{"id":9729,"date":"2020-03-19T10:30:24","date_gmt":"2020-03-19T15:30:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/?p=9729"},"modified":"2020-03-19T10:18:05","modified_gmt":"2020-03-19T15:18:05","slug":"chastains-food-spirits-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2020\/03\/19\/chastains-food-spirits-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Chastain\u2019s Food & Spirits"},"content":{"rendered":"

3922 Ryan St. \u2022 \u00a0Lake Charles, LA<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

Chastain\u2019s is a long-time favorite of Lake Charles. It has been around for well over 20 years, and that kind of longevity speaks volumes. It\u2019s been through the highs and lows in the ever-changing trends of food, fads, entertainment, people and surroundings. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a few years since we\u2019ve had dinner here. We stopped in for oysters and various dishes, and I can recall we were very pleased with our experience.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Any restaurant can stumble when changes are made, or if the restaurant doesn\u2019t adapt when needed. Now, I\u2019m not privy to the details of what took place. Between chef and ownership changes, management and other internal matters, Chastain\u2019s seemed to have created its own little struggle recently.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Luckily, this was a short span, and word on the street was that their best chef, Reggie, was back in command of the kitchen. This exciting news prompted a return visit.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

My wife and I decided to meet for dinner. It was the first day of Lent, and after the previous night\u2019s celebration of Mardi Gras, I really didn\u2019t expect anybody to be out on the town.<\/p>\n

As we pulled into the parking lot, the amount of vehicles in the lot proved I was wrong. It\u2019s busy, and admittedly, I\u2019m glad. As we walk through the doors, we see that just about every seat at every table is occupied. I asked the hostess if we could take a couple of seats at the bar and she obliged. We found two spots, and this is where it all got fun.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We were handed off to the bartender, our server, Angelique. She was bright spirited, open and friendly.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>I always try to take in everything, yet I\u2019m easily distracted. So, between looking over the menu, glancing through the swinging doors (which revealed the kitchen every time someone walked through them), and soaking in the rest of the surroundings, there was a lot going on.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Things may have changed on some level with the restaurant, but the d\u00e9cor hasn\u2019t. It\u2019s kind of like hanging out in any suburban home, circa 1985. It\u2019s cozy, it\u2019s comfortable, it\u2019s just cool.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Rounded-back fabric and vinyl chairs on casters, low lighting, just a warm feel that definitely maintains its own character. Every guest, from young to old, appeared to be having a good time, and I witnessed the owner visiting with tables to assure all was going well.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Chastain\u2019s has a lot to offer. From steaks and seafood, oysters, salads, burgers and various specials, there is something for any appetite.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>After our typical debate of \u201cif you get this, I\u2019ll get that,\u201d we finally decided to order. We started off with potato skins, and added shrimp. For her meal, she opted for the catfish and shrimp platter. For me, it was the seafood ravioli.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Angelique presented the potato skin appetizer, which consisted of half-shell baked potatoes with bacon, several baby shrimp, melted cheddar, and a cup of sour cream to dip. It wasn\u2019t long before the entr\u00e9es appeared.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

My wife\u2019s dish was a fried mix of catfish and shrimp with a side of grilled asparagus. It was hot and flaky and the steam danced upward as my wife broke into the hand-battered fish. This was a perfect balance of crust and seasoning, and the asparagus was tender and tasty. And before me was a fish shaped plate, loaded with bubbling cheese and the aroma of garlic and crab. Granted, at first glance there\u2019s not much to go on. It\u2019s what\u2019s underneath that beautiful layer of goodness that mattered the most. I dipped my fork into the dish, scraping off a little of the cheese to taste. It featured garlic, Parmesan, mozzarella, and shrimp throughout, broiled into a very pleasant cap. Second taste, I was going in. I peeled back a little cheese to reveal the ravioli. These were nearly the size of a sand dollar. Large, pasta pillows stuffed with a healthy amount of crab and shrimp filling. This was an extremely tasty dish, and very filling as well.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As we wound down from our meal, the owner opened conversation and thanked us for the visit, hoping there wasn\u2019t any delay in our evening.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Chastain\u2019s was busy, yet the kitchen and staff performed flawlessly, backed with a fun and personable interactive vibe. It was a great night and we are glad to see they\u2019re doing so well.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

3922 Ryan St. \u2022 \u00a0Lake Charles, LA Chastain\u2019s is a long-time favorite of Lake Charles. It has been around for well over 20 years, and that kind of longevity speaks volumes. It\u2019s been through the highs and lows in the ever-changing trends of food, fads, entertainment, people and surroundings. \u00a0 It\u2019s been a few years [&hellip<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":63,"featured_media":8690,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1956],"tags":[1958,2226,1957],"yoast_head":"\nChastain\u2019s Food & Spirits - 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\/03\/19\/chastains-food-spirits-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chastain\u2019s Food & Spirits - BestOfSwla\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"3922 Ryan St. \u2022 \u00a0Lake Charles, LA Chastain\u2019s is a long-time favorite of Lake Charles. 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