{"id":9595,"date":"2020-02-06T09:30:21","date_gmt":"2020-02-06T15:30:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/?p=9595"},"modified":"2020-02-06T09:21:51","modified_gmt":"2020-02-06T15:21:51","slug":"leonards-food-quarters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2020\/02\/06\/leonards-food-quarters\/","title":{"rendered":"Leonard\u2019s Food Quarters"},"content":{"rendered":"

1708 Gerstner Memorial Blvd.<\/i>\u00a0\u2022 Lake Charles, LA<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Table Salt \u2022 By Bill Coyne<\/em><\/p>\n

There\u2019s a busy stretch of roadway in Lake Charles that is riddled with options to grab a bite. It\u2019s that section of town that\u2019s blue-collar and hard working. It\u2019s full of deeply rooted families who have held the same address for decades; where grandma\u2019s house and the memories made there will always hold a special place in the hearts of the kids after they\u2019ve grown up.\u00a0 <\/span>It\u2019s a section of town in which a stray shopping buggy commandeered by a down and out \u2014 someone just trying to make it a few more blocks to get to their spot to rest for the day \u2014 is a common sight.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Chances are, unless you live or work in close proximity to it, you don\u2019t give much thought to Hwy. 14, AKA Gerstner Memorial Blvd., AKA Martin Luther King Blvd.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Leonard\u2019s Food Quarters has been an anchor in this area, and if you haven\u2019t been there, you owe it to yourself to make that trip. I pass through the area almost daily, and I\u2019m just as guilty as anyone else who promises themselves they\u2019ll stop in there sometime in the future. I\u2019ve tried to get in several times in the past and have failed, only to put it off for another day.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Day after day, people jockey for position to get into the small space set up for drive-thru orders. But they do get in, and all without causing some sort of melee. And they keep coming back.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Leonard\u2019s had made a Facebook post earlier in the day that definitely caught my attention. I sent a quick message to my wife and asked if she would like to escape the office and meet up for lunch. Unfortunately, her schedule wasn\u2019t going to allow this, which left me eating solo.<\/p>\n

Walking up to the building, I didn\u2019t know what to expect on the other side of the dark door. Inside, the counter before me was being overseen by two very kind people.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I was a bit surprised at the number of options available on the menu.\u00a0 <\/span>I really had expected to walk in and order the meal I noticed on Facebook. But the menu is large, which sidetracked me for a few minutes. The menu includes Poboys, salad, pizza, burgers and dinner plates galore. There\u2019s plenty to choose from.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Leonard\u2019s is the type of restaurant where you order and pay at the counter. After a small internal debate, I stuck to my original plan and ordered the seafood combo \u2014 fish filet, large fried shrimp, shrimp \u00e9touff\u00e9e, potato salad and garlic bread. I added a side garden salad.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I was handed my cup and my electronic buzzer that we all watch attentively but that always catches us off guard. After only a few minutes, the buzz signaled my order was ready at the pickup counter.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I wasn\u2019t anticipating that much food. I was immediately impressed at the heft and display of food I was cradling back to my table. This wasn\u2019t food that was scooped out of a tin and thrown onto a plate. This is cooked to order.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The fish was hot and steamy, the cornmeal coating was greaseless. The three large shrimp were lighter in the coating.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Leonard\u2019s etouffee is unique. At least it\u2019s unlike the many others I\u2019ve tried. There is definitely a pronounced tomato flavor. It\u2019s not hidden under spices and seasoning. It\u2019s delicate, with generous amounts of shrimp placed throughout the dish, which is served over a heaping bed of rice.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I was craving a salad. I didn\u2019t need one, especially after I saw how much food was before me. But even this little $3 side salad was impressive. There were crispy fresh greens, veggies and peppers, olives and a large portion of an egg.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I wasn\u2019t going to let my wife miss out on this. As my day wrapped up, I sent another message that I was on my way back to Leonard\u2019s and I would pick up something for her. She wanted the crawfish \u00e9touff\u00e9e as it is kicked up a bit. You can definitely taste the flavors and heat of a good ole crawfish boil in the gravy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Leonard\u2019s is a staple in the community. It\u2019s family owned and operated, and they\u2019ve been proudly serving good food to Lake Charles for years. They\u2019ll continue to do so for many more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1708 Gerstner Memorial Blvd.\u00a0\u2022 Lake Charles, LA Table Salt \u2022 By Bill Coyne There\u2019s a busy stretch of roadway in Lake Charles that is riddled with options to grab a bite. It\u2019s that section of town that\u2019s blue-collar and hard working. It\u2019s full of deeply rooted families who have held the same address for decades; [&hellip<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":63,"featured_media":9600,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1958,4,2189,1957],"yoast_head":"\nLeonard\u2019s Food Quarters - BestOfSwla<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2020\/02\/06\/leonards-food-quarters\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Leonard\u2019s Food Quarters - BestOfSwla\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"1708 Gerstner Memorial Blvd.\u00a0\u2022 Lake Charles, LA Table Salt \u2022 By Bill Coyne There\u2019s a busy stretch of roadway in Lake Charles that is riddled with options to grab a bite. 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