Camile's Cajun Cafe (Port Allen, LA)

[Jason Perlow]

Camile's Cajun Cafe

12717 Hwy 190 W, Port Allen, LA 70767

Phone: (225) 627-4009

Restaurant exterior

Green salad with avocado and crab (Rachel)

Sweet cornmeal hushpuppies with honey butter

Interior of Hushpuppies

Boudin Balls

Interior of Boudin Balls, they were kind of like dirty rice.

Chargrilled Shrimp with Seafood Stuffed Baked Potato (Rachel)

Fried Seafood Combo (Mayhaw Man)

Tray o'boiled shrimp (Jason) before

Tray o'boiled shrimp (Jason) after

Restaurant interior just before closing

Locally caught stuffed aligator is part of the charm

Is everyplace decorated for Christmas already or is a year long thing?

Camille herself

Edited November 24, 2003 by Rachel Perlow (log)

[Rachel Perlow]

Mayhaw Man was all excited to return, and bring us, to Joe's Dreyfus Store Restaurant (2731 Maringouin Rd W, Livonia, LA 70755, Phone: (225) 637-2625), one of his family's favorite places. Unfortunately, they changed their hours after daylight savings and currently close at 8 PM instead of 9, as it said in the guide book. We arrived at 8:15 and were turned away. However, one of the waitresses, who recognized our intrepid tour guide, sent us down the road a piece to Camile's.

At first Brooks didn't recall this restaurant, but as we pulled into the parking lot he remembered bringing his children there a couple years back. I'm sure Joe's would have been good, but I'm very glad we ended up where we did. Fresh seafood, simply prepared, was just what we were in the mood for. The spice in Jason's boiled shrimp crept up on him to a pleasant burn. The tartar sauce accompanying everything seemed homemade, with large chunks of vegetables among the mayonaisse based sauce. I loved the sweet and crunchy cornmeal hushpuppies and my chargrilled shrimp.

Camile herself chatted with us and explained her restaurant's philosophy, that "we're making the kind of food people can make for themselves. They come here when they don't want to dirty the kitchen. So it better be real good to make it worth having boiled shrimp at a restaurant." It is Camile, it is.

[Jason Perlow]

I really, really liked this place. I'm not sure if its the beat up and extremely casual atmosphere (read, "dive") but I fell in love with Camille's. The fried stuff was certainly top notch, and it had some of the best hush puppies I have had in my entire life, but the big tray of shrimp boil was exactly what I needed after driving around cajun country all day with Rachel and Mayhaw Man.

BTW, in regards to the christmas tree -- its up all year round and is decrorated for different holidays. You'll notice that it is decorated as a Thanksgiving tree. She also decorates it for Mardi Gras, easter and a few other holidays.