3topia
409 W. Prien Lake Road • Lake Charles • 439-7099
So me and Chelsea had been talking about checking 3topia. I’ve been following them on Facebook since they opened, but never could quite figure out what exactly they were supposed to be. At first, I just thought they were a bar. And then I noticed that they did gaming tournaments. And, finally, I started seeing food items.
When you first walk in, there’s a Golden Tee golf game right at the front door. We later found out that 3topia, along with My Place, Coolers and Chicageaux’s, all participate in a Golden Tee tournament. They rotate between each place so that each location gets to participate in the revenue that hosting the tournament generates.
The bar itself was very appealing. You could see why it’s become such a popular little spot. There was great music playing in the background. But it wasn’t so loud that our conversation was effected by it.
We ordered a Blue Moon and took a look at the menu, which isn’t huge. But for a place like this, it doesn’t need to be. The location is the main attraction, but the food brings it all together nicely.
We started off with an order of fried cheese sticks. This isn’t something I’d usually order. But the cooks use Thib’s Salsa with this, so I had to give it a shot.
We also ordered the house burger.
The batter on the cheese sticks wasn’t like any I’ve had before — but in a good way. The cheese sticks were very crisp on the outside, and had a nacho cheese flavor on the inside. The two flavors blended nicely. Before I knew it, we had eaten all the cheese sticks before we realized we didn’t have the salsa.
The burger was perfect in its simplicity. The meat was cooked perfectly, and the bun was nice and soft (but not fall-apart soft, which can ruin your burger).
There was one exception to the simple formula, and that was the horseradish mayo sauce that came with the sandwich. The sauce made this a true go-to burger — especially after a few beers. That burger will hit the spot.
The fries were nice and crisp, and fresh out of the fryer.
On Tuesdays, the cooks make Stu’s Blues Burger for half price. You get to listen to some great blues music while you eat.
3topia is a social networking type place. They offer Fantasy Football leagues, and allow you to reserve your private gaming areas to do your own league draft. All you need to do is contact Pablo or Andy — two of the three owners of 3topia — to reserve your spots.
3topia offers video game tournaments as well, so follow them on Facebook to find out when the tourneys take place. The venue also offers speed dating as well as speed networking in hopes of bringing people together in different ways.
They offer DJs and live music, as well as various types of contests. They just had the first annual Bayou Bombshell Contest, which was co-sponsored by Mike Bennett, the owner of Darqest Tans, Grant Navarre and 3topia. The top three finishers were Morgan Leger, Beth Ogea and Amanda Molitor.
3topia will hold a hot dog eating contest on August 16. This will be reminiscent of the Nathan’s Famous 4th of July contest. Make sure you come out and show some support.
Quaker Steak And Lube
535 North Cities Service Highway • Sulphur • 476-5120
I was invited to go to Quaker Steak and Lube’s VIP gathering before the grand opening. I must admit, I’ve been waiting to check this place out.
Now this setting wasn’t the best to review food in, as it was more of an hor d’oeuvres and mingling event, so I’m only going to give you a taste of what they have to offer until I get a chance to go sit down and order what I want. But I will say that the “Boom-Boom” Shrimp were amazing.
The décor was very fun to check out. You catch yourself just looking around at all the interesting things. A Harley Davidson Motorcycle and a Porsche hang from the ceiling, which can’t ever be a bad thing.
The place felt fun to be in. There wasn’t a spot in the place where you couldn’t watch TV on some very nice and clear HD TVs — not like some other places with TVs that look like my grandmother used them.
The outside bar has roll-up garage doors so that during the venue’s Thursday Night Bike Nights, you feel you’re drinking in a garage. I’m not a big drinker by any means. But they had a ton of exciting drinks on the menu that I think I may have to try next time we go.
I did get way outside the box for me. My brother Marco has always loved extremely hot foods, and mainly hot sauces; but I love a little heat with a lot of flavor. However, on this night at Quaker Steak, I decided to attempt their Atomic Wings Challenge. I’ll tell you this — I was able to survive it, and I stole my brothers technique to do so. So thanks, big brother, for the pointers.
Nina P’s
Fallon Witherwax from Nina P’s was the first person in Lake Charles who I ever saw use the banner “Break The Chain EAT LOCAL.” I picked it up from her, and we always pushed the practice of supporting local business. To see competing businesses working together is a beautiful thing.
I swung by Nina P’s to see how the progress is coming. It looks great, and the place is going to be bigger, which must mean better. Stay tuned to future columns, as I’m going to sit down with Fallon and her mom and give ya’ll a sneak peak of what the new Nina P’s has in store for Lake Charles.
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