Born on the Bayou Acadiana Offers Taste of Louisiana-Style Cooking by Rachel Hunt and Stephen Qualiana Wt’s about time that the unique cooking styles of the ethnically and culturally diverse state of Louisiana finally got some attention. But it is questionable whether the cuisine of this spirited and hardy people—who are mostly rural Cajuns, Creoles and French descendents—will fly with the palettes of starchy, stiff Washingtonians who thinks of themselves as more chic and urban. Acadiana is not the first restaurant to take a shot at the dishes of Louisiana, but the ones that we have tried in the past have failed miserably. Acadiana is located in a shiny new cavernous space made of concrete and steel on the corner of New York Avenue and 9th Street, NW. Acadiana, whose kitchen is headed by chef Jeff Tunks, is part of a restaurant group that includes Ceiba, DC Coast and TenPenh. The huge open dining room of Acadiana spreads out over two floors in an oddly shaped and asymmetrical but pleasing configuration. There are décor touches inspired by Louisiana, such as a New Orleans-style chandelier and a painting of a tree in a swamp, but overall the décor is urban and contemporary and targeted for a D.C. audience—and a case can be made that this concept applies similarly with the food. The fried green tomatoes ($11) were pan-fried in corn meal, then browned until tender and served with split shrimp and a dollop of Zatarain’s Cajun remoulade. The charbroiled oysters ($10) were a standout, cooked to a snappy brown on top and tender and white underneath. Served on the half shell, they were sprinkled with parmesan and romano cheeses and a buttery garlic sauce. The duo of pies ($9) were a well-made combination of flaky crescent-shaped crusts stuffed with lightly seasoned ground beef or a Creole combination of crawfish in a red sauce with diced green bell peppers, onions and baby shrimp, all served with a black pepper buttermilk dipping sauce. The pies were surprising good and were a worthy original creation from chef Tunks’s kitchen in the Louisiana tradition. Many of the dishes served had nothing to do with the cooking or the ingredients of Louisiana’s cooking, but so what? They were still just as good, and so many well-intentioned restaurants go too far, almost obsessively, with carrying out their “themes.” So the roasted sweet corn and blue crap soup ($8) seemed as if it were a nice piece of Eastern Shore Maryland home cooking. It fit nicely on the menu alongside its Cajun cousin, turtle soup ($8), which was spicier and in a dark sherry broth with white pieces of turtle. It was a Monday night, and we noticed by mid-meal that the restaurant was comfortably full, something of a surprise for a Monday night, so it seems Acadiana has already established a reputation with some popularity. The wait staff dressed in modified chef’s smocks in olive green. Most of the staff was affable, thoughtful and professional, but not deeply knowledgeable when we questioned them on a few dishes, although our waitress did make some on-target suggestions. It was easy to see why the New Orleans-style barbecued shrimp ($28) is one of the most popular dishes. The shrimp were exceptionally meaty, with the larger ones yielding a few big bites. The garlic butter sauce with black pepper and Worcestershire was flavored at the right potency to be buttery, pungent and zesty without overpowering the delicacy of the shrimp. A more obscure Louisiana-inspired dish was the grillades and grits ($26), which consisted of sautéed veal served in a thin, peppery brown gravy with garlic and razor-thin wild mushrooms. The accompanying jalapeño cheese grits were creamy and rich and worked well together with the veal. Another dish inspired by the cooking style of the Cajuns and Creoles was the redfish ($22), which was grilled and lightly blackened and served with a buttery quasi-jambalaya of crawfish and shrimp with risotto and a smoky red bell pepper sauce. Sautéed green beans nicely rounded out the dish. Although most Louisiana cooking is not fiery spicy the way that many people imagine it to be, it was still refreshing when the cool, soothing desserts arrived. The pecan tart was satisfying, refreshing and slightly Southern with a round crust filled with pecans and topped by vanilla ice cream and homemade chocolate sauce. The sorbet seasonal sampler ($8)—three scoops in separate dishes with different flavors—was excellent. The first was strawberry-rhubarb, one of the greatest undiscovered flavors ever; the second was orange-blackberry, and the last was apricot-mango. They had an old-fashioned ice cream-parlor saltiness too them, which probably meant they were made in-house. Our favorite was the beignets du vieux carré ($8) with chocolate panna cotta and served with chicory coffee gelée. The beignets, basically a Louisiana powdered doughnut, tasted authentic, and the kitchen did a great job of transitioning this breakfast food to the dessert menu. Washington’s sense of decorum makes it highly unlikely that a real-life Louisiana-style restaurant could exist in D.C.—at least one that is not owned by a corporation and that emphasizes food and fun over presentation or décor—but perhaps Acadiana will be a sign of good times to come. Rachel Hunt and Stephen Qualiana are the restaurant reviewers for The Washington Diplomat. Acadiana 901 New York Ave., NW Washington D.C. (202) 408-8848 www.acadianarestaurant.com Lunch: 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. Monday-Friday Dinner: 5:30 - 10:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 5:30 - 11 p.m. Friday & Saturday Dress: Business Casual