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Smitty's Seafood
Kenner: 2000 West Esplanade. 504-468-1647. Map. WHY IT'S NOTEWORTHY WHAT'S GOOD BACKSTORY DINING ROOM ESSENTIAL DISHES FOR BEST RESULTS OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT FACTORS OTHER THAN FOOD
Very Casual
AE DS MC V
There are two ways you can pack a casual New Orleans seafood house: a) fry vividly fresh seafood to order, serve it hot and crisp, and have good gumbo, poor boys, and a few interesting appetizers; or 2) serve enormous portions of everything at very low prices in a minimal environment. Smitty's uses strategy 2). I'd say it's better than most of the pile-on places, in that the seafood is of generally good quality. It's inconsistent in the fried department, with platters showing more time out of the fryer than they should.
What makes Smitty's noteworthy for those of us not swayed by oversize portions is the presence of good boiled seafood--something that has become a rarity around town. The Hamper brings everything currently in the market to the table, complete with the boiled potatoes, corn on the cob, onions, garlic, and smoked sausage. I've had better than this, but lots worse. They also shuck oysters on the half shell, and that's always a happy find. So is the presence of seafood "boats," an old way of serving fried seafood that we don't see much anymore.
Smitty's opened in the late 1990s, and hasn't changed much since.
The place feels like a double-wide trailer, and trembles when the serious seafood eaters walk through the place. That is, of course, a hallmark of the great old seafood joints, an environment that a lot of local people find comforting somehow.
Starters
Shrimp cocktail
Barbecue shrimp
Fried popcorn shrimp
»Stuffed shrimp
Fried crawfish pies
Creole crab cakes
»Fried artichoke hearts
Fried eggplant sticks
Onion mum
Fried mushrooms
»Oysters on the half shell
Creole seafood gumbo
Grilled marinated shrimp salad
Fried crawfish or shrimp salad
Caesar salad
Grilled tuna salad
Grilled chicken and roasted garlic salad
»Shrimp remoulade salad
Fried chicken salad
Boiled seafood
»Boiled shrimp, crabs, or crawfish in season
Boiled Dungeness crabs
»The Hamper (boiled shrimp, crawfish, crabs, potatoes, corn, mushrooms, sausage and garlic)
Entrees
»Seafood boat (fried oysters, fried catfish, stuffed crab, fried shrimp, soft shell crab)
Grilled ribeye steak
Grilled shrimp
Grilled marinated chicken breast
Grilled fish of the day
»Fried shrimp, oysters, crawfish tails, soft shell crab, or catfish
»Stuffed crabs
»Seafood platter
Barbecue shrimp dinner
Fried chicken strips
Panneed veal with crawfish tails
Crawfish etouffee
Eggplant Napoleon
Seafood artichoke pasta
Crawfish pasta
Chicken alfredo pasta
Red beans and rice, smoked sausage
Poor boy sandwiches
»Fried shrimp, oysters, catfish, soft shell crab, stuffed crab, or fried crawfish tails,
Breaded veal cutlet
Hot or smoked sausage
Ham and cheese
»Hamburger
»Roast beef
French fries with roast beef gravy
Grilled chicken breast
Turkey breast
Desserts
»Bread pudding
Dessert of the day
Ice cream
Raw oysters, boiled seafood, and seafood boats are the best food. Stuffed dishes and the likes of crab cakes hold the least promise.
The kitchen should be more scrupulous about frying seafood to order and getting it right out.
Up to three points, positive or negative, for these characteristics. Absence of points denotes average performance in the matter.
SPECIAL ATTRIBUTES
- Open Sunday lunch and dinner
- Open Monday lunch and dinner
- Open all afternoon
- Oyster bar
- Unusually large servings
- Quick, good meal
- Good for children
- Easy, nearby parking
- No reservations
