Authentic Creole-/Cajun-style chow can be found in the Bay Area. “South Looziana” expat bayareatiger lays it out:
• Angeline’s gets four stars for savory étouffée (especially over fried grits), fried chicken, barbecued shrimp, beignets, and pecan pie.
• Yats, while not a real restaurant (it’s inside Jack’s Club), also gets four stars for étouffée, “drippin’s poboy,” and gumbo. Zeldog notes that “poboys are sometimes very good (shrimp) and sometimes lousy (roast beef).”
• Gator’s Neo-Soul Cafe ranks three stars for jambalaya, cheesy grits, and Mississippi mud pie.
• Poor House Bistro, with two stars, has a nice muffaletta sandwich and above-par beignets and jambalaya.
Angeline’s Louisiana Kitchen [East Bay]
2261 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley
510-548-6900
Yats New Orleans Original Po Boys [Potrero Hill]
2545 24th Street (inside Jack’s Club), San Francisco
415-282-8906
Gator’s Neo-Soul Cafe [Peninsula]
129 S. B Street, San Mateo
650-685-8100
Poor House Bistro [South Bay]
91 S. Autumn Street, San Jose
408-292-5837
Board Link: creole cajun recommendations
