Visalia - Crawdaddy's

Truth be told, Crawdaddy's still has very many kinks to work out.

1: Work on more flavorful dishes. I understand that the aim for the first floor is "quick food". But there is a difference between fast/bland food that you can get in any fast-food restaurant or even worse---frozen dinners, which I have to admit i've compared some of their entres to BUT I think if the chefs are willing to add more "pizzaz", they'll definitely have more customers.
2: Work on their ambiance. Throughout the whole building process, I kept hearing that the ambiance is a home-style family restuarant in New Orleans. Take a look at the first floor. Does it feel home like? No, not really. Do you feel like you're in New Orleans? If you remove the cheesy New Orleans music and crawfish decorations, No.

Despite all these flaws listed, the restaurant does have its plus':

1. The 2nd Floor is amazing! If you haven't gone, you MUST visit! It's incredibly beautiful. The carpet definitely reminds me of High-Class N.O., the dishes and wine glasses are beautiful. The table setting is very sleek and classy. The bar is amazingly long! And the plus side: The amazing amount of alcohol that is carried. Also, The 2nd Floor has their own Mixologist, Mrs. Melanie Vanciel. She ferments her own Vodka and infuses them with fruit such as peaches, raspberries, etc...

Let's talk about the food:
The food on the 2nd Floor is absolutely amazing! I've been there MANY times and I highly recommend
1. The Rib Eye- for the hungry, steak person. It comes topped with these cheese, cream like sauce---very unexpected but very delicious. It comes with a Potato Hash Casserole (delish) and a side of vegetables.
2. Cavatappi : For the pasta lover. A spicy spiral pasta with andouille sausage and a tomato-cheese cream sauce.
3. Chicken Pontalba: For the usual chicken dinee: A very large chicken breast with a cream sauce on top of it and you also have a bed of potato, country ham, bacon, apples, compote. (by far my favorite!)
4. The BEST part of Crawdaddy's is that they have special's every week! Just this last week, I went to dinner with my boyfriend and his parents. And basically it was a buffet fest! We all got appetizers, entrees, and deserts.
Some of the specials listed last week was
-A salmon filet with garlic potatos, asparagus and a cream sauce.
-Argula salad with walnuts, cranberries, bleu cheese, in a raspberry vinaigrette
-Seared de Leon Scallops ( these were HUGE and they came in a batch of 6!)
Cajun spiced and a vegetable compote.

Appetizers:
-make sure to get the fried green tomatoes with fresh mozzerella and taragon!
-Crawfish napoleon: layers of crawfish, tomatoes, mozzerella, and avocado! Yum-o

Deserts:
-Banana & Chocolate Bread Pudding! Delicious!
-For the coffee lover: A roasted Chicory Creme Brulee
-spice cake? Traditional Lousiana Spice Cake au-sirop
- Pecan pie with minted whipped cream. Again, unexpected but DELICIOUS!
-Peanut Butter & Chocolate Pie
-and there's something else but i can't remember.
I always get the bread pudding!

alcohol lovers! ( who isn't )
A vast array of alcohol that the 2nd bar and the 1st bar share.
a 16-page list of wines
melanie's own concoctions
and did i mention that the restaurant turns into a club at 10 o'clock?
oh yeah, they have bands come in and it's a hoot!
no cover charge too!
the club usually runs from 10-1 or 2 a.m.
it's pretty fun.

with all that said, i must say that the first floor has some work to do but the 2nd floor is an A+! Definitely the answer to a boring night!
The food is delicious, the entertainment is awesome and the service is wonderful.

oh yeah, i forgot to mention that in order to get to the 2nd floor you must climb through this hagarring mount of steps!
if you or a loved one can't walk very far, they do have an elevator in the back of the restaurant. so look for an employee and i'm sure they'll escort you up!

Bon Appetit!

Ms. B in California