Lagniappe Cajun Creole Eatery — Restaurant in Marquette

My family and I left Baton Rouge 13 years ago and moved to Ohio. One of the many things we miss is the fantastic Cajun and creole food. Our son is attending NMU in Marquette and we were in town for a campus visit. While looking for interesting places to see and new places to eat we were shocked to see this eatery listed. My wife and I decided to give it a shot one night and to be honest we went in with very low expectations. Lagniappe absolutely blew us away. Starting with the speak easy feel descending the steps to the place and the wild voodoo zydeco atmosphere we encountered we began to really get our hopes up. The Hurricanes might as well have been from Bourbon street and they come in 3 different octanes. The Lagniappe salad had a bacon dressing worth at least slapping your aunt for if not your mama. Gumbo Ya Ya as good as any LSU tailgate. I was SLIGHTLY disappointed there was no fried oyster poboy but the fried shrimp version had my mouth watering. The French bread for the poboy was indescribable. I've had what was called French bread since leaving Louisiana but this is the real deal with just the perfect amount of crispy outside and fluffy heaven inside. BBQ shrimp was melt in your mouth and had REAL shrimp like you just bought them off the docks. No wimpy cocktail baby shrimp here. The only thing missing was a slice of the French bread to mop up the plate with. After all that, my wife and I were in physical pain from stuffing ourselves but couldn't help trying dessert. The bread pudding will knock your flip flops right off your feet. Nothing can be that good without a sprinkle of voodoo. To finish it all off, I had to get a serving of beignets. As someone who spent far too much time at Cafe Du Monde, I can say these aren't QUITE that level but they came far closer than anything I've had outside Louisiana. That said, I had absolutely no problem finishing three of the gigantic puffs with my eyes rolled up to the top of my head in ecstasy. We are looking forward to coming back in the future to try even more items from the menu. Hopefully that fried oyster poboy and maybe even a frozen Community Coffee will make it to the menu. If you're a Yankee and happen to give this place a shot, do yourself a favor and stay off the part of the menu you're more used to and try one or three or five of the true southern fare items. It'll keep you coming back and maybe even fuel a fire to visit...

I cannot lie: This was one of the most amazing places I have ever been to. There aren't too many Cajun food options up by the western side of the U.P., but I will admit that the Lagniappe Cajun Creole Eatery is definitely one of the most authentic Cajun restaurants I have visited. I never had a chance to eat catfish or crawfish before, but I got a chance to try it here and it was delicious. Not too much heat for those of us who can't tolerate too much spice, but definitely not bland either. The flavors all meshed together well and the sauces they had to go with their seafood dish was a perfect medley.

For dessert, my mom and I ordered their orange liqueur creme brulee and it was so delicious. Creme brulee is another food I have never tried before and I'm glad I got the chance to do so at the eatery. It was so light and creamy and the drizzle was beautifully done on top. I will admit there was a slight notice of alcohol in the creme itself, but it was subtle enough to keep a person sober. If you feel the need for that option, I recommend their alcoholic dessert that is more for the adults.

My drink of choice was the Abita Root Beer and it was most likely the best root beer I've ever tasted in my entire life. I'm not too much of a fan of pure cane sugar in a drink because I believe it simply makes the soda too sweet. That said, the Louisiana cane sugar within the root beer was the perfect amount of subtle to withstand and so smooth to the taste buds.

Overall, I would give the Lagniappe Cajun Creole Eatery a high score of...

We decided to try the Lagniappe restaurant after hearing many good things about it. We tried it on the weekend so parking was free, and it was a short walk to the restaurant. The entrance we came in was on Washington and we walked down the stairs to the basement of the building, which is where Lagniappe is located. The atmosphere was amazing, with brick and wood walls creating a beautiful atmosphere. We were seated promptly since we came before the rush, and our server was very attentive and helpful. We had the mussels for an appetizer and two of us were smitten with it. The others liked the taste but weren't keen on the texture of the mussels (nothing with the food, just not a texture that was for them.) For entrees we tried the Shrimp Po Boy, the Jambalaya, the shrimp boil, and the Gumbo Ya Ya. All of this was superb! The portions on the Po Boy and the shrimp boil were perfect (we chose the one pound option.) The Gumbo Ya Ya felt a bit light; would probably not order this as a standalone meal in the future. The Jambalaya was a massive amount of food! All of us tried it, one of our members had it in addition to his gumbo, and there were still leftovers for a full meal the next day. At the end of the meal each person declared this their new favorite restaurant in Marquette. Looking forward to...