WALK-ON’S

The Menu Is The Highlight Reel For Southwest Louisiana’s Newest Sports Bar • By Mario Pacetti

I knew we were getting a Walk-On’s Bistreaux & Bar. But since I’ve never been to one, I really didn’t get that pumped up about it. I’ve had friends tell me it was a cool spot and I’ve hired waitresses who were once employed there. But I had no real information about the establishment other than that it was a Louisiana-based business.

Well, my employer, Blake D. Hines, was contracted to install sewer services to accommodate the kitchen and expanded services. So I started to get a little bit more information about the project.

There was talk of a man called Shack who was the owner. It was said he wanted things done right and was very involved in assuring they were.

I’d never met Shack, but from the nickname, I assumed he was a tall man. During Walk-On’s soft opening, which I must say was the most generous soft opening I have ever seen or heard about, I had a chance to meet Shack, who turned out to be C.O. Vallet. We’ll get back to him shortly.

Walk-On’s served the public for three days. All proceeds from alcohol sales during this time were donated to Saint Jude Children’s Hospital. This showed me the company wasn’t just concerned with money but also wanted to pass on its good fortune to people in need.

My sole intention was to write about the food. But the more I got involved and spoke with the people involved, the more I realized that Lake Charles was going to be getting more than just a sports bar — they were going to be getting a family-friendly restaurant that cares about the community.

I had a chance to sit down with Vallet and get to know why he decided he wanted to be involved in Walk-On’s. Vallet has been in the service industry for more than 35 years; for 25 of those, he’s been here in SWLA. He’s the owner of Cowboy’s nightclub; the location that’s now Walk-On’s was formerly the site of Yesterday’s. He said large nightclubs weren’t going to be the wave of the future, and he wanted to use this location to build something for the future.

I asked him why Walk-On’s and what made him think it would do well on this side of town? When he decided he was going to turn the old Cowboy’s location into a restaurant, he set out doing a lot of research into the various types of restaurants that would work in this market. He felt the Hooters and Twin Peaks concepts would not be a good fit for our area. He wanted to reach a family market.

Vallet had tried the food at the Baton Rouge location and was very impressed with it. He reached out to the executives of Walk-On’s to express his interest in opening a branch in Lake Charles. In his conversations with ownership and management, he was impressed by how much they loved the company.

One constant was how much restaurant founder Brandon Landry influenced everyone’s feelings about the company. Vallet said Landry’s pride and passion for Walk-On’s were all it took to convince him this was the franchise he wanted to be involved with. Vallet didn’t come across as a man who simply had money and wanted to put it into something he could make money on. He showed how excited he was in the way he talked about Walk-On’s, the people who were involved in it and their plans for the location.

At an impressive 11,800 square feet, the Lake Charles building is by far the largest of all the Walk-On’s. So when you pull up and the parking lot looks packed, don’t let that discourage you. There are more seats than you think. On the eight occasions I’ve gone, the wait has never been more than 30 minutes.

Vallet wants Walk-On’s to be a tailgating location for McNeese home games. As such, it will feature live bands and multiple micro-bars in the parking lots. There will be things for children to do, as well, so there will be something for the entire family.

I must admit I wasn’t 100 percent sure about the location, as there really isn’t that much going on in the area. But after Vallet explained to me how he saw the development of the area, it started to make more sense. More residential spots being built on the east side of town then ever before. The fact that it only takes 15 minutes to get to the area from downtown makes it a no-brainer.

I asked Vallet why he chose Greg Jackson as his general manager. He said that when the two met through a mutual friend, he was immediately impressed with Jackson as a person. Also, his knowledge of the food industry didn’t hurt him at all.

I had a moment to sit down with Jackson and get a bit of history on him. He was with Outback Steakhouse for 17 years. While he loved it there, he felt that, over the years, the company lost some of what made it great. He said that during his first meeting with Walk-On’s executives, they grilled him extensively about his restaurant experience for a long time. He was impressed with how much everyone involved loved working for the company, and that made him want to get involved even more.

He loved the fact that the focus of Walk-On’s was “Food, Customers, and Employees.” While most companies say they’re about those same things, Walk-On’s really does seem to be.

