TaD's Louisiana Cooking - CE Score: 18.5

Culinary Esquire - The B/CS Restaurant guide

FIRST IMPRESSION:- This place looks Big from the outside! Nice décor outside makes you eager to see what's in store inside, loving the patio feature of the restaurant; I can picture a jazz band playing.

DRINKS: The drink I had on the most recent visit, a Blueberry Cucumber Martini, was very tasty and refreshing. One of our favorite go to drinks/desserts was the Mudslide. We've ordered this several times and sometimes it can have an overly alcoholic flavor but if you ask them to "pour it right" it will be more like a milkshake than an alcoholic beverage making it great for an after dinner treat. It is sizeable so it's great to share. It was disappointing that they did not have any blue cheese olives in stock for one of my favorite drinks, a Dirty Martini. Some of the drinks I ordered (The Witchy Woman, Swamp Water) were a bit strong drowning out most of the flavor of the drink.

MENU SELECTION: Very nice menu selection and many enticing dishes are going to make you want to come back to try them all. The Crawfish Queso was the perfect choice for a traditional appetizer selection. It was served at the perfect temperature and full of flavors that give you a Texas experience with a Cajun flare because of the pieces of crawfish inside. The cheese remained smooth and velvety until we finished it off. Then we ordered the Fried Duck. At first, we were disappointed because it appeared slightly overcooked due to the coloring of the batter, (likely from being left in the fryer for just a little bit longer than needed). However, it was a good surprise when we bit into it because it was not a super gamey taste and it was not overly dry (had they taken it out a little sooner it would have been even more moist and cooked to perfection). Regardless I really enjoyed it. The complex batter was very interesting and quite delicious, making this a must try to experience the uniqueness of this appetizer. Crawfish Bisque took a bit of time to get but was seasoned and crafted wonderfully, the only thing missing was some garnish for color (either parsley or green onion) that would have made this dish perfect. We also tried the Fried Alligator but we plan on doing a blind taste test video in the future so stay tuned. In regards to the Popcorn Shrimp we had, this is a great choice for a basic dish. It had a nice fry job but we didn't taste any seasoning in the batter, so someone that doesn't want anything too spicy may find this enjoyable.

A few things to note: We've visited TaD's a few times. One visit during crawfish season, I ordered 2lbs of Crawfish and they were not purged (process of leaving the live crawfish in water to expel their waste), so this was unexpected and disappointing. Every other place I've gotten crawfish this was not an issue. Also, just so you are not shocked when you visit, the sauce served with the food will be in plastic cups. This is due to the COVID restrictions that were in place when they opened. So, while not a visually pleasing addition, just recognize the reason.

DINING AREA IMPRESSION: The layout inside is nearly split between the bar and dining area nearly 50/50. This made the dining section seem small to us, but they also have the patio and a separate room so there are several dining area options. We also noticed that there are very few booth tables available in the main dining area. The décor is directed towards the Texas A&M Aggie market but overall is minimalistic. Whereas some other restaurants will pull you into an environment/ Cajun experience, making you feel like you are stepping into the French Quarter, you don't get that here.

OVERALL: This was a very nice place to eat and bring the family; the food was great and there are many dishes to choose from that will keep you coming back; there were some minor issues with the food but they are not "deal breakers"; priced a little high so come prepared to spend. This is a nice take on Cajun cuisine bringing Louisiana to you!

WHAT THEY DID RIGHT: - Queso was on point, Mudslide was amazing

SCORING:

3.5⭐Atmosphere - clean and simple but not necessarily a full Cajun experience

3 ⭐Price - We feel it's overpriced due to the overall lack of "Cajun experience" feel and average service, atmosphere and some minor issues with the food here and there.

4⭐Food - Good quality, tasteful, only minor issues with food

3.5⭐Service - Service was average not exceptional

4.5 ⭐Guide's choice - Queso was arguably the best in town and Mudslide was fantastic

TOTAL = 18.5 ⭐ OVERALL CE Score

GAMBLE OUTCOME: Win

We always say that trying new places is like a gamble, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.

ABOUT THIS RATING: To give our rating the most objective weight we use 5 areas to score the restaurant: atmosphere, price, food, service and Guide's choice. The maximum score in each area is 5 stars for a possible total score of 25 stars. Because most review sites use a 5 star rating system we then divide our total score by 5.

Therefore,

21-25 stars = 5 stars 16-20 stars = 4 stars 11-15 stars = 3 stars 6-10 stars = 2 stars 1-5 stars = 1 star

Our experience here was just a snapshot in time and in no way reflects your experience when you visit. As always your "results" or experience may vary.

Website: TaD's Louisiana Cooking