[CH] Good Cajun food in Wichita (and a new sauce too!)
Jonathan T. Smillie (jsmillie@protix.com)
Mon, 12 Oct 1998 21:10:09 -0500
Friends,
Having just discovered probably the most chile-headed place in Wichita,
Kansas, I have to share it with the list. The embers are still glowing in
my tummy even as I type...
Having been in Wichita for a week and discovering nothing to really
entertain a chile-head (the one hot sauce shop I could find had closed), I
was on the point of giving up (leaving tomorrow) when I made a dinner
appointment with a friend. He'd been told by the folks I was working with
that I liked "spicy" stuff, so he took me to a new Cajun place on Kellogg
(one of the main suburban drags). The place is called Red Bean's Bayou
Grill, and it's good. My friend Don vouched for the owner, who had had a
place downtown for a while, and I wasn't disappointed. We both had creole-
I had crawfish tails and Don had chicken. Can't speak for his, but mine was
excellent- thick and hearty with lots of crawfish, celery, tomato and
spices. I asked for the heat to be jacked up, and I got it - a nice,
sit-up-and-take-notice cayenne glow in the first bite that didn't abate
till I gave up, bloated, halfway through a portion that could
single-handedly have relieved hunger in Africa.
And just in case that wasn't enough, the waitress brought us a bottle of
"Cajun Rush Infinite Heat" sauce. Ingredients: Cayenne, Asian and Habanero
peppers with vinegar, onion, garlic, capsaicin [I'm assuming this means
"extract"], herbs and spices.After tasting it, I put a little- there wasn't
need for much- in one side of the plate and mixed it in; the results were
phenomenal. A significantly higher heat level with the distinctive habanero
glow, and the slight tang of extract in the sauce tasted alone wasn't
evident at all when mixed into the creole. Needless to say, I bought a
bottle for the home collection...
The details on the restaurant (usual disclaimers, just one VERY satisfied
customer):
Red Bean's Bayou Grill
7088 E. Kellogg
Wichita KS 67207
(316) 687-1778
Definitely worth a visit if you're in town!
Jonathan