Featured photo: Chicken and waffles from Cresent City Bistro in Shreveport.
One of the things that I love about the restaurant scene in Shreveport-Bossier is that many local eateries defy expectations and reward diners who resist the urge to judge a book by its cover. Crescent City Bistro, the new restaurant located at the Moonrider Inn (5215 Monkhouse Drive, Shreveport) is a great example of such a restaurant. As The Times reported in their coverage of the restaurant’s opening, Crescent City Bistro owners Anna and Darrell Johnson have an incredible story. Chef Darrell Johnson is a native New Orleanian, a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu, an American Culinary Federation-certified executive chef, and a veteran of the kitchen staff at revered New Orleans restaurant Commander’s Palace. Anna Johnson, his wife and partner in business, is an effusive hostess with a background that includes hospitality training.
As the name implies, Crescent City Bistro offers unapologetically New Orleanian flavors, including some that can be hard to find on menus in North Louisiana. Po’ boys are served on crusty Leidenheimer Baking Company bread, a New Orleans product that many sandwich lovers will tell you is superior to a more popular brand of French bread made famous in New Orleans. Other signature New Orleans dishes on the menu include shell-on BBQ shrimp, crawfish monica and white chocolate bread pudding. That white chocolate bread pudding ($4.49) ranks among the very best versions of this dessert that I’ve ever eaten. As a lifelong Louisiana resident, I figured I’d eaten enough bread pudding to last me a lifetime. I was wrong; If you’re a bread pudding fan, you’ve got to try it here. Crescent City Bistro’s chicken and waffles ($8.99), served with maple syrup that has been spiked with Sriracha hot sauce, are also outstanding.
The entire menu is meat-intensive and decadent – a vegetarian or someone on a diet may be frustrated by limited options – but for omnivores with a taste for classic Louisiana dishes, there’s a lot to love at Crescent City Bistro.
Chef Darrell Johnson has also recently begun hosting cooking classes on Mondays and Tuesdays, when the restaurant is closed to the public. To learn more about the cooking classes, and to keep up with news from the restaurant, “Like” Crescent City Bistro on Facebook.
If you’re a fan of local restaurants, download or view the brand-new, 2016 edition of Eat Here: A Food Lover’s Guide to Shreveport-Bossier.
