3620 Gerstner Memorial Blvd., Lake Charles • 337-656-2883
The Famed Crawfish Peaux Boy!
One of the advantages of my Monday-Friday job is that I get taken to lunch as often as I want. My Blueline Equipment rep Lenny Parker recently took me to Buffi’s Peaux Boys And Home Cooking on Highway 14. I must admit, I requested the location because I was craving one of Buffi’s boiled crawfish po-boys, which is one of the Top 3 sandwiches for me.
I’ve known Buffi for more than 25 years; I knew her back when she was cutting her teeth in her mom’s kitchen at Steamboat Bill’s.
I went into Peaux Boys about a year ago, right after she bought the place. The previous owner had the sandwich on the menu. But it seemed to have more flavor to it since Buffi took over.
The sandwich is a crawfish boil on a hoagie roll. There’s boiled crawfish, corn, potatoes — all mixed together in a tasty buttery flavored sauce and set inside a perfectly toasted bun.
Now, I’ve had the Peaux Boy Special, which is Buffi’s version of another legendary SWLA po-boy. It was perfect. I liked the au-jus on the sandwich a great deal because it had a rich taste to it.
The location of Peaux Boys isn’t right out on the street, and if you aren’t paying attention, you may pass it. But that would be your loss. Buffi is running around serving food, talking to customers and in general, just keeping her hand in all aspects of the place.
This is a place where you need to sit down and enjoy a great sandwich shop and a friendly staff.
I stopped by Nina P’s the other day to check on how the new place was coming along. It looks amazing. Fallon gave me a tour. If you were already a customer, you may be a bit shocked at how different the place looks inside. You really get that New Orleans/Southern feel that they’re looking for. It feels inviting as soon as you walk in the place.
There are more tables for the customers. But the place feels so open, you really don’t notice the additional table and chairs.
The ladies from Nina P’s have been gone too long. Fallon said she was able to get almost all of the old customers’ favorite waitresses back, so you’ll see all the smiling faces you’ve come to love.
Seriously?
I usually don’t complain about places I’ve been to. I choose to be positive. But lately, I’ve been going to some restaurants around Lake Charles where the staff don’t seem to have a concept of customer service or of how to prepare food correctly. The place I’m calling out is the Chili’s on Highway 14. Chelsea and I made the mistake of stopping in for dinner one night on a spur of the moment decision.
Man, was I floored at how bad everything was. We got the wrong food. When we said it was wrong, we were told we were wrong. I’ve been a chef for more than 25 years, and I can read a menu, so I knew I wasn’t wrong.
We got our appetizers 15 minutes after our food arrived. Our food tasted as if it had been sitting under a heat lamp for an excessive amount of time.
We ordered a dessert and paid at the convenient little table payment center. While we were waiting, the waitress brought us one of the two coffees we ordered. The staff had poured out the final coffee ground-filled cup they had and served it to us. But they didn’t have the dessert; still, they told us they couldn’t refund the dessert charge since I paid it at the table.
These big chain box restaurants are great when they’re run right. But most of the time, it’s kids managing kids, and all you get are scripted excuses, just like the sort you get when you call AT&T customer service.
This is why I support local business first — because in general, they are going to put all their blood sweat and tears into pleasing their local fan base.
Eat local. Break the chain.
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