Bourbon Street LLC — Restaurant in Burlington

I grew up in New Orleans and on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi (which is like New Orleans Lite). I read the reviews before I went to Bourbon Street, looking specifically for anyone who had been raised in the greater NOLA area, and while there were some reviews from people who had BEEN to New Orleans, I didn't see any from people who had grown up there. So, I figured I'd post to give my perspective.

I have only very rarely had good cajun/creole food anywhere else in the country. I've lived in Austin for a while now, and I've so far found ONE place with decent crawfish and gumbo. For the most part, trying to eat cajun while away from home has been a constant disappointment, and so that's what I've come to expect. The Po'Boy bread is never right, the seasonings are always off, the stocks are never flavorful enough, etc. etc.

I was therefore really surprised to find that this place is legit! It would not be out of place in New Orleans, and I think it'd do good business. It's amazingly run entirely by one guy (and I mean entirely: bussing, waiting tables, and cooking), and he (Richard) does a really great job. Because it's easy for one guy to get totally slammed, you should definitely make a reservation rather than expecting to be able to walk in.

I came with my wife and two of our friends, and we had between us:

3 dozen grilled oysters (plus one baker's oyster!) Red beans Cornbread Crawfish + Shrimp Étoufée Seafood Jambalaya (with mussels!) Gator gumbo (with gator!) Boudin Duck ragout Key Lime Pie

Particular standouts for me were the oysters, the gumbo, and the étoufée. The oysters were perfect: still soft, lightly charred, nice and warm, with an excellent garlic butter. We couldn't stop ordering more until we had eaten everything they had in stock! We ordered them as an appetizer, and they were so good we ordered another dozen after our mains and before desert. They were so good again that we ordered another dozen after dessert! If we hadn't eaten the last of them, we'd have probably ordered another dozen. The gumbo has a butter roux base, so it's a bit paler than some oil-based roux bases. Butter roux for gumbo is in my experience much more difficult to work with, but it adds a wonderful depth of flavor and some extra nuttiness that you don't get from an oil roux. The base here works great, and the depth of flavor of that plus the stock is really just what you expect from a good gumbo. The alligator was well cooked and added a nice touch: not too chewy, good flavor. I'd love to see Richard's take on a dirty bird gumbo sometime! The étoufée was also excellent: a ton of crawfish flavor distributed throughout the sauce, and perfectly seasoned.

Those were the standouts for me, but everything was great! For my fellow southerners, the cornbread was more of a corn muffin (sweeter than I'd usually call a cornbread, although there are many, many opinions on this), but it was very tasty.

I will be thinking about those oysters for months and months. My wife and I are planning to move to Vermont this year, and we will definitely be regulars here. Can't wait for...

A client of mine told me about this wonderful place with amazing food and atmosphere where it felt you are being catered to one on one. So, to celebrate Father’s Day my wife and I decided to check out this little off the beaten path place and we are extremely glad we did.

You do need to make reservations, which is not hard to do, and you can even get one within 30 minutes. The restaurant space is small and quaint, with an ambience and atmosphere that matches the style of the food being served. The décor, music and energy make you feel like you are in a region of Louisiana.

Things you notice about the food. First, when you are sitting nursing a sweet tea, you can smell your meal being prepared. Second there is not a rush as your meal is served to you. At other restaurants, you might get your (or within-in-minutes of) main dish meal while you are still eating your appetizer. Here, your dishes come to you just hot off the stove and spaced out just long enough so you can savor the food you just ate and enjoy the smell of what was coming next.

The spices of the food were exquisite, with the right amount of kick to it but not so spicy that it would bother you. My partner who is spice sensitive and was concerned about eating the Jambalaya, had no issue in eating it. What is more, the flavors of the food do not just disappear after you finish eating. They linger subtly on your palate as you wait for what is to come next.

The full meal was a top-of-the-line experience and I commend the owner, cook & server Richard for the passion for what he does. Thank you and we will be back, and I will encourage others to come see...

Short version: My dad and I ate here tonight, and we both loved it. And it's a brand-new restaurant so you should try it!

Long version: Dad got the jambalaya, and I got the blackened catfish. We both loved it, and since I had the catfish, I'll speak to that: It was overflowing with flavor, being blackened was only one part of its story. The diced bell peppers and (I think) red onions with it only elevated it, as did how gentle the rice felt on my palette. The tomatoes (I think they were tomatoes) on the side packed a serious punch, not in a spicy way just how like when you bite into something juicy it rushes over you. The greens nicely contrasted it all with a verdant, extremely mild bitterness, and the kidney beans had just the right texture too.

Long version continued: The lemon meringue pie and bourbon pecan pie are to die for. The lemon meringue pie was light as air and a nice combo of sweet and tangy, and the bourbon pecan pie was delicately sweet with the full body of a rich, well, bourbon. We would go back like tomorrow if we lived nearby, but since we're tourists, we'll revisit...