225BatonRouge.com - Blogs

Beautiful meatballs and Italian sausage! They are the signature dish at Monjunis in the Goodwood Village Shopping Center. This neighborhood restaurant has reasonable prices and big portions. The corner location is decorated appropriately for an Italian bistro, with bunches of grapes throughout, including the ceiling. There is a small outdoor dining area that is enjoyable in the fall or spring. The wait staff is efficient and friendly.

Monjunis’ red sauce is unique. It has a sweet taste that is delightful. If, however, this is not your choice of sauces, a traditional tomato basil sauce is available. Also, the “D” word (diet) is considered, and for those of you watching your waistlines, sugar buster pasta is an option. That, of course, was not an option for me, as I am trying to gain all of my weight back to continue riding on the roller coaster of loss and gain. I would not want to put Tailoring By Ting out of business.

Monjunis also features appetizers that include a lightly sautéed eggplant with roasted sweet peppers and Cajun tomato shrimp cheese toast. The Monjunis chopped salad, with Genoa salami, cheese and Italian olive mix is big enough for several people. Side Italian and Caesar salads are available for individual diners. The lasagna potions are massive. The shrimp aurora contains more pasta than one person can eat, topped with shrimp and cheese and a combination of alfredo and original sauces. For po-boys, the French bread is crisp and loaded with meatballs, lean ham and provolone cheese, hot pastrami, Italian sausage or, in the New Orleans tradition, hot roast beet dressed with gravy. As you can tell, I had a good dining experience at a fair price.

Another fine dining establishment has taken root south of LSU. Tigre’s, in the Kenilworth Shopping Center, offers South Louisiana cooking at its best. The appetizer menus features bacon wrapped sea scallops, jumbo gulf shrimp, jumbo lump Louisiana crab cakes, Creole corn and crab bisque and southwestern BBQ duck nachos. Now, it is hard to imagine an appetizer menu in Nebraska with these items

Each evening the chef features a fresh fish special. The other main course dishes continue the south Louisiana cooking tradition with a pan seared duck breast, soft shell crab, crabmeat stuffed redfish and southern style BBQ shrimp. The food is very good. The wait staff is understanding and efficient. When we spilled a glass of red wine, they did not miss a beat in cleaning up and not criticizing. It was much appreciated and helped the pain and embarrassment. Tigre’s earned a “Comeback” star from the Secret Gourmet.