Anyone been to Yats?

Yats

Category: Cajun/Creole [Edit]
Neighborhoods: West Loop, Near West Side
955 W Randolph St
(between Morgan St & Sangamon St)
Chicago, IL 60607
(312) 829-7930
www.yatscajuncreole.com/



I have not checked it out, just recently found out about this cajun spot in the west loop... Cajun being my favorite type of food. Also, I do not enjoy ANYTHING from the touristy, overpriced, Heaven on Seven, (except their gumbo and multitude of hot sauces), and lagniappe is bit too far from me, (although very authentic) so I'm excited to check this place out!

Don't bother, it's horrible, with little resembling anything Cajun I've ever seen or tasted in Louisiana.

the Indianapolis favorite...sigh...

...run as fast as possible in the opposite direction...

The Indianapolis Yats feature the most plebian, bastardized, fusiony "cajun/creole" fare imaginable.

LTHer Michael Nagrant (MJN) was not exactly a fan.

Wow, I'm surprised, only because yelp (which of course is not as sophisticated as this forum,) generally raved about the place overall. After reading the teaser for the article above I'm almost curious to give it a try with lowered expectations obviously, ahha. When I clicked to "read the entire story" however, the link must be broken because yats is nowhere to be found in the lengthy article.

Also, metromix gives it a 4.7 out of 5,

http://chicago.metromix.com/restaurants ... 77/content

I guess I will give it a whirl, simply because it's cheap and close to me, and with my lowered expectations I can't see how bad it can be... The owner is from new orleans and seems passionate about cajun food in his website, and I crave cajun so much that I could even stand the former Faux Cajun restaurant in rolling meadows that was in that plaza across from papadeux... forgot the name (cajun corner?).

At the Indy location, I've tried pretty much everything
on the menu at some point or another. Some hits,
some misses. The etouffee is certainly non-traditional,
but not bad in its own right. The Ropa Vieja is better
than I've had at many Cuban places, and the Gumbo,
thick and deep in flavor, can easily hold it's own with
some of the better versions I've had in New Orleans.
I've always felt that I got my $5.50's worth; YMMV.

The owner of Yat's used to have a few restaurants in Kentucky called Jozo's when I was living down there that I went to all the time. Jozo's had a set menu with an occasional specials where Yat's seems to rotate their menu on a daily basis. I've only been to Yat's once and had the red beans and rice with andouille and the gumbo. Both were pretty good IMO.

"The owner is from new orleans and seems passionate about cajun food in his website, and I crave cajun so much"

Here's your first problem... If he's from New Orleans and claiming his expertise is in Cajun food, he's either lying to you, or doesn't know what he's talking about. The food in New Orleans is Creole, with very little Cajun ever making its way out of Acadiana. Common misperception, but Cajun food and culture has little to nothing to do with New Orleans.

fyi: during my extended sojourn here, Indianapolis(and Hoosierdom in general) exhibits an unhealthy attraction to cajun and creole fare...the requisite dumbing down of both...

...it's a quaint exoticism I can't quite place my finger on; a la...why not Burma's foodstuffs(we have a large immigrant population) instead of Louisiana's?

Is Burmese Gems still around in Bloomington?

I used to work two blocks from Yat's, and my ravenous bosses would often order from there. Why, I cannot understand.

Their bread came slathered with what appeared to be movie-theater grade "butter" topping that would make a cardiologist plotz. I dared not try anything else.

Ok, I checked the place out. Got a combo for 7.50, but amazingly after the meal felt ripped off, haha. The red beans and rice had no flavor and I kept thinking I could have easily made a better version at home, tried a few other rice dishes and none of them had any semblance of flavor. Thank god for the multitude of hot sauces nearby to make the meal passable. What was odd is that it made the Indianapolis 100 best restaurant list for cheap eats which they proudly display in their storefront... is indy that sad and lacking? Anyhow, this place has no similarity to creole/cajun at all and I think I'll just stick to lagniappe and continue to get carry out gumbo from Heaven on Seven!

Indy isn't "that sad and lacking" by a long shot

however, you can't trust cajun/creole cuisines here...for that matter how many great specialized Louisiana restaurants does Chicago have?

Christopher Gordon wrote:Indy isn't "that sad and lacking" by a long shot

Only in the non chain good food department And I'm a Hoosier (for now!)

But yes, Yats sucks.

If anyone noticed, it's closed... I was shocked to see a 4 star overall rating on yelp, haha. I was even more shocked to see that Yats had much praise from the Indy folks... maybe it was better down there?

If anyone noticed, it's closed... I was shocked to see a 4 star overall rating on yelp, haha. I was even more shocked to see that Yats had much praise from the Indy folks... maybe it was better down there?

It closed down some time ago, I think it was mentioned in a "Comings and Goings" thread. I think more than anything, Yats was a victim of a terrible location. This is not a destination stop, it needed to be in an area with considerable lunchtime foot traffic.

As for the food itself, I unabashedly love Yats with all my heart. I don't pretend to know a thing about Cajun or Creole cuisine, but to this plebeian Hoosier transplant, the $5 plate of etouffee or maque choux always hit the spot. Cheap, quick, tasty. That said, with all the options in Chicago, I never did make the trip to this location...

I also live in Indy and can never understand what anybody sees in this place. Nothing tastes remotely Cajun or Creole. And everything tastes the same: like leftover chili. Terrible.

FoodSnob77 wrote:If anyone noticed, it's closed... I was shocked to see a 4 star overall rating on yelp, haha. I was even more shocked to see that Yats had much praise from the Indy folks... maybe it was better down there?

Good riddance to bad rubbish.

Train wrote:And everything tastes the same: like leftover chili. Terrible.

See, that's where you lost all credibility;
leftover chili is indubitably delicious.
As is Yat's Gumbo, Ropa Vieja, Jambalaya
and Sauce Piquant. I'll grant that their
Étouffée is weird/non-traditional, but
still better than most other options
in its price range.