Trip thru northern Louisiana???

the wife and I will be traveling thru northern LA on a trip to visit friends in northern Mississippi in a few weeks ... looking for good places off IH20 for lunch-ish time meal between Longview TX and Monroe LA (probably too far for my wife to make it that far before caving in on herself) ... probably closer to the TX line, maybe Shreveport??? ... I've searched thru Trip Advisor but seems to be a lot of okay places with quite a few good reviews long with horrible reviews.

then it hit me, why not ask the THF brain trust, so here I am. We are open to pretty much anything but of course going thru LA, I am leaning towards cajun

whatcha got???

Longview to Monroe is only about a 2.5 hr drive. Longview to Shreveport about 50 miles, Shreveport to Monroe about 90 miles or 1.5 hrs . all at the posted speed limit.

thanks DLALLDER, yeah, I know there isn't a long distance in there, but hitting that distance after 4+ hours and my wife caving in on herself when it gets close to meal time, just looking for options on places along that stretch to eat

I would go to Ralph and Kacoo's in Bossier City. Have gone there over the years and have never had a bad meal.

There’s an old restaurant in Monroe called The Mohawk Tavern. I’ve not been there in many years but it’s an old school place. Seafood place. I used to always get an Oyster Po Boy sandwich there but they served an awesome Snapper or Trout Almandine. It too was great. I just checked the inter web and they’re still open. Just over the old bridge uptown.

2nd on Ralph&Kacoo's great food. Keep gun handy in Shreveport.

The Blind Tiger is much better than R&K…



Also the Greek Corner is a great little local authentic Greek restaurant…

I used to eat there on a regular basis when I traveled La.
It was a dank old place then but incredible food. It has been bought and remodeled and has become a go to place now.
The food was still good but the wait was long the last time I went.

great inputs guys!!! thanks!!!

Wife and I had our first date at the Mohawk in Monroe, on Louisville avenue, I think. Good food, as is the Italian place next door. Also in Monroe, just off I-20 is Pecanland Mall. If Copelands is still there, I love their red beans and rice.

In Shreveport, the Superior Grill has good Mexican food. As for Ralph & Kacoo’s, it’s decent.

After Shreveport and before Monroe, there’s Arcadia. At the Hwy 151 exit there’s a La Fogata Mexican restaurant that’s pretty good. Past Arcadia about 18 miles, is Ruston, where I went to college. Good Cajun at Ponchatoulas and good Italian at Roma’s.

Superior Bar and Grill is my go to place in Shreveport, hands down. Great Mexican food and great atmosphere...

Doe's Eat Place in Monroe is a great steak place.
Crawfish City in West Monroe has probably the best Crawfish I have ever ate.

On your route We like:
1. Catfish Village in Waskom (right off Interstate). My friend owns it and really cares about quality and his customers. You can order plates or all you can eat. We like the cajun spiced fillets.
2. Ralph and Kacoo's in Shreveport/Bossier City. We always like the food but the service was lacking on our last trip.
3. Kims seafood and poboy in Shreveport/Bossier City. They use real New Orleans french bread and season the seafood just right. (It has been a little over a year since we have eaten here so things can change)

good stuff guys!!! I am compiling a list

I'd pass on Ralph & Kacoo's in Bossier. Used to be good but last 2 trips there food just fair and service poor. Superior Grill for Mexican A+. Most of the casino's have buffets or restaurants' that are pretty good.

^ ^ ^ ^ this ^ ^ ^ ^
They pretty much have to stay on top of their game
Not like some apathetic bunch in a booger queen or
a McSalty's or taco smell that diddle with their phones
half the work day

Superior Bar and Grille for Mexican should top your list; you won't be disappointed.

Back when I covered this area for work I stumbled on a great hole in the wall seafood market and restaurant in Longview. They had a small operation in a little strip mall but their fried fish was super and tartar sauce was best I have ever had. Their beer was ice cold as were the sweet oysters on the half shell. Fast forward a few years and I stopped by on my way to Shreveport and bam the whole strip center is now Fisherman's Market!! Good stop!!

Kim’s is a hidden hole in the wall gem. Excellent boiled crawfish and fried shrimp! You will not be disappointed.

It is. My daughter was just talking about it today. She and I have a trip planned to Shreveport in 2 weeks and she wants to eat at Ralph and Kacoos for lunch and Kim's for dinner. She has it all planned out.

Plus one on the Blind Tiger. Me and the mrs eat there every time we are around Shreveport.

I would skip shreveport/bossier altogether.....
Jucy's in longview is good for a burger.

