Dinner in Lake Charles

Miss Karen, motel manager of the 'in bankruptcy' Suites we were staying at, who was a delightful lady beside the circumstances, suggested Pat's of Henderson as a place to dine. It has both sea food and steaks, with a Lake Charles flavor. See my partner in road tripping does not go for sea food and I do. Using the Garmin to direct us, even though Miss Karen had given us excellent directions, we motored off on US 171 south. Garmin was correct but I over shot the left turn, actually a frontage road along I 210, and had to drive an extra two blocks before U turning when safe to do. Now it is a right onto the frontage road and true enough there is Pat's of Henderson with a full parking lot. We some how parked right by the entrance walk, that is a good sign because it means the early birds are leaving. As we enter the Host asks “how many?”“Two” we reply.“Follow me, please” his response.In this virtually every seat filled restaurant, we are directed to a table set for four, two setting quickly removed as we sat down. Our waiter, who is from Lake Charles, has also lived in Gainesville, FL and Portland, OR. He explained what Etouffee was and how it was used in Lake Charles cooking. What his favorite dishes were and “Yes” this was certainly local and “Yes” the seasoning on the table was their proprietary seasoning and “Yes” it was in virtually every dish they prepared. Den ordered the chicken gumbo and I the deep fried cat fish with a baked yam as a side. First to arrive was a standard green salad with one cherry tomato and two slices of cucumber. Then the moment we waited for, both Dennis and I felt we had each ordered the best thing on the menu when we were served and tasted our meals. The gumbo was spiced appropriately with a leg, Onduee sausage and a bowl of rice on the side. After a couple of sips, the entire rice bowl entered the rest of the gumbo. My cat fish was coated in a light floury coating, with the proprietary seasoning, the baked yam, with cinnamon and sugar to sprinkle on after splinting it open and putting a pat of butter in. Oh, there was about a quarter bound of butter pats on the table when we arrived, my kind of place Paula. I did end the meal with piece of Pecan pie that was made with broken pecans and just the right amount of sweet filling. I liked the broken pecans better.We were done and returned to our suite.