Each week, the Shreveport-Bossier Journal’s always hungry reporter visits a different restaurant and tells you about the experience.
By ANON E. MUSS, Journal Services
Not long after Looosiana Seafood Market (9220 Wallace Lake Road, Shreveport) opened in 2019, I checked out their menu online. The offerings looked good, but frankly, the prices were too high for my liking. I remember thinking if I’m going to pay $15 for a po-boy, it would be in New Orleans — not Shreveport. So, I never went.
But on a recent Saturday night, with the boss agreeing to pick up the tab, I asked a friend to join me for what would be a first-time visit for both of us.
Our initial impression of Looosiana Seafood Market (kudos to the owners for changing the spelling to make “Looosiana” stand out) was a good one. The restaurant is in a super cool-looking building with a lot of windows. Out front, there’s a small, artificial turf play area for the kids. There’s a basketball goal, and we saw a couple of baseball gloves.
Inside, the restaurant is divided in half for no obvious reason, with plenty of seating at both regular and high-top tables. There are three big-screen TV’s, but oddly, only two of them were turned on. Of course, the one closest to our table was the one not on. However, while our server wasn’t able to bring the TV to life, another worker was kind enough to offer her help, and she not only turned the TV on, but she found the night’s football game.
There’s also a nice bar with a few seats. I don’t drink, but it looked as though there were plenty of alcoholic options available.
My friend and I arrived around 6:30, and a young lady was at the hostess stand waiting to show us to a table. Not long after, our server, Matt, was asking what we would like to drink.
Let me say this early on: Matt was terrific. He was friendly, talkative, and energetic. It quickly felt like Matt was our friend instead of our server. In fact, my companion noticed and asked Matt about him moving at a fast pace. Matt said he has five children, which means he’s always on the go.
It wasn’t long before we asked Matt a question that had nothing to do with food. “Is the heat on?” We couldn’t tell much difference between how it felt outside on a 40-something degree night, and inside the restaurant. Matt said he, too, had asked that question, and was told the heat was on. The thermostat must have been set low — my friend and I, as well as others, never took off our coats.
Looosiana Seafood Market offers seven appetizers between $10 to $24. We chose the Boudin Egg Rolls ($10), and were served a tray with four egg rolls, diagonally placed in pairs of two. They were each stuffed with Louisiana Boudin rolled with pepper jack cheese. While my friend thought the boudin was too strong, I liked it. The boudin and cheese had a little kick. But the star of the show was the pepper jelly in which to dip the egg rolls. It was excellent!
By the way, if you go to Looosiana Seafood Market, you will notice some of the menu items are in bold. My friend asked Matt why, and after checking, he said the bold items are the restaurant’s most popular items.
Since it was so cold outside and inside, we both wanted — needed — something to warm us up. I went with a cup of Chicken and Sausage Gumbo ($8), and was not disappointed. The cup was larger than I expected, and darn near overflowing with chicken and sausage, on top of a healthy serving of rice. My only complaint is that the gumbo could have been warmer. I would call it lukewarm, which is not how you want your gumbo served.
My friend selected a cup of Corn and Crab Bisque ($9). After one bite, she was raving about its taste. She noticed that unlike most bisque which are creamy, this bisque was more brothy. It looked outstanding, so I had to take a bite. It was much warmer than my gumbo, and tasted really, really good.
When looking over the menu, I quickly noticed that despite the restaurant’s name, seafood is just one of several type entrees offered. You can have a steak, a pork chop, tacos, pasta, po-boys, and burgers. There were seven seafood options, including shrimp, catfish, redfish, grouper, and jambalaya.
For me, the attraction to dining at Looosiana Seafood Market was the word “Seafood”. So, I decided on the 1/2 and 1/2: a half order of blackened catfish and a half order of blackened shrimp, which came with french fries ($22).
Unfortunately, my entree did not live up to expectations set by the appetizer and gumbo. The fish and shrimp were severely over-blackened for my taste. They almost had a burnt taste. If it wasn’t for that taste, they would not have had any taste. In addition, the shrimp were very dry.
After looking at all the options, my friend chose the Cajun Kabob, which when available, is a kabob with steak and shrimp. Sure enough, when she ordered, Matt gave her the news that they were out of the Cajun Kabob.
Heartbroken and needing a few minutes to regroup, my friend ordered a single Redfish taco ($6), and a side of Roasted Squash & Zucchini ($6). Redfish was one of three topping options, along with Blackened Chicken and Blackened Shrimp.
Her taco was served as described, on a flour tortilla with lettuce, Pico-De-Gallo, and a smoked aioli sauce. She said it was “really good”. My friend also enjoyed her side, saying it wasn’t heavy or overcooked. She said it had a good flavor.
When it comes to dessert, I will let you in on a little secret. Your choices are not limited to what’s on the menu. Looosiana Seafood Market is home to Whisk Dessert Bar. Walk over to their glass display and see if there’s something you like. On this night, there was a Cake Jar (yep, cake in a jar), a Mardi Gras Cheesecake that looked delicious, Lemon Crinkle Pie, and something chocolate (I don’t eat chocolate, so I didn’t pay much attention.)
While we thought we would have been pleased with any of those, we went with a menu offering of New Orleans Style Bread Pudding, made with Gambino’s French Bread ($8). Simply put, we both agreed it may be the best bread pudding to ever grace our taste buds (and yes, I realize I said that once before about the bread pudding at another restaurant.) The presentation was as good as the taste — a generous portion, dripping with Praline Rum sauce. The sauce was even decoratively drizzled on the side and lip of the bowl (and yes, we used our fingers to get it all.)
The cost of our meal before tax and tip was $69. So, does that support my thought five years ago that Looosiana Seafood Market’s prices were too high? I don’t think so. Since the restaurant opened, food prices have gone way up. Now, their prices don’t look much out of line.
I give Looosiana Seafood Market Three Forks. Would I return? Yes, and here’s why in my opinion it’s so important for restaurants to focus not just on food, but on every aspect of the customer’s experience. I would go back (but not go out of my way) because of the casual yet nice atmosphere, the friendly service, and the fact that all was good except my entree’. I’m not going to let my dissatisfaction with blackened catfish and shrimp keep me from trying Looosiana Seafood Market again. There are plenty of other items on the menu for me to try.
And for my friend’s sake, here’s hoping the Cajun Kabob is available.
Is there a restaurant you would like the Journal to review? Email: SBJRestaurantReview@gmail.com
1 Fork: Would rather eat a box of dirt
2 Forks: Will return, but only if someone else is buying
3 Forks: Will return and look forward to it
4 Forks: Will return and go out of my way to do so
