Good food, friendly setting a sure hit

Good food, friendly setting a sure hit. Everyone has that sure-bet place to meet friends or take guests. Its cozy environs, friendly staff and consistent menu can be counted on to please palates and make everyone feel at home.

Danny and Julie Bilello’s Cafe in downtown Houma is just such a place.

Granted, the small cornerstone is easy to miss – the only indication you’ve arrived is the tiny green sign that juts out from the corner of the white brick building. And although downtown parking can sometimes be a hassle, Bilello’s has its own lot on the other side of its free-standing wall.

Once you pass through the glass door into the dining area and bar, you’re immediately transported into a cozy neighborhood eatery.

Bilello’s atmosphere is quite simply comfortable. The black and white checkered tile is suggestive of an Italian joint, while the exposed brick walls reflect a more up-to-date diner.

Tables are comfortably spaced to allow small or large groups to share the dining room without feeling like your space is being invaded by passersby. It is an ideal location for friendly get-togethers or business lunches.

The friendly staff is quick to help you to a table or booth – or Bilello’s has outside dining overlooking the bayou that runs behind the cafe. Summer daytime temperatures make the deck a limited option, but nights are ideal, especially when the sounds of Downtown Live After 5 can be heard wafting down the bayou.

The staff is more than accommodating in describing dishes and helping suggest alternatives in the case of food allergies. In the age of big chain restaurants, it’s a nice change of pace to have wait staff that is familiar with the various dishes.

Bilello’s had long been a favorite lunch place. The cafe offers a litany of sandwich choices that are second to none. Home-cooked roast beef, Jerome’s meatball and mozzarella and the oven-roasted vegetables po-boy are recent favorites. The seafood sandwiches, hamburgers, BLT and club have also earned high praise.

Sandwiches are available on toast, bun, 9-grain bread or po-boy buns and range from $4.95 to $8.95, depending on the size.

Bilello’s also cooks up chicken and sausage or shrimp and crab gumbos ($4.29 per cup or $6.50 per bowl) that were hits with all at the table. A hearty meal unto itself, the gumbo is a great addition to one of Bilello’s sandwiches.

For those eating on the lighter side, Bilello’s salads are both filling and delicious. The chef salad ($7.95) is topped with ham, cheese and turkey and the spinach, mushroom and bacon salad (also $7.95) is great with the house dressing.

Diners can have any salad topped with fried or grilled chicken, shrimp or tuna. And when it’s available, Bilello’s faithful speak highly of the lump crabmeat remolaude ($14.95) and shrimp and lump crabmeat remolaude ($17.95).

For our evening meal, we tried the fried chicken strips ($5.95) and hot tamale balls ($5.95).

The strips were cooked to a light, golden brown, well-seasoned and quite juicy, much like the fried chicken itself. Teamed with a honey-mustard dipping sauce, the strips were quickly devoured. The hot tamale balls, although not too spicy, were equally enjoyable.

Dinner included Bilello’s meatballs and angel hair pasta ($9.95) and the hamburger steak ($8.95). Our guests, both south Louisiana seafood fans, enjoyed the sauteed vegetables with broiled shrimp and pasta ($13.85) and Pasta Yvette ($16.95), a house specialty, which included sauteed shrimp and lump crabmeat on angel hair pasta ($16.95).

Each of the dishes included a small salad and a side dish – in our case, vegetables, smothered potatoes and sweet potato fries.

Our diners were very complimentary of the food. It is worth noting, each of us had ample servings and left with “to-go boxes” in tow.

Although Bilello’s menu is not tremendously adventurous, the cafe’s owners smartly offer dishes they’ve mastered. And the selection covers all the bases, providing chicken, seafood and beef dishes.

It’s worth noting that Bilello’s Cafe does include a number of other entrees. In addition to fried shrimp ($8.95), oysters ($8.95) and catfish ($8.95), the restaurant sells an 8-ounce filet mignon steak ($16.95) and broiled flounder ($13.95).

Another variation on the flounder – stuffed with shrimp and crab dressing – sells for $17.95.

A note to parents: the choices for children ages 12 and under is limited – chicken strips and fries ($4.95), kid-size meatball and spaghetti ($4.95) and fried shrimp and fries ($5.95) – but that covers the most frequent food choices.

A large variety of American and import beers from the bar are also available to accompany your meal.

Although our most recent visit left everyone too full to consider dessert, previous visits were reserved for just such treats.

Bilello’s Cafe does desserts to savor. An eraser board near the front door announces the day’s selection. And it’s not uncommon to find a carrot cake, decadent chocolate creation or brownie tempting diners from under a glass-covered cake dish atop the bar.

Our favorite guilty pleasure: the hot brownie covered in hot chocolate and covered with vanilla ice cream. Bilello’s Cafe’s cheesecake makes the trip well worth it, too.

A favorite downtown stop, Bilello’s Cafe also accepts faxed orders and prepares special orders for events. Give them a try on your next visit to the area.

Bilello’s Café 7913 Main St. Downtown Houma (985) 872-2220 Fax: 876-5838 Hours Monday: 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday: 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday and Saturday: 10 a.m.-10 p.m.