal, the Entrees are served with soup. There are a variety of Fried rice options to choose from as well and a kids menu. So with all that being said, there is guaranteed to be something on the menu to accommodate everyone in the family. 
I love the decor of the restaurant. The decor is very contemporary. In addition, very clean and neat. The restaurant is very laid back, but definitely a great place for a date night, a family outing or a place to grab lunch.
Overall, we were satisfied with our visit at Sushi Roxx. Our only complaint is that the service was a little slow for the appetizers. The sushi came out quickly. Other than that, everything was awesome. Sushi Roxx is definitely on my list of Tastee Places... Yum.
Sushi Roxx is located at 4016 Highway 90, Broussard, LA, 330-2147. Like them on Facebook.
Azteca's - Disappointed
Azteca's is a Mexican restaurant that has been around for awhile. My little family & I had never been to Azteca's so we decided to try it one day after church. We wanted to dine at a restaurant that had a television so we could watch the game. Loved the fact that there were several flat screen televisions that were visible in most places in the restaurant. 
Azteca's salsa was good but wasn't as spicy as we like our salsa. The texture of the salsa was a bit on the chunky side which is the way we like it. We also tried the white queso (pictured below) at Azteca's. We were very disappointed, because the queso was milky and had no flavor. 
Jaeda ordered the Chicken tenders with fries. One plus is that there is a kid's menu. We love to find restaurants that have kid's menus so we can share it with our friends. The Chicken tenders (pictured below) was very dry & overcooked. The fries were ok, nothing to brag about to anyone. 
My honey ordered the Seafood Fiesta which consisted of the seafood enchilada, topped with sour cream (he doesn't like sour cream, so his had cheese on top), seafood chimichanga with 4 spicy sauteed shrimp, with rice and beans. Brian wasn't very pleased with the dish. He said that the dish was ok, but needed help, lacking salt and seasoning. The rice and beans were not bad. 
I ordered the Mexican Sampler. The Sampler consisted of your choice of beef or chicken quesadilla (I chose beef), 2 stuffed jalapenos, 2 Sante Fe egg rolls & Fiesta nachos and served with sour cream and guacamole. The Sante Fe egg rolls were not that great. The egg rolls had too much black beans in it. Chili's egg rolls are much better than Azteca's egg rolls. The stuffed shrimp was probably my favorite item that day. I could have eaten just the stuffed shrimp. The nachos were average, nothing special. I make better nachos than that at my house. Lastly, the beef quesadillas they could have kept. So overall my dish was awful, it wasn't for the stuffed shrimp this dish would have been a waste of time and money. I will say, I am glad that we had a living social deal because I would have complained to the fullest. Just a disappointment!
My favorite thing of this dining experience was the hand-painted pictures. They were beautiful. I was more intrigued with the pictures than the food. There are friends of ours who love Azteca's, but we hated our experience and the food.
Overall our experience was disappointing. We waited 5-8 minutes to be seated. In addition, we weren't even acknowledged until it was time to be seated, which was very unprofessional. The food was terrible. I think I would have preferred to go home and eat instead of dining there after church that Sunday. Thank God we had the coupon from Living Social. So instead of paying $40.00 for nasty food we paid $20.00. I will say that our waiter was very nice and polite. Azteca's needs to go back to the drawing board with some of their menu options or get new cooks, because the food we had should have been much better for the cost.
Azteca's is located at 3535 Ambassador Caffery Pkwy, Lafayette, LA 70503, 337-769-1088.
If you have dined at Azteca's let me know your experience. Were they having an off day?? I want to hear from you!!
Bangkok Thai -Interesting Place
This post is long overdue. I had the pleasure of dining with two ladies that I have grown to love over a short period of time. We were out taking care of some business and stopped to grab a bite to eat. So we decided to try Bangkok Thai. Daphne had been there a few times but for Tammy & I it was our first time.
I have seen this place many times in passing but just never stopped. So I was thrilled to be able to try Bangkok Thai. I couldn't wait to see if it would be one of my tastee places in Lafayette. 
Starting out we were given complimentary broth. The broth consisted of onions, celery, chives, cabbage, parsley and cucumbers. The broth was very tasteful. So good and warm. Definitely warmed the body. 
Daphne & Tammy ordered the Pad Pak Stir Fried with the brown rice (Pictured above). The stir fried dish came with assorted veggies in an oyster sauce including shrimp, corn, onions, bell peppers and broccoli. The spice level was medium. I didn't try the shrimp but I had some of the gravy with my rice and I must say that the sauce was awesome. The spice level was perfect. Both of the ladies said that the dish was really good. 
I ordered the Pad Kaprao (pictured below). The dish had bell peppers, onions, carrots and string beans with Thai chili pepper in a spicy hot basil sauce. I ordered my dish with a mild spice level because of the chili pepper and spicy basil sauce. But, I was a bit disappointed because it wasn't spicy enough. The dish itself was very good. Next time I will order the dish with medium spice. Other than that, I was very pleased with the food. I ordered white rice, the other ladies ordered brown rice. They were on their health kick that week. Lol. 
The environment was good. The waitress was very kind and polite. Bangkok Thai is a nice, quiet spot for lunch if you want to get in and out quickly. This is the place to be. Prompt service.
There was a steady lunch crowd, which is always a good sign. I am looking forward to going back and try something else. The food is inexpensive. The menu offers a variety of dishes like soups, salads and noodle dishes. 
Bangkok Thai is located at 3904 Johnston Street, 337-989-2910. The hours of operation are Monday-Sunday 11:00am-10:00pm. Check this place out. Like them on Facebook.