I asked Jackson how it’s been trying to staff such a large location (with 120 employees). He said he was surprised how lucky they’d been in finding good people. We’ve had nothing but good service each time we’ve gone. You can tell the wait staff has experience by the way they take orders and their hands-on approach with the tables.

While I enjoyed my conversations with Vallet and Jackson very much, the highlight was meeting Mike Turner, Walk-On’s corporate food trainer and quality control specialist. Turner spent 17 years with the Cheesecake Factory. He said it was the greatest company he ever worked for. I didn’t take that as a knock on Walk-On’s; rather, it showed he had respect for a large proven company where he had nothing but great memories. I asked him why he would leave. He explained that people loved working there so much that they never left, so there was no place for him to move up to. So when he had the opportunity to come on board at Walk-On’s a little over a year ago, he jumped at the chance.

Once again, Turner was sold on the Walk-On’s because of Brandon Landry.

The thing that’s crazy about that is that Landry had no real food experience before he got started with Walk-On’s. Yet Turner, who’s been cooking for most of his adult life, thinks Landry is the best thing since sliced bread. Turner said Landry told him, “I just want to win.” Turner said that passion is felt throughout the company.

When he talked about Walk-On’s food, Turner grinned from ear to ear. It was refreshing to see a person who’s been in the kitchen as long as he has to still be filled with all the excitement and passion a brand new chef normally has. Turner said Landry was a real food guy; that allows Turner the flexibility to create items that will be featured on the menu.

Walk-On’s isn’t a mom and pop restaurant. Some of my local restaurateur friends have expressed concern about this place opening; they say we need to support local institutions. My question is: if the owners and all the management are from this area and they only employ local residents and their money stays in this area, how is this not a local business?

Other than the casino venues, this is the largest restaurant we’ve ever had open here. Its opening shows that with the growth we’re having, we’ll be getting more choices when it comes to our dining.

I’m definitely in the Walk-On’s fan club.

Now,  let’s get to the meat and potatoes of this article. That’s the food, which is what truly sets Walk-On’s apart from any other sports bar-themed restaurants.

Devils on Horseback are jumbo gulf shrimp stuffed with cream cheese and pickled jalapeno, wrapped in bacon and lightly fried.

I thought this was a great appetizer. The cooks used very nice-sized shrimp that in no way tasted anything other than fresh. That’s very important to someone who can tell by taste when shrimp have been frozen.

The appetizer was cooked perfectly. My only knock was that the bacon was the dominant flavor, which wasn’t a bad thing; it was just too bold and overpowered the other flavors.

As for the Tuna Tini — seared ahi tuna medallions served over Asian mango slaw — I say, wow! It’s appetizers like this that set Walk-On’s apart from a lot of restaurants. Two-inch tuna loins are flash-fried, which gives the edges a nice sear while leaving the inside mid-rare. I took a piece, and let it rest it in my mouth; it literally melted in my mouth. The mango slaw and pieces of avocado really made this dish a go-to item and must try for anyone who enjoys tuna.

The Louisiana Alligator was fried to perfection. It came with a nice dipping sauce that made it an enjoyable Louisiana treat.

The Seared Ahi Tuna featured blackened ahi tuna atop a blend of cabbage and mixed greens tossed in a sesame dressing. The dish was topped with avocado, mango, red onions, peppers, cilantro, edamame and crispy tortilla strips. It was finished with a sweet chili sauce.

Now, this dish had most of the ingredients the Tuna Tini did, so I figured, how could I go wrong? Boy, did I make a great selection on this one. The salad was light and refreshing. The salads at Walk-On’s are quite large. I thought there was no way I was going to be able to eat all of this one. But I had the thing engulfed before my boss, Blake, finished his burger.

The Pepper Jelly Salad and the Seared Ahi Tuna Salad may be running neck and neck with me.

The BBQ Chicken Salad features diced barbecued chicken breast atop a blend of cabbage and mixed greens tossed in ranch; topped with avocado, cilantro, cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses, tomatoes, green onions, crispy tortilla strips and fresh jalapeños.

I didn’t order this salad, but one of the people we were with did, and of course, I couldn’t pass up the chance to give it a shot. The chicken was nice and juicy, and there was just enough barbecue sauce on it to make the sauce a complement to the salad and the dominant taste. There isn’t one ingredient on this salad I’m not a fan of, so I can’t go wrong with it.

