Blue Southern Comfort Foods, a tiny, neighborhood eatery with a fantastic signature burger, recently opened at 1173 Louisiana Avenue. If the location seems familiar, that’s because it has been home to a series of beloved, eccentric restaurants, including the Burnin’ Spear Caribbean Cafe and Slap Your Mama Barbecue. The menu at Blue offers up a handful of popular Southern dishes, including barbecue shrimp ($12) and braised short ribs ($11.95), as well as a trio of handmade burgers and seasonal side items.
Typically, I’d do my best to briefly describe all three of the meals I’ve had at Blue, but there’s no time for that. We need to talk about the Blue Burger ($9.95) as soon as possible. A fist-sized serving of high-quality ground beef topped with shredded Gruyère cheese, homemade bacon marmalade and mixed greens, this hamburger instantly became on of my favorites in town. What it lacks in enormity (compared to, say, the burgers from Fumblebrewski’s) or old-fashioned, don’t-mess-with-perfection appeal (a la Gullo’s, Rollin’ in the Dough or even George’s Grill), it more than makes up for by being covered in homemade bacon marmalade. The hashtag “#YOLO” should really be stamped next to its listing on the menu.
“I just believe in buying the best ground beef that I can,” Manning said of the burger. “A burger doesn’t need to be stuffed with all sorts of things. Just buy good meat, that’s the key.” Struck dumb by the awesome powers of bacon marmalade, I was unable to ask any follow-up questions.
Blue is small, off-the-beaten-path, and lacking in signage, but food lovers should make the effort to seek it out. The restaurant is open for lunch, Monday-Friday, and dinner, Tuesday-Friday. Call (318) 762-1909 to place a call-in order.
