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713 8th St. SE
(202) 543-5400
Hours of Operation and Prices
Lunch: T-F 11:30-4; Entrees: $6-$11
Dinner: T-Th 5:30-10, F 5-midnight, Sat 6-midnight; Entrees: $15-$20
Brunch: Sun 11:30-4, $28
Closed: M
Other Information
• Credit Cards: All major
• Reservations: Recommended
• Dress: Casual
• Parking: Street
• Nearest Metro: Eastern Market
• Entertainment: Jazz F-Sat nights and for Sun brunch
• Handicapped accessible
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Chef James Shivers has that Cajun palate. He can make a roux as black as midnight without its tasting burned. His holy trinity of green onions, celery and bell peppers blends into sauces as a medley rather than a disconnected group of solos. His sauces are both hot and mellow, so intricate that they tease you into sopping up every last trace. You could miss all that, though, and never know that you'd simply had the bad luck to order the losers on the menu. Some dishes are as dreary as the others are tantalizing. And no matter what your luck, you have to come prepared to wait.
With two layers of tablecloths and waiters in black tie and formal pleated shirts, Louisiana Cafe is more glamorous than one might expect from its name. Even so, the mood is more friendly than formal, and the management exudes a gracious warmth.
Dishes to seek are hearty, homey stewed things. Red beans and rice is crowded with shredded meat and sausage in a thick brew of herbs and hot spices. Creole gumbo is a knockout, a dark, earthy broth that's peppery but also much more. It's packed with crab in the shell, shrimp and sausage. It's a mystery how a chef who serves soggy, gray, blackened steak smothered with big hunks of celery in thick, pasty tomato sauce, or jambalaya that tastes like Spanish rice gone wrong, can whip up such a great gumbo and a crayfish etouffe of such character. The crayfish themselves are not a standout, but they become regal in their creamy, Tabasco-spiked sauce, fragrant with minced onions and peppers. It's one of those magical Louisiana classics. For dessert, the classic is house-made sweet potato cake with nutted cream cheese frosting. And, like any good New Orleans kitchen, Louisiana Cafe gets its coffee right.
© Copyright 1998 The Washington Post Company
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