Restaurant Review: Louisiana Purchase

LOUISIANA PURCHASE 13503 St. Albert Trail | louisianapurchase.ca Instagram: @louisianapurchase_yeg | Twitter: @CajunCreoleEats Co-Diner: Ms. Thibault

Open since 1989, Louisiana Purchase is one of Edmonton's long-standing mainstay type of restaurants. Who would have guessed that a city in central Canada would have a pretty established Cajun scene? Most people will remember that Louisiana Purchase used to be located downtown, which is where I spent all of my previous visits. However, in more recent years you will need to head to Northwest Edmonton in the McArthur Industrial area to get your fix. It's not a part of the city that I typically frequent but I am always happy to venture off on a food adventure! You Gotta Eat Here! featured Louisiana Purchase in season two of the show and the Edmonton Journal voted them as Best Cajun/Creole Restaurant 2021 and Favourite Cajun/Creole Restaurant 2022. With 34 years under their belts and countless staff trips out to New Orleans, it's safe to say that these guys know a few things about Cajun and Creole southern cooking. I visited on a Saturday evening and was immediately impressed by the sheer size of this (new to me) location. Compared to the old place, this restaurant is palatial. What used to be quaint and cozy is now expansive with two levels and multiple dining areas. The impressive chandeliers hanging in the lounge section to the right of the entrance are impossible to miss. They are beautiful! Red vinyl wrapped booths, rustic wood panels on the walls, and plenty of colourful murals depicting boisterous Mardi Gras scenes are all part of the experience. It's a taste of Bourbon Street, no doubt, but I do miss the intimacy of the original location. I loved the cute little booth for two that we were seated at and our server was wonderfully upbeat and friendly. The menu is very large, filled with plenty of choices and the drink menu is no different. You will find an endless list of bourbon and whiskey to choose from but for my tastes I leaned toward the signature cocktails. I was seconds away from ordering the Cajun Caesar but switched at the last moment to the Southern Sangria ($9.50) with a choice of either white or red wine.

I chose red wine for mine. I guess I was in the mood for something fun and fruity and this was definitely it. I liked that strawberries were included, which felt like a welcome departure from some of the bland fruit that you'll often find in a sangria. Sweet and boozy, this beverage hit the mark and accompanied the the overall food and experience well. So what exactly is Cajun cuisine? It actually has roots in Canada, believe it or not. French colonists were deported from the east coast of Canada to Louisiana in the 18th century, leading to the creation of the Cajun food that we love today. This is why you'll notice a lot of French incorporated into the entire Cajun culture. Louisiana Purchase does a great job of capturing many of the most popular dishes that you've been dying to try. The appetizer list is full of savoury beignets and fried green tomatoes. However, I had to go straight for the Swampstick ($17.00), which I'm sure is the most unique and adventurous item on the menu.

That's right, it's alligator! The tender meat was fried to perfection and bursting with flavour. This entire dish was a literally an explosion of textures and heat and big, exciting flavours. Don't let the alligator scare you - the meat is unoffensive and light - it's like a cross between chicken and pork. I enjoyed the black bean salsa for a hit of freshness. This was honestly my favourite dish of the whole meal because it was so exciting, interesting, and flavourful. Don't be wary of it - try new things! There are so many entrees on the menu that it can be hard to narrow it down. Ordering the gumbo is probably the most "correct" thing to do, since it's the official state dish of Louisiana. However, they've got a muffuletta which is one of my favourite sandwiches and of course I was interested in the Satisfaction Plate, a jambalaya that was named for Mick Jagger after he dined at the restaurant. I definitely wanted a jambalaya, so I settled on the Steamboat Jambalaya ($36.00). One of the more pricy items on the menu, I was excited to treat myself.

The first thing that I noticed was that the entire crab leg that was supposed to be on top of my meal was missing. I asked the server about this and she said that the restaurant is unable to source crab at the moment. It would have been really helpful to have gotten this information before I ordered a $36 dish that didn't even have all of the ingredients included. This was a huge disappointment. I likely would have considered ordering something different if I had known in advance that they weren't able to make this dish to its full potential. The server did say that they had added extra shrimp, mussels, and whitefish to make up for it, and I will say that the amount of the other seafood was very abundant. Beyond this issue, the portion of jambalaya was massive and could easily feed more than one person. The spiced rice was cooked perfectly and I really loved how saucy the whole dish was thanks to the creole sauce that included juicy chunks of tomato. When it comes to Cajun cooking, you will hear a lot about the "holy trinity" which is basically the base for every dish: celery, bell peppers, and onions. All three were on display in this dish. I loved the seafood (that I did get) and especially enjoyed the surprise pieces of whitefish throughout. The flavour of the jambalaya was very delicious, with a little bit of heat. I also liked that this came with hush puppies! This way, I didn't have to order them extra. The deep fried balls of cornmeal were great for mopping up extra sauce. Certainly a very good jambalaya, even though the crab was missing. I had some mixed feelings about my experience at Louisiana Purchase but overall the food that I ate tasted very good and the portion sizes were large. I really, really wanted to order the Bananas Foster for dessert (one of my favourites) but I was just simply too full. I'd like to return to try other dishes and to also try visiting for brunch - I'm intrigued by the chicory coffee! There are a few solid options for Cajun food in Edmonton and Louisiana Purchase continues to rank among them. I only hope that after all of these years they will continue to keep things fresh and keep operating at a high level.