Growing up in Kenner I passed the Village Inn on Jefferson Hwy in Harahan many times. But I never went inside until a Christian Brothers event brought us there when the kids were pre-teens. It’s the kind of place we might have gone if my large family went to restaurants, but we didn't.
The Village Inn is much-beloved by the local residents, but I can’t imagine it as a destination restaurant then or even now, with its spiffy new digs. It’s not my kind of place for the opposite reason than the hip places.
I’m much too snooty for it. That said, I love its old-fashioned charm. The place was devastated by Ida four years ago, and every time I passed it in the last few years, its dire look outside made me sad. Once a hub of Harahan life, it looked like it would never come back and it was like something important in the neighborhood just died.
I was convinced it was gone forever until I started seeing posts on IG about the reopening. I had to go see this new version. Inside was bright and airy and full of life, which is how I imagine it was for so many years. The owner was gracious as a hostess, going from table to table to chat. I overheard many conversations from grateful regulars that their place was back.
When she came to my table, she told me her husband’s family bought it from the original owners in the 1970s, and they would never let it go. It’s his life. They slugged through a four-year renovation to bring the place back to life. Everything anyone could want of a neighborhood restaurant is here. Buffet? Yes. This is more of a boo-fet, as Tom would say. But it is fine wholesome food. Every day is different. A menu of what is on the buffet is posted on a whiteboard nearby.
Fried shrimp and fried okra were the stars this day, along with a shrimp pasta and white beans. Green beans rounded out the offerings. A separate line had salad bar items with dressings choices aplenty.
Two soups were part of this: seafood gumbo and chicken noodle soup. And pizza. All of this was $19.99. Looking around the room at the piles on the plates at each table, I’m sure they lost money on the shrimp alone.
I ordered a club sandwich, …because I am compelled to, as you know. And I got a half muffuletta. And while waiting for the order, I ate a little of the boo-fet.
The seafood gumbo was loaded with not only lots of shrimp but halves of crab (I love when that happens, messy fingers be damned.) This was not the best or worse version of seafood gumbo I’ve had, but it was tasty enough. The same was true for the chicken noodle soup, but there were such large pieces of chicken putting it into a bowl was prohibitive. It would have been better if this chicken had been chopped at least a bit more.
Shrimp exactly the size I love (medium) were golden brown and greaseless, and filled every square inch of the serving dishes. They never got low, though it was hard to keep up. The bin was filled as soon as it got as low as this pic. The same is true of the neighboring fried okra.
White beans were cooked to the sweet spot but were unexceptional in any other way. Good enough. I also liked the green beans which were cooked like your mama would have in the last century, with thin bits of ham clinging to them throughout. Again, perfectly cooked but otherwise mediocre. This was the best kept buffet at this price level that I have seen. Not a drip anywhere.
The club sandwich arrived and it was classic in every way. Again from the last century. Three slices of bread toasted just right, buttery, and filled exactly the way it should be with crisp bacon and turkey and ham, complete with shredded iceberg lettuce and tomato. What dated it was the American cheese rather than Swiss, which is more modern with a much better flavor. This was served with very nice battered fries. Not my thing but better than a lot of fries out there.
The muffuletta was large, with bread that was a little airier than ideal, but otherwise fine. It was served exactly as I would have requested, with the interior not a melted oily mess. Tom and I had this discussion many times. He was a room temp guy and in my earlier ignorance I was committed to heated. Later I came around to meet him in the middle: well-toasted on the outside and room temp in the middle. (Katie’s and Francesca’s have this sweet spot mastered. These are the poster versions of a muffuletta.)
Neither sandwich used the best ingredients, but again, good enough. The patrons here are eating, not dining.
I saw a sign offering chargrilled oysters for $15.95/$23.95. And a case filled with desserts and stuffed artichokes. There are burgers here, poor boys, pastas, and generally anything you could possibly want.
The new Kelley’s Village Inn is probably a lot like the old Village Inn, though a bit shinier. Even claw machines are here! Servers are hard-working, efficient, friendly gals like the ones at Ground Pat’i. It’s wholesome people eating wholesome food in a wholesome place. And sometimes, a scene like that really hits the spot.
