De' Essence of New Orleans

[MarketStEl]

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania recently cut the ribbon on a major, much-anticipated widening of State Route 291 through Chester. This highway runs from South Philadelphia past Philadelphia International Airport through a string of industrial communities that line the Delaware between Philadelphia and the Delaware state line.

Amidst the refineries, defense aviation plants, port terminals, paper mills, power stations and other assorted flotsam and jetsam, one finds an occasional place to eat. Most of these places serve everyday fare for working folk: hoagies, burgers, steaks, chicken and assorted diner fare. Ever since Walber's, the waterside restaurant and motel in Tinicum Township, closed, there's been no real reason to seek out any of the places that dot this highway for interesting food.

That's not the case any more. In perhaps the least likely spot ever for such a place to exist, a little piece of New Orleans has taken root in the shadow of the Commodore Barry Bridge:

Thanks to the road-widening project, it's real easy to get to De' Essence of New Orleans, which sits right smack on Route 291--or, as it's known in most of Delaware County, Industrial Highway.

Amid the battered landscape of Chester's West End, which, like the rest of this faded industrial hub, has obviously seen much better days, De' Essence, like its namesake city, offers a splash of color in a place that could use lots of it.

The surroundings

The restaurant

The restaurant is owned by a couple by the name of Wade, native New Orleanians who have relatives in Chester. When Hurricane Katrina drove them from their home, their relatives invited them to move up here, and to keep their spirits up, they decided to do something they knew well: cook.

The restaurant occupies what was once a lunch counter for local factory workers, and it retains much of its original appearance. They have decorated the place with postcards and pictures of the Big Easy and laminated clippings from the area press, which reported widely on the opening of this place.

The woman in the center is "Pinky" Wade, the co-owner.

The menu is small but offers many Cajun/Creole staples.

As it turns out, some of the items listed as "specials of the day" on the right are available other days of the week as well. Perhaps I should have asked whether they served crawfish etouffé, mentioned in their ad in The Chester Spotlight but nowhere to be found on the menu; I might have been as pleasantly surprised as my dining companion who found out that yes, they did have red beans and rice--Monday's and Wednesday's daily special--on Thursday.

Unfortunately, they did not have the other Wednesday special, the gumbo, which my other dining companion wanted to try.

As for me? Well, this is Philly, where we know sandwiches, so I had to try one of the few sandwiches with as much lore surrounding it as the hoagie, the po' boy. (I've actually had them before--I'd eaten my share in the summer of 1978, which I spent selling dictionaries door-to-door in New Orleans.)

Alas, I was to have only half the experience. They had plenty of shrimp, but no French bread, so my po' boy came out on a Kaiser roll.

Companion Number One had better luck with her red beans and rice:

but Companion Number Two got less jambalaya than he bargained for.

Apparently, our waitress got some wires crossed when we ordered, for she brought out a side-dish portion of jambalaya rather than a main-dish one. If they allow this to be done with all their main dishes, this could be the basis for a great Cajun/Creole tapas meal, for the side dishes are all $1.50.

Both my companions noted a relative lack of sausage in their dishes. Pinky explained that this was because they had been having problems obtaining the right sausage. Back in the Big Easy, they had a favorite supplier of andouille. The supplier's plant (and I imagine their place in NO) was in the Lower Ninth Ward, which, as we all know, got wiped out by the flood in Katrina's wake. The company has finally resumed sausage-making at a new site in Metairie, in suburban Jefferson Parish, and her husband was able to snare a small quantity on a recent trip home. I guess they are rationing this precious commodity carefully until they can be assured of a steady supply.

'Twas a pity, for all the flavors rang true. The shrimp in the shrimp po' boy had just a bit of a bite, and the red beans and rice were hearty and well-seasoned. The jambalaya had less of a tomatoey flavor than I had been used to in my own, which was good; it would have benefited from more of that sausage. The French fries were "Cajun fries," lightly sprinkled with Cajun seasoning, an unexpected treat. They were also pretty good as fries go, but were Holly to try these, he would still have to continue his quest for the perfect Philly fry.

Of course, it wouldn't be a New Orleans-style eatery without Louisiana hot sauce, and there were bottles of several different brands at the tables and counter. Our table had two:

However, one of them came from a place much further away than Louisiana.

Their main dishes offer a lot for a little: most menu items are under $10, and the $7.50 daily specials come with two sides (except on Monday and Wednesday).

The owner is very friendly and the rest of the crew pleasant, even if they kept telling us they were out of what we asked for. If they can get the supply chain working better and work out a few kinks in the service, the Wades could have a little gem of a hole-in-the-wall restaurant on their hands, something maybe even worth trekking down Route 291 and dodging the truck traffic to visit. Unfortunately, this being Chester, it's not a place you can visit for dinner, though.

De' Essence of New Orleans

1000 West Second Street (at Lloyd)

Chester, PA 19013

610-874-1505

Noon to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday

Nearest SEPTA service: Bus Route 113 from 69th Street Terminal, Darby Transportation Center or Chester Transportation Center to Third and Lloyd streets. The restaurant is one block towards the river, at Second.

