Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Review - Mardi Gras Cafe and Marketplace.

while i was home on vacation for the weekend, pops had recorded some show with Art Mann, ive never seen it or heard of it, but apparently he goes to allllll sorts of festivals and parties and shit all around the country and checks them out. so the episode i watched was a crawfish festival in louisiana. as i was watching it, i thought to myself, "is there and good crawfish in san diego???". i was determined to find out. when i got back to SD the other day, i hit yelp in search of that which i so desired. like usual, i found some little hole in the wall that i never would have been to. and lucky for me, it was 5 minutes down the street from my apartment! so with companion Adam in tow, we headed over there for lunch before our screening of Thor at fashion valley. it seems to be a tiny little place judging by the store front, but when you walk in, its surprisingly large. old creole lady working behind the counter making peoples food. few people finishing up their meals sittin at the plastic tables. adam had already decided on the Muffaletta sandwich(8.99 regular, 12.99 large)
muffaletta is a new orleans sandwich based on the large sesame-focaccia style loaf that is used. it typically has an olive relish, ham, salami, capicola, pepperoni, emmantaler, and provolone. i believe this one only had a few of those meats. it was good though. the flavors were all good, it wasnt soggy because of the relish, and the bread wasnt stale or anything. it wasnt the most amazing sandwich ive ever had, but it was good, and HUGE!. now i had already decided upon a crawfish po boy for myself (9.99), but when i ordered it, and she started making it, she informed me she didnt have enough crawfish for a whole sandwich. i though that was a little odd, but i figured it was because she just sold all the crawfish because hey, maybe this place is actually popular? i dont know. but i decided to have half crawfish and half oyster. so this is what i ended up with.
the crawfish were good, they were crispy. not over fried. the sesame roll was toasted. under each fried portion, there was tomatoes and a slam dressed out with a yummy mayonaise based dressing.
the oysters were huge, they were like 3 bites each. once again, fried nicely, not over done. same slaw tomato party that was on the other half. i ate most of the sandwich, but it was pretty big. i saw her pulling the oysters and crawfish out of the freezer, but honestly doesnt bother me with a place like this. if they were some creole restaurant claiming to be fresh and all that jazz, i wouldnt be stoked at all. but they have been open for 23 years, so i guess they are doing it right haha. now onto the main attraction. the WALL OF FIRE!!!!
yes thats right. those are all different bottle of hot sauce. they have a huuuge selection to buy from. i actually found a bottle of one of my favorite sauces that i havent been able to find for the past year because its been on back-order. up on the counter they have a little tasting station for some of their hottest selections. and then on each of the tables, there is random half full bottles of different ones strewn about that you can use freely on your food.
so i enjoyed my lunch. ill be back for sure. it wasnt mindblowingly amazing, but it was good and its a different step from my usual sandwich routine. plus they have a large menu with lots of other options on it. also with the hot sauce options, if i dont like whatever i order, just douse that shit!!! hell yea. check it out!!


Mardi Gras Cafe and Marketplace
3185 Midway Drive
San Diego, CA, 92110

www.mardigrascafesandiego.com

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