Tom should be at Manresa this weekend so I took him for his annual visit to St.Joseph, and we finally made it to a place in Baton Rouge that I’ve been curious about since COVID days. We got a late start, arriving at Elsie’s Plate & Pie for an early dinner.
Elsie’s is on Government St., which in recent years has seen a revitalization of hip places. Curbsides Burgers is across the street and Doe’s Eat Place is down the block.
Elsie’s is in a somewhat grungier block in what appears to be an old government building, and the entrance is in the rear. It’s a cool place with bare concrete floors and tin tables. There are even private booths.
Cases of pies are the first thing you see past the hostess.
The place is staffed by very nice kids who are genuinely glad you have come to visit. All of this is a source of well-deserved pride that the name of the place is in lights inside, a view we enjoyed from our booth.
Elsie is owner/chef Paul Chauvin Dupre’s deceased grandmother, and her smiling countenance is the very first thing you see upon entering. It’s charming, and the story about her on their website is even sweeter.
Sweet is a big part of the menu. Elsie was an expert at pies because it was her husband Carl’s favorite thing. Homemade pies are a central theme, as the name suggests, and they come as dessert and savory dishes. But there are sandwiches and entrees too.
As usual, we got carried away. Luckily we got caught in a waiter switch or we would have ordered more. The savory pies come as a meal. Two large ones with a side. And a salad. We ordered Natchitoches meat pies and a pot pie. Also a hamburger, and two dessert mini pies.
The salads arrived quickly. They were interesting, generous, and hard to eat. The dressing on this salad was unlike anything we’ve had. I’d swear it had applesauce in it. I never eat anything this sweet but I was so fascinated by this interesting little plate of mixed lettuces, thinly sliced cucumbers, and tomatoes, that I finished it.
Two large meat pies hit the table next, accompanied by a cup of coleslaw. They were light and flaky and drizzled with the signature Bedford sauce. Inside was a generous helping of spicy ground meat and pork which was very good. One of these would be enough, but I couldn’t stop. I also liked the coleslaw, which was not dressed nearly as much as the preceding salad. I liked it too.
The waiter was very high on the chicken pot pie. He did mention it as smoked chicken, so I was not surprised, but this didn’t thrill me. Pot pie’s simple goodness needs no enhancements, and the sauce inside was not thick enough. It was fine but mildly disappointing.
The burger was a cute thing with a fluffy round old-fashioned sesame-topped bun, and a hand-formed patty sticking out on one side, with the grill-searing crusty enough to excite me. Melted cheddar, lettuce, tomato, and pickle lived up to its billing as a classic. This was a medium rare patty and just a nice burger. Tom loved it. We also got housecut fries as an extra too, but they seemed frozen. When I inquired about this our new waitress explained that they do them ahead. I could tell.
I thought we’d get a slice of pie for dessert, but they came as minis. Choosing from an ambitious selection of seven was not easy. We got coconut cream and turtle pie. These came in individual pie plates. The crust on the coconut pie was a regular pie crust. This was delicious. It was creamy with shreds of coconut throughout and a healthy topping of whipped cream.
I wasn’t thrilled with the turtle pie, which was more of a mess of chocolate pudding and caramel sauce with nuts and whipped cream topping. It was a standard turtle pie but I think its size made it a mess of pudding mixed with the nuts and caramel. I should have gotten the chocolate cream pie. We’ll do that next time.
There will be a next time, and soon. Elsie’s Plate & Pie put a smile on my face just like the one on its namesake’s portrait. Love it!
