Cuisine Scene: Cajun

There’s something about Cajun food that just naturally makes you smile. Maybe it’s the many layers of flavor and spice, perhaps it’s because it is a cuisine that you can, quite literally, dig your hands into or, just maybe, it’s because it so wonderfully lends itself to being shared with friends and family. Long Beach has plenty of great Cajun restaurants, serving all your favorites–po’ boys, crawfish–with some unexpected twists–gumbo fries, anyone? Here’s a few spots to explore and find your Cajun happy place.

SAL’S GUMBO SHACK

LOUISIANA CHARLIE’S

Celebrating its 10 year anniversary, Louisiana Charlie’s (429 Shoreline Village Dr.) is located in Shoreline Village, where it’s been serving some of the best Cajun food in the city with some of the best views of both city and harbor. It serves Cajun and Creole favorites such as seafood boils, po’boy sandwiches, etouffee, dirty red beans and smoked Southern-style barbecue. It also features shareables like gumbo fries–gumbo with shrimp and sausage served on a bed of Cajun fries with cheese–as well as fried frog legs.

THE CAJUN CRAB

CRAB SHACK

This Downtown destination focuses on Cajun seafood with an emphasis, as the name would suggest, on crab–dungeness, king and snow. Yes, at the Crab Shack (601 E Broadway) there are crab cakes, along with popular snow crab legs, even a Crab Shack Burger that combines snow and king crab meat on a brioche bun with red pepper, coleslaw and a house Cajun mayo. There are also lobster tails and crawfish along with both raw and fried oysters. If you’re in a hurry, there’s Crab Shack Express (325 The Promenade N).

About the Author
Steve Lowery
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