Gumbo A Go-Go

I pass this place pretty regularly, since it's on 86th Street right across from Half-Price Books.  It's in a strip mall, and doesn't look particularly interesting, but any place that offers Cajun and Creole food is bound to catch my eye.  So, I was on my way home tonight, feeling hungry but not like cooking, and decided to give them a try (#98).  The interior was not very exciting - just a lot of small tables with plain wooden chairs.  You order at the counter, and there was a huge chalkboard with all the daily selections.  I told the server that this was my first time and asked what was good.  He responded that everyone's tastes are different, which on one hand could be a little flip and not very helpful, but on the other is pretty true for that kind of food.  I told him I tend to like etouffees, and he said the crawfish etoufee and the gumbo were his favorites.  And that he's from Louisiana, for whatever that's worth.  So I ordered a regular size of the crawfish ettouffee which came to a whopping $6.  You can order two sizes of fountain drink (which are serve yourself, which always makes me wonder why anyone would order the large size???), but I just got water since I'm currently off pop.

The food is brought out to your table, and turned out to be a deep styrofoam plate full of rice covered over with the crawfish ettouffe and two large pieces of bread that had been topped with a spicy butter.  The ettoufee was really very good.  It was that great level of spicy that lets all the flavors come through without overwhelming them, but still leaves a nice heat in your mouth.  It was flavorful and had a good amount of crawfish tail pieces which were cooked perfectly -- tender, not rubbery at all.  The bread was good (although not quite as good as Yats!) and made a nice side.  The server seemed to be the only employee there, but he did come out to check on everyone.

Overall, the concept did remind me of Yats, but on a slightly less quirky scale.  They had some good blues music playing in the background, but overall the place was much quieter and less crazy than Yats, which actually made me feel much more comfortable being there by myself.  The menu offered a nice selection, and you can get combo plates as well as carry-out, which are always nice options.  It looked like you could also get larger sized plates (which you would have to be seriously starving to want!).  Dessert options were key lime or peanut butter pie.  Too bad I got so filled up on the ettoufee.  I will very likely be going back here.  The food was good, service was fast, and the price was right.  And I love a good crawfish ettouffee!