Channel Surfing
October 31, 2013Sources: Villavaso out at Vandebilt
November 4, 2013
By GUMBO GURU
I’m a Popeye’s chicken fan. Always have been … always will be. But I have to admit that the crispy deliciousness from this “Louisiana Kitchen” does not have the true home-style flavor I sometimes crave. So, I asked my friends and coworkers whom they thought had the best chicken in the area and multiple people insisted that the winner is Mommie Jo’s in Cut Off. So a friend and I took the drive.
“Forty minutes! What a long drive. This better be some good chicken,” I said to myself as we headed down the bayou.
Mommie Jo’s is a small establishment on the water and is easily missed – so pay attention as you drive. We twirled around, found a parking spot and were immediately greeted upon entry. We sat ourselves.
A marker board announced their lunch special of the day – shrimp fettuccine – but I was on a chicken mission and opted for a four piece ($7.95) with a side of rice dressing. My guest ordered the small seafood platter ($13.95).
The friendly waitress informed me that they make their chicken fresh, so there would be a 20-minute wait. Fresh is always worth the wait in my opinion and this entrée was no exception.
Approximately 20 minutes later a large plate of chicken and rice dressing with a piece of buttered bread was placed in front of me. The star of the show was extremely hot so I picked at the rice dressing. It was good, like a dirty rice, but paled in comparison to my first bite of chicken – hot, crispy, well-seasoned yumminess.
The meat was extremely moist and tender and there was a perfect amount of exterior crunch. My friends were right … this chicken is stupendous and had that homemade taste I desired! I had enough left over for dinner, too. Two meals for less than 10 bucks – that’s a good deal.
My guest’s small seafood platter was an avalanche waiting to happen. Catfish, jumbo shrimp, shrimp boulettes and oysters, all fried, were stacked atop a bed of soft French fries and served with a cup of gumbo.
The boulettes and oysters were the meal’s strongest points, with run-of-the-mill fries and slightly-bland gumbo the weaker links. The catfish, served thin and long, was the most filling portion of the dish and, called back memories of grandmother’s kitchen.
Unless you live in the area, Mommie Jo’s is indeed a long way to travel for a tasty meal, but if you do ever have an extra-long lunch break (carve out about two or three hours), Mommie Jo’s is worth the trip. They know what they are doing in that kitchen, especially when it comes to the fryer.
Mommie Jo’s four-piece chicken meal convinced the Gumbo Guru that the drive from Houma wasn’t a waste of time.
