If you care about the local food traditions of Shreveport-Bossier and Northwest Louisiana, I would like to personally ask a favor: Please pay a visit to Eddie’s Restaurant sometime in the near future. The historic eatery, which was established in 1978 at 1956 Hollywood Avenue in Shreveport, has been challenged in recent weeks by heavy construction on the streets surrounding the restaurant. One entrance – on the Union Avenue side – has been completely cut off from traffic. The primary entrance, facing Hollywood Avenue, is surrounded (as of Nov. 10, 2017) by heavy equipment, but accessible. Like Eddie’s Restaurant on Facebook.
Shreveport-Bossier’s food community recently rallied, under similar circumstances, to help beloved sandwich shop Deli Casino when prolonged road construction on Kings Highway made it difficult for customers to access the restaurant. I believe that we ought to stage a similar effort to help Eddie’s.
Eddie’s Restaurant was founded by Eddie Eugene Hughes in 1978. Prior to opening his own restaurant, Hughes had worked in the kitchen at the legendary Freeman & Harris Café from the time he was 8 years old. My own research, as well as the research of others, points towards Hughes as one of the originators of the “Shreveport-style” stuffed shrimp that can now be found on the menu at dozens of local restaurants. He was a member of the kitchen team in the mid-1950s, when stuffed shrimp began to be listed as a house specialty in Freeman & Harris Café ads.
In short, the stuffed shrimp at Eddie’s Restaurant are as crucial a part of the story of food in Shreveport-Bossier as the Shrimp Buster from Herby-K’s or the Muffy from Fertitta’s Delicatessen. They are also delicious.
Eddie’s Restaurant was recently named one of the “Best Soul Food Restaurants in the South” by Southern Living magazine and was the subject of a feature article that I was lucky enough to be able to write for Louisiana Cookin’. In September 2017, the street outside of the restaurant was dedicated in honor of Eddie Eugene Hughes. The place matters.
If you’ve got the ability to pay a visit to Eddie’s Restaurant in the coming weeks, please consider doing so, so that we can show this historic local eatery how much it means to us.
The restaurant’s hours are 11 a.m.-6 p.m., Monday through Friday. The phone number is (318) 631-9082.
To learn more about local food, download the third edition of Eat Here: A Food Lover’s Guide to Shreveport-Bossier.
