Blue Bayou - review

My girlfriend and I ate at Blue Bayou on Southport last night before seeing a movie at the Music Box. We hadn't been there in a few years and wanted something different from our usual Thai or sushi in the area. Now we remember why we avoid the Bayou...

We started with the crab-cakes which were actually pretty good. Not as good as Joe's Stone Crab or Hugo's Frog Bar but still better than a lot of places. It was downhill from there, though. She had the "special" - a chicken roulade stuffed with parmesan-cornbread dressing and wrapped in Prosciutto. I had the pappardelle pasta with brown butter and parmesan (having remembered that the oyster po' boy I had on my first visit wasn't that great). Both of our dishes rose to the level of hotel banquet-room quality. The chicken was dry and bland. The pasta wasn't fresh and was really pretty boring.

For dessert we split the ubiquitous chocolate "explosion" (lava) cake. It was small, dry, dull... again like something from a food service delivery truck rather than something made in a real kitchen.

We won't make the mistake again, but what was amazing to me was that the place was absolutely jam packed. I wanted to stand up and ask if these people all knew that there were other perfectly good restaurants just steps away, but maybe they all had the same idea that we did - just to give it one more chance.

As a final sort of discouragement, I had ordered a Chimay Red and it arrived with a pilsner glass. I politely asked the bartender if she had a goblet style glass like the one recommended in the handy diagram on the side of the beer bottle. I was given a look like I was out of my mind, and I retreated.

Cheers,

J

I'm kind of surprised this place is still open. I've had nothing but average to poor food experiences there. The allure of a nice patio in the Spring to eat and drink along Southport really can't keep carrying the place.....

Not sure what all the surprise is about. Blue Bayou is nothing more than a bar which happens to serve cajun style food. The food is probably better than most bars, especially in the immediate area, but overall one should not expect, or compare Blue Bayou to places such as Joe's Stone Crab or Hugo's.

Did you really complain about the beer being served in the wrong glass as well? Sounds a bit picky to me.

butter674 wrote:Not sure what all the surprise is about. Blue Bayou is nothing more than a bar which happens to serve cajun style food. The food is probably better than most bars, especially in the immediate area, but overall one should not expect, or compare Blue Bayou to places such as Joe's Stone Crab or Hugo's.

Did you really complain about the beer being served in the wrong glass as well? Sounds a bit picky to me.

Respectfully, I disagree. Blue Bayou is a little more than just a watering hole (many of which still serve better food) particularly when they are charging $13 - $20 for an entree. My expectation should be to get decent food, and they failed. I wasn't comparing them to Hugo's or Joe's Stone Crab except in the most obtuse sense - on the vast scale of good crab cakes I've eaten those happened to be the best.

As for the beer: I asked, I didn't complain. I had no idea Chimay was supposed to be enjoyed in a particular kind of glass until a bartender pointed it out to me. I thought it was kind of neat that those Trappists are so thoughtful about how best to enjoy their brew that they go to the trouble of inscribing directions on each bottle. Is it any different in the countless Irish pubs in Chicago that there's a proper way to draw a Guinness and an improper way? I would hate to be that bartender who gets it wrong...

J

I've been to Blue Bayou only for Karaoke nights... not for dinners. So although I can't comment on the food, I do enjoy their drinks and free entertainment.

I'll back you up there, foodie -- yay karaoke and yay drinks!

butter674 wrote:Did you really complain about the beer being served in the wrong glass as well? Sounds a bit picky to me.

Would you find it less picky if he complained about a wine being served in a pint glass?

Jamie

butter674 wrote:Did you really complain about the beer being served in the wrong glass as well? Sounds a bit picky to me.

I absolutely have to respectfully disagree.

If you're going to be a bar that decides you're going to serve a beer like Chimay, you might as well take on the responsibility of doing it properly. It isn't like the OP ordered a Budweiser and complained about the glass - he ordered a less-than-common Belgian import. (And yes, the Belgians are as picky about their beer glassware as any wine connoisseur is about their stemware.) I have little doubt that the Chimay was sold at a premium, as well.

It's not picky, it's just a matter of having a certain expectation when you see a certain product on a menu. I'd feel the same way if I ordered a bottle of champagne and had it presented in water glasses.

Since we're talking about Chimay (my God, how I could go for one right now - any takers?), I thought I'd post this link to their site about glasses and tasting http://www.chimay.com/en/the_art_of_tasting_240.php.

Cheers,

J

From all the passion pointed out here, maybe it would be best for a bar such as Blue Bayou not to offer a beer such as Chimay, if it cannot be served properly. I do see the point however, and am starting to agree with all of you. I have numerous times been served Stella in the "Stella Challace" and other times had it poured into your run of the mill pint glass and even then, I did think I was getting less than I had hoped for.

Not especially relevant to the Blue Bayou (the one in Manitowish Waters went downhill significantly after Chef Walter died), but I do appreciate when a bar - not known as a true beer bar - serves beer in the appropriate glass. I'm thinking specifically of Bill's Blues Bar, which serves Kwak on draft in the traditional glass with wooden stand.