Orlandeaux’s Cafe

As we prepare to leave Shreveport, I must offer a shameless plug for a cajun creole restaurant that we had the pleasure of patronizing.

The 100 year old restaurant is currently operated by the fifth generation  under the name of Orlandeaux’s Cafe. As each generation passes, the restaurant is renamed for the previous owner, in this case, Orlando was the current owners father, who passed away last year. “Choppy”, the owner, came to our table to greet us and inquire about our meal and ask where we were from. He told us the story of his father, grandfather, great grandfather and great, great uncle and the work they did to build a great restaurant under trying conditions in the south. You see, Orlandeaux’s is the oldest continuously operating restaurant in Shreveport and the longest continuously operating black owned restaurant in the country!

First of all, the location is spectacular, on the bank of Cross Lake just north of Shreveport and west of Bossier City.

Right away, you know this is gonna be good.

We were seated at a huge window overlooking the lake, and immediately ordered sweet tea and jumped into the menu. All of the meal offerings are cajun creole recipes, just what we wanted!

Donna ordered shrimp and grits and proceeded to dispose of about half of it. The servings were very generous!

True to form, I ordered shrimp creole because it’s a bit spicy.

Let’s just say I didn’t need to add hot sauce….

A delicious meal and a wonderful introduction to the South. Our server was gracious and pleasant, and brought us souvenir glasses of sweet tea to go!

If you’re ever in the area, stop at Orlandeaux’s!