By DAVID ERSOFF, Journal Contributor
I have driven by Bayou Deli & Casserole Shop, 637 East Kings Highway, Shreveport, hundreds of times, and I never realized what I was missing.
Since I began writing this weekly article in January, I have been hearing that I needed to try it. I did try once a few weeks ago. I didn’t do my research and I headed that way on a Sunday — the one day they are closed.
As it turned out, this past week was the perfect time. I was looking for a dish to serve on Saturday for the LSU game, and I was hungry for some lunch on Thursday. Bayou Deli is only open for lunch, so when you want to check it out, remember that.
It took me more than a few minutes to decide what I wanted to order. They have so many sandwiches that sounded so good, I couldn’t easily decide. It was impossible for me to limit myself to just one choice, so I didn’t.
I ended up ordering two hot sandwiches and the Chicken Spaghetti Take and Bake Casserole for that Saturday.
The sandwich that my first choice was the Cuban Pirogue. It’s pork roast, ham, Swiss cheese, pickles and mustard on a sub roll finished on a panini press. The panini press just elevates a sandwich. The cheese works so well with the ham and the tender pork roast, with the pickles and mustard providing that little tang that just pops. The panini press gave the roll a nice crunch to the outside while leaving the inside nice and soft.
The other sandwich I ordered was the Bayou St. John, which is sliced roast beef with melted provolone and sauteed mushrooms on a sub roll, served with au jus on the side. The roast beef was so tender and full of flavor that mixed well with the melted cheese. The mushrooms were a nice addition to a traditional French dip sandwich.
There was no way I was going to eat two full sandwiches, so I had half of each at lunch, then I reheated those halves for dinner. Both sandwiches held up extremely well to being refrigerated and reheated six hours later. Keep that in mind when ordering.
The sandwiches had me very confident in how good the Chicken Spaghetti was going to be on Saturday. I was not disappointed. Bayou Deli’s Chicken Spaghetti is spaghetti noodles with shredded chicken breast meat, a unique cream sauce (their description) covered with cheddar cheese. It comes frozen and in three sizes so you can accomodate the right number of people you are serving.
This was one of the best Chicken Spaghetti dishes I can remember ever having. The sauce was very creamy with a hint of bell peppers that added flavor. The melted cheese was the perfect finish to the dish.
I will be going back to try some of their other sandwich choices I didn’t get this time. I may have to review them again, on the other sandwiches and maybe their gumbo.
Contact David at dersoff@bellsouth.net
