Camellia Cafe
Backstory
The original Camellia Cafe opened in 2004 in Slidell, "The Camellia City." (No connection with the Camellia Grill.) The owners previously (and still) operated a cafe in the Stennis Space Center's visitor center. The Abita Springs branch came along in 2006, with another (originally called the Riverbend Bistro, but now bearing the same name as the others) opening in Arabi the same year..
Dining Room
Designer Luis Colmenares--whose other works include the Red Fish Grill and Dickie Brennan's Steakhouse--designed the restaurants. He and the owners gathered local artists to fill the walls, floors, and tabletops with interesting and unmistakably local visuals. The Abita Springs restaurant is the most colorful and comfortable, but all have a similar motif. Service was not especially well trained in the beginning, but in recent times the dining room is managed sharply.
Why It's Essential
With locations in St. Bernard, Slidell and Abita Springs, this small chain of neighborhood-style restaurants cooks a surprisingly wide menu of local specialties and seafood. The place goes from red beans and poor boys to steaks with complicated sauces. The imaginative interior design--created by local artist Luis Colmenares--are a surprise for the first-time diner. It's almost too slick.
Why It's Good
The Camellia Cafe serves the same piece of the population that Copeland's goes after, but does a better job of it by staying with the local trends in casual eating. It's the sort of place here I'd suspect a lot of food came finished from the outside, but as far as I can tell they cook everything in house. The fish is fresh and the portions are sometimes outlandishly oversize. The menus vary a little from location to location.
Most Interesting Dishes
<em><strong> Starters</strong></em><br /> Fried mozzarella cheese<br /> Crispy fried crab fingers<br /> »Seafood stuffed mushrooms<br /> Stuffed artichoke <br /> Southwestern egg rolls <br /> Fried mushrooms <br /> Pickin' box (assortment of fried seafood)<br /> Buffalo chicken wings <br /> »Fried onion rings <br /> Shrimp, corn, and crab bisque <br /> »Oyster and artichoke soup <br /> »Chicken and sausage gumbo <br /> Seafood gumbo <br /> Crawfish etouffee soup<br /> French onion soup <br /> Garden salad <br /> Caesar salad <br /> Spinach salad <br /> Bistro chicken salad <br /> Chef salad <br /> Boiled shrimp salad <br /> Shrimp remoulade <br /> <em><strong>entrees</strong></em><br /> Monterey chicken (grilled, onions, peppers, mushrooms, pepper jack)<br /> »Eggplant napoleon (layered fried eggplant , crabmeat stuffing, crawfish etouffee)<br /> BBQ ribs <br /> Chicken tenders<br /> »Panneed veal cutlets <br /> »Fresh fish of the day<br /> »Red beans and rice <br /> Spaghetti and meatballs <br /> »Chicken or veal parmesan <br /> Crabmeat au gratin <br /> Seafood pasta <br /> »Fried seafood platters (several versions)<br /> Pork chop <br /> New York strip <br /> Hawaiian rib eye <br /> »Filet bordelaise <br /> Hamburger steak <br /> <em><strong>Sides</strong></em><br /> Mashed potatoes <br /> Cole slaw <br /> Loaded baked potato <br /> »Sweet potato fries <br /> Shrimp and squash casserole<br /> Steak fries <br /> »Baked macaroni <br /> Green beans <br /> Dinner salad <br /> <em><strong>Sandwiches</strong></em><br /> »Muffuletta <br /> »Roast beef poor boy<br /> Roast beef, ham, and swiss <br /> Meatball and provolone <br /> Meatball and ''red gravy'' <br /> Hot sausage<br /> »Veal parmesan <br /> »Fried catfish, shrimp, oyster or half and half <br /> French fry and brown gravy <br /> »Fried crab <br /> Fried or grilled chicken club <br /> Club sandwich <br /> Chicken or caesar wrap <br /> Chicken salad sandwich <br /> Club wrap <br /> Double decker BLT<br /> <em><strong>Desserts</strong></em><br /> »Bread pudding with rum sauce<br /> Creole cream cheese cheesecake<br /> Kentucky derby pie<br /> Loving spoonful of chocolate cake<br /> Layered carrot cake
Deficiencies
The menu is loaded with lapses of taste, as the kitchen gives full license to its customers to put almost anything on top of anything else. Keep it simple. The very popular shrimp and squash casserole sounds much better than it is. They serve the cheesecake warm (not a good idea).
For Best Results
Every serving here, with the possible exception of the steaks, constitutes too much food. Take it very easy on ordering. That bread pudding? Enough for four.
Bonus Ratings
1
Attitude
1
Environment
1
Local Color
1
Service
2
Value