The Moody Foodie

The Moody Foodie Have a restaurant you’d like me to review? Let me know and I’ll see if I can get around to it. Eventually. If I feel like it. It’ll probably suck, but meh?

Holy moly it sure has been a minute or two hasn’t it!? I could waste your time further, but I know what you’re here for,...
07/18/2024

Holy moly it sure has been a minute or two hasn’t it!? I could waste your time further, but I know what you’re here for, so let’s get this show rolling once again!

You ever have that one building that just can’t seem to keep a business in it? Like every year or so there’s someone else in there and it never really just sticks? Well, the locals in Thibodaux just so happen to have such a building, and that potentially cursed building is now occupied by Jude’s Hot Chicken and Shrimp. The question here is simple. Do they have what it takes to exorcize that place, or will they leave my head spinning full 360 style?

The name says it all. Chicken and Shrimp made by a guy named Jude at at least some point (unless they’re just coming out the gate lying). The menu is simple, and I appreciate that. Especially for up and coming restaurants. To me it means they know what they do well so I should be able to confidently order anything and get a good idea of what they’re working with. They even went so far as to naming one of their chicken sandwiches The Jude. Sold. Also put me down for some shrimp (cause at that point I’ve purchased the whole name) and some mac and cheese because why the hell not and let’s get going. I was in a hurry so I got it to go, but the staff I did interact with were very friendly. Not a deal breaker either way within reason, but I know some of you will care about that sort of stuff.

Overall, the food was rather good.

I made one slight change to my “Jude” and got it with their Nashville hot honey sauce cause I realized I was missing the “hot”, and in the end I think it was a good call. It was spicy with a purpose. I wasn’t just getting kicked in the teeth for the sake of the word hot, and to me that means they know how to properly season their food which is great because if you’re selling someone food it shouldn’t really be a tall order for them to not have to season it theirselves. It would have probably been too hot for a kiddo (get the sauce on the side if you’re worried) but I personally wouldn’t buy anything with the word “hot” in it for someone not ready for that kind of thing.

The shrimp were good too. The batter sticks to them sort of like coconut shrimp batter, but they don’t taste like coconut shrimp if that makes sense. I preferred the chicken, but I’d eat the shrimp again too. I could have taken or left the mac and cheese and fries, but they aren’t in the name, so I guess I can cut them some slack on that. Don’t go to a chicken and shrimp place expecting the best mac and cheese or fries you’ve ever had is a realistic expectation.

I don’t normally mention this, but with fast food costing damn near as much as a sit down restaurant these days I think it’s fair to also mention that their portion sizes were great for what I paid (which was right over $40 for 3 people). Everyone was stuffed and we even have a bit to snack on later tonight or tomorrow.

With all of that said, I think Jude’s Hot Chicken and Shrimp has what it takes to stay around if they can keep quality up to this standard as time goes by. They MAY even dethrone my current favorite chicken sandwich in Thibodaux once the dust settles. As of now the jury is still out on that, but I will for sure be going back to Jude’s to test their consistency. Until then, feel free to give them a try and tell me what you think here.

The Moody Foodie is back…

Preliminary Review of Vic’s Touchdown GrillQuick apology for the content delay. Life’s been a bit busy.I like “hole in t...
06/20/2018

Preliminary Review of Vic’s Touchdown Grill

Quick apology for the content delay. Life’s been a bit busy.

I like “hole in the wall” restaurants. The clear hit or miss factor is rather intriguing to me. There are few that don’t either have an amazing signature item or don’t deserve to take your hard earned money. Let’s see if Vic’s follows that trend.

Overall, the restaurant and decor are clearly dated. That isn’t a bad thing on its own, but I figure it worth mentioning when a restaurant doesn’t remodel in 20+ years, and that is clearly the case here. As per recommendation of a local, I was told their specialty is their roast beef gravy, so I of course ordered a roast beef poboy with a side of sweet potato fries.

My order was taken in a timely manner and I had no issue there. Timely refills, friendly staff, etc.. Nothing out of the ordinary for a properly maintained restaurant, but that’s seeming to become more rare, so good on them based purely on the sad fact that good service is uncommon these days.

The sweet potato fries were quite good. I wish they had a cinnamon butter or something of that equivalent to dip them, but they were done very well.

The poboy was mixed for me, but overall good. The bread was not pinnacle NOLA poboy bread. It was more common and chewy French Bread like you can consistently get from your local grocer. Not bad, but not good. The roast beef, toppings, and condiments fell into that area as well. The stand out was easily the recommended roast beef gravy.

The gravy wasn’t this culinary masterpiece you may be expecting me to analyze in detail. It was much more simple than that. The gravy tasted like it was made by a well loved family member that everyone knows makes a good gravy. What made it so impressive was it was its “simple perfection” if that makes sense. Vic (if that’s the current owner) has been putting his soul into this gravy for years and years and that is perfectly translated in their gravy. It was the single driving force in pushing this from being simply well managed to being impressive.

Overall, Vic’s didn’t really didn’t stand out to me aside from the roast beef gravy, but didn’t do anything directly bad either. I’ll see if that changes next visit, but I have a feeling this place is a consistent local restaurant with a good roast beef gravy.

06/18/2018

Had a busy Father’s Day week.

2 reviews coming up soon. I just haven’t had a chance to put them down on paper yet.

06/11/2018

I’m “Down the Bayou” today. I’m thinking I’ll be reviewing a rather well known local Chinese buffet.....

