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Just a couple of weeks ago LAist's Eye Nosh was all about lunch at the Gumbo Pot, a meal determined to have been a success ("Everything was Real Good!"). Perhaps that's what inspired LAist Featured Photos pool contributor Sparkylulu to head over to the Farmer's Market to check out the Ya Ya Gumbo and more at the Gumbo Pot. Only, well... we were pointed in the direction of their Yelp review, and, yikes! And, since in this case the photo doesn't speak a thousand words, we're going straight to the Gumbo-eater's mouth here:
have been going to the Farmers market for many years now. For lunch. For drinks. For meat. For produce. For karaoke.To each his own, right? Fans or foes of The Gumbo Pot, pitch in to our comments stew and tell us what you think. Should we run to...or from...The Gumbo Pot?
And yet, although I have seen it, read the menu, been enticed by the promise of Po' Boy sandwiches and Beignets I have never eaten food from The Gumbo Pot.
Turns out. For good reason.
Service? Slow and arrogant and not very helpful. Even though there was no one behind me (It was a slow time) the woman taking my order still looked behind me as though she had other orders to take. I admit, I didn't know what I wanted but that only resulted in me saying, "What's the most popular item you sell?"
It's the Ya-ya Gumbo. A watery, salty distillation of uninteresting flavors. With Rice.
I've often found that New Orleans cuisine seems to have been designed for the toothless, and this is right in line with that philosophy but that doesn't explain the Creole Mustard Potato Salad having almost no flavor save for the slightest hint of spice at the tail end of each bite.
The beignets? Eh. Over fried, I would say. I have had better Zappolis.
There are so many better places to eat at the Farmers Market. Well, one or two. The Gumbo Pot is not one of them.
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We eat at the Gumbo Pot all the time. They are always nice and helpful and the food is amazing. Love the jambalaya and the po' boys. They also have amazing fried chicken, mint iced tea, biegnets. Wow now I'm hungry. I think I'll head over there right now!
As a bayou raised Cajun living in Hollywood, I have to say that the cuisine served at this place is far from authentic. While I agree with the reviewer that the food is mediocre, it is hardly a benchmark by which you should judge food from NOLA.
The Gumbo Pot should make it very clear that what they are selling is a butchering of Creole flavors and practices:
I'm afraid the only authentic Cajun food in L.A. is cooked at my apartment. Who's coming for dinner?
Foe of Gumbo Pot, had a very sad po boy a few months ago, haven't been back since. Love Loteria and recently had a decent Brisket BBQ sandwich from Bryan's Pit BBQ, though it's far from authentic BBQ and more like the brisket my mom made for Rosh Hashanah...
In general, I am foe of food in LA except for sushi and mexican...I know many people might pounce on that statement, but I've been here a year and haven't found a good, normal, non-chain where I feel comfortable, enjoy the food and want to go back time after time. It makes me sad.
I always have to stifle a gasp when I ask people where they like to eat and they answer "The Cheesecake Factory." Sigh.
Other than that LA has been treating me very well.
jamiebeth... wow, there's tons of amazing non-chain food in LA at great places where you can feel comfortable. what part(s) of town do you eat in? what kinds of food? where are you getting your recommendations? there is life beyond the cheesecake factory, that's for sure, in any area, in any cuisine, for any budget.
I eat at the gumbo pot at least 3 times a week. The first time I ate there, I felt the need to tell the guy who runs it that it was the best meal i've ever had for under 7 dollars. I got the meatloaf with creole salad and extra cornbread. you have to get the Creole Mustard Potato Salad. I totally disagree about it having no flavor, its amazing. I order just a side of it all the time with my lunch from other places. It is the best potato salad I've ever had. When asked to chose the side, I asked the guy what he recommended and without hesitation he's like, "You're getting the Potato Salad." The cornbread is great too, I always order an extra one for 75 cents. And I thought the hush puppies were really good.
Gotta agree with theory here. My dad's family is French Creole, and when we compared The Gumbo Pot to authentic Louisiana cuisine, there is no comparison...at all. The red beans & rice are really bland, the potato salad mediocre, and the shrimp po' boys have a woefully inadequate amount of shrimp. It's really too bad because it would be so convenient to get good red beans & rice there and save myself the time it takes to make it homemade. Ah well.
Sorry you didn't like the pic. All I had on me was my iPhone.
Jamiebeth, I have to agree with Lindsay, there are some fantastic places to eat in LA. You just have to find them amidst the sprawl.
Here's a quick suggestion, and mainly because it was a recent discovery:
Blu Jam Cafe on Melrose. Some of the finest breakfast and brunch I have ever ever had.
You can read about it here if you want:
http://septenary.blogspot.com/2008/08/chowhound-blu-jam-cafe-west-hollywood.html
Thanks, LAist and Lindsay for linking my review. If I had known I would have directed people to my blog...I could use the traffic. ;)
Sparkylulu the pic is fine; I just meant that since the food looks great in the photo we'd have no idea it wasn't a positive experience without reading your write up! You know, the whole "a picture speaks a thousand words" saying... but in this case without your words we wouldn't know what you really thought!
For anyone doing Eye Nosh pics for our LAist Photos pool it helps to include some words about the meal on the Flickr page, or direct us to your blog or Yelp review so we know your thoughts on the meal!
thanks for the rec, sparkylulu! i'm in sherman oaks most of the time, so maybe that's part of the problem. the international food has been pretty good, but i'm looking for something between a dupars/mels and a cheesecake factory, some sort of upscale diner with a large menu and good quality...i think i was totally spoiled by good diners in NYC!
It's frustrating trying to find decent cajun food here. We go to Ragin Cajun in Hermosa (or is it Redondo? I get the 2 mixed up). It's decent, and the owner is a really cool guy. All the employees there are great - very friendly and it's usually just a fun experience. It's always filled with local and regulars and has a real authentic feel because most everyone knows someone else there.
Thanks for the heads up on the gumbo pot. The food in the pic didn't look that great. I've never seen gumbo looking like that before!