Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen

I had an excellent meal at Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen near Atlanta recently. We arrived kind of late on a Saturday evening and found a full restaurant, a full courtyard/patio, and a 30-45 minute wait. It was worth the wait!

We quickly found a table on the outside patio and got a few drinks from the bar. The waiting system is pretty simple, you get a card with a number, and then in the waiting areas they have the number being seated displayed.

There was entertainment outside, some nice and mellow New Orleans style music. It was a very pleasant evening and the time passed pleasantly. Our wait actually ended up being 50 minutes. We were shown to a table in a nice quiet area, perfect for us!  Our waitress was very attentive and efficient, and we never had to wait for anything. She did a wonderful job of meeting our needs. 

We started with an appetizer, the Boudin. This is a cajun sausage stuffed with dirty rice. The presentation was great and the flavor was excellent. Basically this was a casing stuffed with a mixture of sausage and dirty rice. In the flavor department, this was superb. It was served with a creole mustard that was truly oustanding. And it was served on a bed of white rice that was also well cooked and very flavorful. The one thing I did not particularly like was the casing--it was a bit chewy. But outside of that one minor point, the Boudin was excellent. I'd order it again in a heartbeat.

In due time our salads arrive. I had a citrus viniagrette with mine. The dressing was served in a small boat but the oil was all on top of the vinegar part--it was not emulsified very well. Nonetheless, it was very flavorful. And the salad itself was very good, nice and fresh ingredients--it was really a very good salad. With the current price of tomatoes, I was amazed that there were more than just one or two pieces. 

In due time, or food arrived. My two friends both ordered the Fried Oysters. Both said they were excellent oysters. They also liked the regular remoulade/dipping sauce. But, they both absolutely loved the tartar sauce. It had a bit of horseradish in it. They were both impressed.

For my entree, I had a special of the day: Catfish Yvette. A good-sized filet of catfish was blackened and perfectly cooked. It was placed over a portion of dirty rice and finished with shrimp, crawfish, mushrooms, and spinach in a monterey jack cheese. This dish was excellent. The catfish was cooked perfectly. The taste and texture of the dirty rice was very good. And the sauce.. oh, the sauce... it was oh, so good. Large chunks of mushroom were promiment, the shrimp and crawfish plentiful, the sauce velvety and delicious. This was an excellent dish. 

I'd rate our dinner at Pappadeaux as excellent in most every regard. The service was fantastic, the food great. I noticed that this place was busy the whole time we were there. It was well after 9 PM, maybe closer to 10 PM, when we left, and still they were busy with only a few open tables. Maybe al of Atlanta eats out on a Saturday night, but this is surely one very desireable place to eat. Now all we need is one of these in Lake Mary, FL. Great meal!