Pappadeaux

Tuesday & Wednesday we were on a trip to Dallas, and since Janda and the kids were along too, I thought I'd take them to a place I almost always eat at and really enjoy.

Pappadeaux (pronounced Pappa dough's) is a cajun restaurant chain that is pretty nice. The food is good, you normally don't have to wait for a table because their dining room is huge. I've only ever had two things here. The first thing I tried was the sampler platter. Everything you could ask for, all fried. It was good, back when I enjoyed food like that. Now, though, I prefer things a little bit healthier. The other dish I enjoy is the crawfish etouffee. I liked it so much the first few times I had it, that I was inspired to make this at home. Now, having made my version (I'll share that with everyone one of these days), this was a good opportunity to take a fresh look at a dish I had really liked before.

We were late getting to town, and got in about 8:30. The restaurant was pretty full, but we were taken right in and sat down. This place is kid-friendly, it is so loud that even if the kids aren't quite, no one can tell. It's not obnoxiously loud, just a lot of stuff going on. We sat down, and looked over the menu. A friend was eating with us, he got the catfish opelousas. Never tried that, may have to someday. Janda & I both got the shrimp and crawfish etouffee. The kids got the catfish dinners (Jayden added shrimp to his). While we waited for the main dish to arrive, they serve fresh french bread. Pretty good stuff.

When our food arrived, I was expecting it to knock my socks off like it had before. Although this is a good choice, one that I won't hesistate to make again, it wasn't as good as I had remembered. Perhaps it's my taste changing, but I'll bet I just prefer my recipe over theirs. Janda said hers was good, but she too preferred our homemade etoufee over Pappadeaux. The boys all liked their dinners, who doesn't like catfish?

Overall, I think I've matured out of liking this dish so much that I won't order anything else off the menu. Next time I come, I'll try the opelousas, or something vastly different. This place is expensive. Nearly $100 for six of us to eat, half of those were kids meals, too.