The Creole Thing

I dropped by early on Friday (stewed-chicken day) for shrimp creole (Wednesday's special), a wonderful, everything-in-the-pot sloppy stew of chunky tomatoes, onions, peppers and about a dozen competing spices dressing up lots of whole shrimp and another mound of white rice sprinkled with dried-parsley dandruff. And when I couldn't sit another minute in that doomed dining room, I ordered another couple of po' boys for the road -- grilled chicken this time, and fried shrimp doused with Red Hot. On my way to the car, I ran afoul of a panhandler in front of the Newhouse Hotel. He wanted money; I told him I had none. He said he was hungry; I told him he was talking to the right guy. I gave him the chicken po' boy and all those awful fries.

The other po' boy went on the seat beside me, flavoring every breath of my drive like an Emeril Lagasse-brand rearview-mirror air freshener. I cracked open the box before I was halfway home and started sucking down shrimp parts like a misguided killer whale at an all-you-can-eat seafood buffet. I couldn't help myself. Before I made the highway, I was staring sadly into another empty roll and licking hot sauce off my fingers.

Mark Manger

The big uneasy: The food at Broussard's Creole Cafe is a small miracle -- but the restaurant's too large.

Location Info

Map

Broussard Creole Cafe

233 E. Colfax Ave.
Denver, CO 80203-1715

Category: Restaurant >

Region: Central Denver

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Details

233 East Colfax Avenue, 303-861-0931. Hours: 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m. daily

Red beans and rice: $7.50
Jambalaya: $6.50
Crawfish étouffée: $7.50/$3 (side)
Shrimp creole: $7.50
Gumbo: $6.99
Po’ boys: $5.50-$7.50

Closed Location

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More About

• Joel Broussard
• Girls Gone Wild
• Emeril Lagasse
• North-American Food and Cooking
• Eating Out

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I thought about going back to Broussard's for a second round. I even gave passing consideration to turning my car toward the heat and steamy passions of a Big Easy springtime, but decided that twenty hours on the road for a crawfish sandwich seemed a bit extreme. Instead, I headed for home. I had a can of Café du Monde in my cupboard, some ragtime piano jazz on CD, and for $19.95, I could order my own copy of Girls Gone Wild. Tomorrow, I figured, and for as long as it manages to hang on, the kitchen at Broussard's could take care of the rest.