Jim and Nancy do not disclose the fact that they will review a restaurant before they attend, ensuring their reviews are unbiased and uninfluenced by their position with the Sun Day.
Does the thought of mudbugs, dirty rice, and fried gator tail start to make your mouth water? If that’s the case, we have a place for you that, as Justin Wilson would say, we “Guar-on-tee” you’ll love. The name of this Cajun treasure is Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen in Westmont.
Nancy and I decided to shake things up a bit, so we went the old school way and had an early Sunday afternoon dinner. Your first view of the restaurant is reminiscent of the Court of Two Sisters Restaurant in New Orleans. The wrought iron gates at the entrance open to a courtyard garden complete with a cascading water feature and seating all around. The restaurant itself is huge, accommodating 295 people, and the southern hospitality really shines through.
Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen
921 Pasquinelli Drive
Westmont 60559 (near Oakbrook Mall)
(630) 455-9846
www.pappadeaux.com
Directions: Take 90 East to 53 South to 290 East to 83 South to Oakmont Lane
Travel time: 50 minutes
We assumed that reservations were not necessary on a Sunday afternoon, but boy were we wrong. We were just lucky enough to get one of the last available tables. The waiter brought over a warm, crispy baguette of French bread with whipped butter and took our order.
Jim was really caught up on the Cajun theme and had to try the most bizarre appetizer on the menu. This was the Crispy Fried Alligator ($14.95 medium portion) served with fresh-cut potato sticks and creole dipping sauce. I wouldn’t touch it with a 10-foot pole, but Jim said the saying is right, “it tastes like chicken.” I can only say the potato sticks were delicious since I nibbled on them and didn’t want the alligator to nibble on me! The heat from the creole sauce did sneak up on Jim and registered about a 3 on his “sweat head meter.”
Nancy loves a good bisque soup, so she tried a cup of the Crawfish Bisque ($7.95). It also had a little kick to it. I tasted it, and it was a Cajun delight.
For those of you who may not be familiar with mudbugs, we will now explain what these delicious little creatures are. They’re also known as: Crayfish, Crawfish, Crawdads, or Fresh Water Lobsters, and are about two inches long. In New Orleans, they are served by the bucketful and the correct way to eat them is to break the tail off, eat it, and then suck the juice out of the head. Sorry Sun Day readers, Pappadeaux only serves the tails cleaned and prepared to your liking.
Jim went all out Cajun and ordered the Shrimp Creole and Grits ($22.95). This was served in a tomato onion sauce with creamy Andouille sausage cheese grits. This dish was definitely a keeper in Jim’s arsenal of good eats. I am not a big fan of tomatoes or grits, but I tried it and the sauce packed quite a punch.
Nancy wanted the Crawfish Platter ($25.95), which should have consisted of fried crawfish and crawfish etoufee with dirty rice. But of course this was not to be. She is not a big fan of crawfish etoufee, so she schmoozed the waiter and talked him into changing that to blackened crawfish. She was in heaven, and I could see why after tasting the blackened crawfish. They use 13 different spices in their recipe and the blackened crawfish was the hit of the afternoon.
If you like Cajun, you won’t mind traveling a few extra miles to this restaurant. Their portions are huge, the service is impeccable, and the food was straight out of the French Quarter. If you go with someone who doesn’t like Cajun, they have traditional seafood selections as well.
FYI: The road leading to the restaurant is easy to miss, so look carefully, the turn in is right before the Ogden Avenue exit sign. On your way home you will have to turn around on Ogden and re-enter going north. Handicap accessible by ramp on left side of the building.
The total bill for our Cajun creations was $83.58.
Jim’s take: Alligator is another critter off my “to eat” list. My dish was great and had tons of shrimp, but Nancy definitely won with her blackened crawfish creation.
Nancy’s take: Jim may have bragging rights after eating Alligator, but I ate MUDBUGS!!! Eat your heart out, Jim…
Have comments or restaurant suggestions for the Dining Duo? Send them an email at thediningduo@gmail.com.
