eastowners

I’ve eaten a lot of food in my life, and visited more different places than I’d even venture to guess.  Any of you who know me, know that I have the girth to prove it.  Some places have been downright bad, some have been acceptable for the purposes of sustenance, and others have delightfully surpassed my expectations.  Chez Bayou, in Eastown, falls into this latter category.

Search around and you can read more on the atmosphere and decor.  I’m generally not one to be taken by a pretty face, so I’ll allow those more eloquent to talk about how downright freakin’ cool this place is. I thought the pricing was very competitive with the “big chains” and I always get giddy about spending my money with a local small business (especially something unique and excellent) rather than have my money flow to parts unknown.  That’s another blog though.  For now, let’s focus on the gastronomy of the joint.

We started with peeled and deep-friend crawdad tails served with a spicy aioli.  The dipping sauce is definitely one of the shining gems of Chez Bayou.  It is simply wonderful.  The crawdads were fresh and left no lingering “muddy” taste.  Definitely cleaned well and prepared very very well.  The breading is a little lighter (but still has a good flavor) and holds onto more oil than I remember having at other places.  This was ok by me, but some people like a little heavier batter.

Char had an odd, but wonderfully tasty creole/Italian fusion pasta dish that had a spicy alfredo-like sauce mixed up with crab and nice little tender scallops. It was served with a group of small corn and jalapeño muffins.  There was not too much sauce.  The pasta was cooked correctly (firm side of al dente).  The sauce was wonderfully zingy and flavorful and the crab portion was generous.  The muffins were absolutely wonderful, especially dipped in the sauce.

I had a classic catfish po’ boy, served with the usual acoutriments and that wonderful aioli again.  The catfish was lightly breaded and tasty, though I think it was factory-farmed and not wild-caught, which I prefer.  I know that factory-farmed has a more mild taste that many prefer, but for me, the wild-caught is still the best.  I think if it were blackened instead of fried, it might not have mattered to me as much.  Aside from this, which I consider a minor issue, the sandwich was excellent, served on a good solid roll and with seasoned fries.  The waiter was kind enough to bring me a cup of the splendid aioli to dip them in, which was top-notch.

As for drinks, Char had a well crafted and generous grape martini and I had a pint of Fuller’s ESB.  The beer selection, while small, has some good choices for the discerining hops snob.  The bar staff knows their craft and it shows.

For dessert… ahh… yes… THE dessert, we shared a slice of what can only be described as nutty warm heaven-on-a-plate, if there is such a place.  Chez Bayou, in this little corner of Grand Rapids, MI quite simply has one of the absolute best, if not THE best, pecan pie known to man.  It is a traditionally made pie (not the gelatinous off-tan-colored crap you’re used to) that is served warm with fresh whipped cream.  It was so good, in fact, that as I sit writing this several days later, the taste of it has come rushing back to my tastebuds.  Basically, I can’t rave about it enough.  A trip to Chez Bayou for the pie alone is not a trip wasted.

So if I were backed into a corner and forced to give a “star” rating, I’d settle on a solid 4 stars out of 5.  On effort and service alone, they score near the top of the class.  Try them out if you’re in our neck of the woods.