Preliminary Review of Big Mike’s BBQ (Houma Location)Under the recommendation of Collette Smith, I decided to give this ...
06/11/2018

Preliminary Review of Big Mike’s BBQ (Houma Location)

Under the recommendation of Collette Smith, I decided to give this place a try while in the Houma area.

The location spews southern and BBQ heritage (in a good way) complete with customer signed walls and was packed upon arrival, but my order was still taken with care and in a timely manner. I decided on a pulled pork plate with macaroni and cheese (a new menu item), sweet corn on the cob, and a link of pork boudin (which I had added to the meal). Nothing out of the ordinary for a BBQ restaurant in the south. Price with a drink was right under $14. Not bad at all for sit down. That’s comparable to National chain Americana in regards to cost.

Because there were quite a few, I’m going to tackle the sides first.

The corn was quite good. It was sweet enough to not necessarily need butter, and had the nice fresh texture and flavor I was hoping for. The macaroni wasn’t bad either, though it wasn’t all that memorable past that. The boudin (which is purchased from a 3rd party and grilled on site) had the perfect “snap” when bitten into. The texture was perfect. The boudin itself could have been better, but it was grilled perfectly. Unfortunately, that’s where the good part of this review ends.

The pulled pork was rather dry. I’m not talking about a personal preference tolerable dry either. I’m talking about a had to be sauced twice to make it edible kind of dry. The bark and smoke/seasoning flavors were decent, but with pulled pork that dry, they better be. BBQ restaurants often struggle with keeping product consistent throughout the day. It’s something that separates a good BBQ restaurant from a mediocre or bad one, and I will acknowledge that it’s a rather difficult task, but one that must be addressed.

Unfortunately, Big Mikes BBQ (Houma Location) fell short with me. The sides and boudin were not enough to cover the faux pas of serving such a dry pulled pork, but I do two visits for bad/off days though, so let’s hope that my next review of the Houma Location is more similar to what the locals claim it to be.

06/11/2018

In Houma for a cheapish supper. Any recommendations?

Preliminary review of Off the Hook (Thibodaux Location)Went in for lunch after some yard work. They had some crazy AC ro...
06/08/2018

Preliminary review of Off the Hook (Thibodaux Location)

Went in for lunch after some yard work. They had some crazy AC roof leak going on, but other than the floor being a bit wet that didn’t seem to phase their employees. Good on them for working through it.

The cashier recommended the meal pictured, but the meal pictured is NOT actually a meal readily available there, and purchasing it as seen (a poboy with a side sized portion of turf gumbo) with NO drink was still over $15! Making a cup sized quantity of gumbo one of your included side options (of which there are MANY) would not break any hypothetical banks guys. One of the reasons gumbo is so common in these parts is due to its ability to feed lots of people without spending lots of money.

Anyway, so I handed them my kidney as payment and went sit at my table. The food was brought to me rather than having to get up when my name was called or anything like that, and I thought that was nice (especially given the immediate circumstance of a wet floor).

The gumbo was rather good, but overall wasn’t very memorable among the many gumbos that local area has to offer. It was definitely worth eating though. I would get it again provided the price was more realistic.

Missing kidney aside, the poboy was easily the star of the show here. I had to ask after my second bite. As I had figured, their bread is 100% New Orleans French bread from the source. We aren’t talking some knock off or even 2 day old sitters. We’re talking same day, crispy on the outside, buttery and chewy on the inside Louisiana perfection. So we have the perfect edible shell. Onto the inside... The shrimp weren’t the typical popcorn sized little bits most poboys have. You know what I’m talking about. They’re typically overstuffed onto the bun and fall off into the condiment and toppings mess created when eating a shrimp poboy. No. These shrimp were boiling sized. Real deal select fried shrimp on a poboy was something I wasn’t expecting at all. The result was great. There was enough batter to taste the seasonings and enough shrimp that said seasonings didn’t mask the flavor of the shrimp. I definitely wanted more shrimp in the end, but I think that was mostly my nostalgic memories of having extra shrimp after finishing poboys of the past.

If that was too long to read, shame on you and your inability to enjoy finely written food descriptions, but I’m saying the poboy was excellent!

Overall, I’m looking forward to my next visit to Off the Hook. The food was good to great. I’ll just need to scrape up some cash before going again. I’m told I need that other kidney...

06/08/2018

Alright, I’ll be in Thibodaux today...

What’s for lunch? I’m thinking something with some local flair.....

06/08/2018

Here we go. I’m finally on FaceBook. Let the reviewing begin!

I’ve changed things up a bit, I will now be reviewing restaurants after TWO visits (I’m a rather generous man, and understand that everyone (except me) has an off day every now and then). This will be separated by a preliminary review and a closing review. The closing review will be added to the original posted review, and be abbreviated before being added to the establishments Facebook and other media outlets reviews.

These reviews are not a joke! I buy all of the food I’m reviewing, and remain anonymous to avoid any chance at favoritism. If your food sucks, that’s not my fault. If it deserves praise, I assure it will get it!

My reviews are based predominantly on the food itself, but if any outliers at a restaurant deserve mention I will surely share those tidbits of info as well, and if they’re incredibly bad or amazingly good they may alter my rating.

I feel obligated at this point to say that these reviews are of course my own personal opinions, and while I personally believe they should be equivalent to “food law”, I have no such means to make such an amazing thing into reality (but my God wouldn’t that be amazing!?).

Address

102 E Bayou Rd.
Thibodaux, LA
70301

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