If you are looking for something a little different...ok a lot different this is a hole in the wall place in Homer La about 30 min outside of Minden. They specialize in ribeye steaks and your choices are 1-1/4", 1-1/2" or 2". They are about the size of a dinner plate. Think they are only open for dinner and you need to get there early to get a seat.


http://www.zydecocruiser.net/nola/food/foodPages/moons.htm

Pass on R and K

That’s like going to hard 8 for bbq

thanks guys, continuing on my list and will let the wife choose when we go. trip might have gotten pushed out a week or so

I used to eat at a Old South place out on the lake in Shreveport. Outstanding food and white glove service. The BH went to college at Centenary and put me on it.
Ron

I used to eat at a Old South place out on the lake in Shreveport. Outstanding food and white glove service. The BH went to college at Centenary and put me on it.
Ron

We went to Ralph and Kacoos yesterday. It was great!!! The Cajun food was outstanding and the service was back to being great (Brandon was our waiter). We went to Kim’s seafood and poboy shop for dinner later that evening and the poboy was great. Two great stops.

These are pictures if I can get them to upload.

If you are looking for great fish, shrimp dishes (wife loves the stuffed shrimp) or crawfish I highly recommend Crawdaddy's Kitchen on Mansfield road. Placed is always packed and we go there from Longview on a regular basis. Great food and you will not go away hungry!

Looks great

Sounds like the old “Smith’s Cross Lake Restaurant.” Singing waiters in tuxedos and gloves. It was awesome!!

It was awesome for 3 generations of ownership and management. Then it was sold and run into the ground.

There are two places in Bossier that i would reccomend.

The first is Kims Seafood and Po'boys. The only thing i have ever eaten there is the fried shrimp poboy, but i have had it no less than 30 times and it is always the best poboy i have ever had and cant find one like it anywhere else.

The other place is El Mariachi on Barksdale BLVD a few miles passed the main gate to the AFB. Get the Alambre. Its fajitas with mozzarella cheese and bacon mixed in. This is also the only thing i have ever had on the menu, but have had it a few dozen times.

El Rincon in Longview for some really good Mexican food.
1709 S Mobberly Ave, Longview Tx. It doesn't open till 11:00, it is a small hole in the wall family owned place.

That fried shrimp looks great

+1

bringing this back to the top since our trip got pushed back (friends mother passed after stroke) and we will be heading to MS this weekend. now I have to re-read all the posted suggestions but in case anyone else has passed this way in the past month or so with additions, please feel free.

thanks guys!!! I compiled a list based on everyone's feedback above ... I will let you know where we stop going to MS and coming home.

in case you are interested in how it stacked up in no particular order (the X shows positive comments)

Ralph & Kacoos Bossier City - XXXXXXX
Mohawk Tavern Monroe –XX
Blind Tiger - XX
Superior Grill (Mexican) Shreveport - XXXXX
Doe’s Eat Place Monroe - X
Catfish Village Waskom – X
Kims Seafood and Poboy Shreveport/Bossier City – XXXXX
Fisherman’s Market Longview – X
Jucy’s Longview (burger) - X
Moon’s Grocery Homer LA (steaks) – X
Crawdaddy’s Kitchen – on Mansfield road –X
El Mariachi on Barksdale blvd (Mexican) – X
El Rincon Longview - X

I forgot about this one in Minden, La. Crawfish Hole #2.

It is very good!

http://crawfishhole2.com/menu.htm

on our way to MS, we decided to give Ralph & Kacoos a shot for lunch on Friday. We were very pleased!!! We hit there around 12:30 and were seated very quickly. To dang many choices but I decided to get a bowl of gumbo and the catfish Cocodrie (1 blackened and one fried catfish fillet, covered in crawfish etoufee, served with roasted new potato quarters and some kind of rice dish (rice, veggies, creamy cheesy sauce). My wife had the shrimp trio which had fried, grilled and scampi along with the seasoned potatoes and rice dish. (forgot to take pictures of her dish).



The gumbo was fantastic, likely top 10 I have ever had. The catfish Cocodrie was very good!!! The potatoes and rice were also very good. I tried to get the seasoning recipe for the potatoes but only the lady at check out told me that they didn't share ... but said it was a combination of rosemary, 3 different types of salt, sugar and garlic. The bread and hush puppies were also very good.

on the way home, several friends (some we made while there) recommended David Beards Catfish Village in Waskom, so that was fitting for our travel schedule. We both had the lunch special of fried catfish. It came with 4 fillets on a bed of fries, brown beans and cole slaw along with hush puppies. We both thought it was just okay across the board. It was pretty bland, minimal breading without much flavor. It was not crowded, great service, quick in and out right off the side of IH20. From the one trip, I likely wouldn't recommend but maybe it was just an off day.