The Pepper Jelly Spinach Salad with grilled chicken features cranberries, Granny Smith apples, feta cheese, candied pecans, bacon, and pepper jelly vinaigrette. When I had this salad for the first time, I was more intrigued by the pepper jelly vinaigrette than anything else. I’d never had pepper jelly used in this application, so my interest was high. I told Chelsea this was the best salad I’d ever eaten. That’s saying a lot, because during 17 years in San Francisco, I put down some salads.

One thing that impressed me with the Walk-On’s menu was that the salads weren’t fill-in items, created so that guys’ wives have some choices. These salads were well-thought-out creations that anybody would enjoy.

The Surf & Turf-Blackened Burger features sautéed shrimp, caramelized onions, pickled jalapeños, Monterey Jack cheese and Thousand Island dressing on a brioche bun. This was the first thing I ordered at Walk-On’s, because I have a Top 10 Burgers list and I wanted to give this burger a shot.

I could taste every ingredient this burger had in every single bite. I love to have lettuce, tomato and onion on my burgers, or some spin on that combination. But this burger didn’t have any of that. I don’t even think I noticed because I was so busy shoving it into my mouth.

The Napa Burger, with spinach, caramelized onions, feta cheese, tomato and garlic aioli on a brioche bun is THEBOMB.COM, and that’s all I need to say about that.

The Stuffed Burger is a 12-ounce burger stuffed with American and mozzarella cheeses and crisp bacon.

Chelsea got this burger. The thing I loved about it is that the cooks didn’t try to stuff it with so much cheese that when you bite into it it rolls out of the burger onto your arms or the plate. You’re able to enjoy the burger because you’ve got all the pieces in each bite.

The Cajundillas is a warm flour tortilla stuffed with chicken, andouille sausage, boudin, caramelized onions and Monterey Jack cheese, served with a side of red beans and rice.

Garrett got this one day because he said he just had to see what it was all about. We both thought he made a great decision after we tried it. I felt like I was eating jambalaya in a tortilla. That seemed crazy, but it really worked. Who would have thought you’d get a tasty red beans and rice in a sports bar-type place?

The VooDoo Shrimp features jumbo Louisiana shrimp that are bacon-wrapped and stuffed with cream cheese and pickled jalapeno. They’re chargrilled and served with corn grits and a roll.

David had this the first night we went to eat. He wasn’t a huge fan of the grits, but that’s his preference, and not a reflection on the way in which the food was prepared. I thought the cooks did a great job with the shrimp, and I love grits, so the combo was enjoyable.

The Blackened Mahi Mahi is served on a wheat bun with lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, red onions and pickles. This was a surprising dish, as you very rarely see it on menus in this area. I liked it.

The Monte Cristo Wrap includes a tortilla, chipotle, ham, turkey, bacon and Swiss and American cheeses, deep fried and dusted with powdered sugar. It’s served with a side of sweet and spicy “Geaux Sauce.”

My brother makes a great Monte Cristo. But it’s such a heavy sandwich to eat before you’re going back to work. But the Walk-On’s cooks mixed it up and put it in a tortilla, which really knocked down the heaviness of it. The dipping sauce gave it a mild kick on the backside of each bite. I’ll have to bring Marco to try it.

As for the Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding — try it; just trust us. Sha Sha’s bread pudding was the best in town, but this one has taken control of the title. It was very lite tasting for a bread pudding. It wasn’t soggy like some I’ve had.

The New Dessert features sweet potato fries, caramelized sugar, caramel, vanilla ice cream and maple pecans. Turner is a mad scientist for this one. They won’t be releasing it until after the first of the year. As soon as they do, their other desserts may feel lonely because they won’t be getting as much attention.

This was a fun article to work on. The people at Walk-On’s are really fabulous people who sincerely want to be the best they can be. They focus on what made them the best sports bar in America as chosen by ESPN. The place is fun and exciting. There are no spots in this place where you can’t see one of the 77 TVs. There is a play area for children; it’s near the to-go window so someone always has their eyes on the kids. Parents can enjoy their time.

I feel we should show Walk-On’s our support because it will give back to this community. It gives us a great place to enjoy sports and food. There’s a killer bar set-up with beer taps at the table so you can serve yourself and not have to wait.

Walk-On’s • 5313 Common St., Lake Charles • 474-7333