Louisiana Purchase: Then and Now

When I first moved to The Flat, I happened to stroll past Lousiana Purchase, an out-of-the-way Cajun and Creole eatery west of downtown. I thought to myself, "Self, remember to eat some of that." And I did. And it was good.

The food was reasonably priced, the mark-up on bottles of wine was possibly the lowest in the city, and the service was fantastic, due in no small part to the comely young lasses who run the joint. But all was not well in the bayou.

In spite of it being the crest of the economic boom in Edmonton, Louisiana Purchase did not seem to be doing that well. You could show up at 6:30 on a Friday night and have your pick of tables. It was weird to eat there; it felt like being in your grandmother's living room, when she brings you a cookie and sits there watching you eat it, her eyes following each bite down your throat. Unsettling. I started to feel bad for them. Then I stopped going.

But the other day I decided to take another spin through the swamp and was promptly turned away at the door. I had failed to make a reservation. So I went back last Friday, also on a whim, also without a reservation, only this time it was 5:30. I got a table, but within half an hour nearly every seat in the house had an ass in it. The menu is the same, the specials are still great, the wine is still the best deal downtown, and the waitresses still turn the majority of cranks.

So what changed?

The economic situation is worse. That's all I can figure. It's tasty food at reasonable prices with nice atmosphere and good service. Three years ago, roid monkeys were putting on Ed Hardy t-shirts with pinstripe suit jackets and heading out to Lux for an apple-tini. Today, those fuckers don't have any dough left to spend because they're still making payments on their idiotic trucks. They've been forced to grow up and eat somewhere good, not somewhere popular, like adults.

Try the Salmon, Shrimp and Crawfish Boudin. Tastes so good makes you want to slap yo' mama.