[aaronwcpa]

Excellent report. Sounds intriguing. We spent a week in New Orleans in 1999 and fondly remember the experience, we hit many of the popular places and some off the beaten track. This place sounds quirky enough to be worth a long drive although its seven o'clock closing is not very encouraging.

[Rich Pawlak]

DDC worthy?

[MarketStEl]

I'd say they're worth a try, even with the minor disappointments. It'd have to be an early meal, though. No alcohol served, and I don't know if they'd let us bring our own. I could always ask.

[Andrew B Hurvitz]

Great report Sandy. I wish them well in their new venture.

Andrew

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania recently cut the ribbon on a major, much-anticipated widening of State Route 291 through Chester.  This highway runs from South Philadelphia past Philadelphia International Airport through a string of industrial communities that line the Delaware between Philadelphia and the Delaware state line.

Amidst the refineries, defense aviation plants, port terminals, paper mills, power stations and other assorted flotsam and jetsam, one finds an occasional place to eat.  Most of these places serve everyday fare for working folk: hoagies, burgers, steaks, chicken and assorted diner fare.  Ever since Walber's, the waterside restaurant and motel in Tinicum Township, closed, there's been no real reason to seek out any of the places that dot this highway for interesting food.

That's not the case any more.  In perhaps the least likely spot ever for such a place to exist, a little piece of New Orleans has taken root in the shadow of the Commodore Barry Bridge:

Thanks to the road-widening project, it's real easy to get to De' Essence of New Orleans, which sits right smack on Route 291--or, as it's known in most of Delaware County, Industrial Highway.

Amid the battered landscape of Chester's West End, which, like the rest of this faded industrial hub, has obviously seen much better days, De' Essence, like its namesake city, offers a splash of color in a place that could use lots of it.

The surroundings

The restaurant

The restaurant is owned by a couple by the name of Wade, native New Orleanians who have relatives in Chester.  When Hurricane Katrina drove them from their home, their relatives invited them to move up here, and to keep their spirits up, they decided to do something they knew well:  cook.

The restaurant occupies what was once a lunch counter for local factory workers, and it retains much of its original appearance.  They have decorated the place with postcards and pictures of the Big Easy and laminated clippings from the area press, which reported widely on the opening of this place.

The woman in the center is "Pinky" Wade, the co-owner.

The menu is small but offers many Cajun/Creole staples.

As it turns out, some of the items listed as "specials of the day" on the right are available other days of the week as well.  Perhaps I should have asked whether they served crawfish etouffé, mentioned in their ad in The Chester Spotlight but nowhere to be found on the menu; I might have been as pleasantly surprised as my dining companion who found out that yes, they did have red beans and rice--Monday's and Wednesday's daily special--on Thursday.

Unfortunately, they did not have the other Wednesday special, the gumbo, which my other dining companion wanted to try.

As for me?  Well, this is Philly, where we know sandwiches, so I had to try one of the few sandwiches with as much lore surrounding it as the hoagie, the po' boy.  (I've actually had them before--I'd eaten my share in the summer of 1978, which I spent selling dictionaries door-to-door in New Orleans.)

Alas, I was to have only half the experience.  They had plenty of shrimp, but no French bread, so my po' boy came out on a Kaiser roll.

Companion Number One had better luck with her red beans and rice:

but Companion Number Two got less jambalaya than he bargained for.

Apparently, our waitress got some wires crossed when we ordered, for she brought out a side-dish portion of jambalaya rather than a main-dish one.  If they allow this to be done with all their main dishes, this could be the basis for a great Cajun/Creole tapas meal, for the side dishes are all $1.50.

Both my companions noted a relative lack of sausage in their dishes.  Pinky explained that this was because they had been having problems obtaining the right sausage.  Back in the Big Easy, they had a favorite supplier of andouille.  The supplier's plant (and I imagine their place in NO) was in the Lower Ninth Ward, which, as we all know, got wiped out by the flood in Katrina's wake.  The company has finally resumed sausage-making at a new site in Metairie, in suburban Jefferson Parish, and her husband was able to snare a small quantity on a recent trip home.  I guess they are rationing this precious commodity carefully until they can be assured of a steady supply.

'Twas a pity, for all the flavors rang true.  The shrimp in the shrimp po' boy had just a bit of a bite, and the red beans and rice were hearty and well-seasoned.  The jambalaya had less of a tomatoey flavor than I had been used to in my own, which was good; it would have benefited from more of that sausage.  The French fries were "Cajun fries," lightly sprinkled with Cajun seasoning, an unexpected treat.  They were also pretty good as fries go, but were Holly to try these, he would still have to continue his quest for the perfect Philly fry.

Of course, it wouldn't be a New Orleans-style eatery without Louisiana hot sauce, and there were bottles of several different brands at the tables and counter.  Our table had two:

However, one of them came from a place much further away than Louisiana.

Their main dishes offer a lot for a little: most menu items are under $10, and the $7.50 daily specials come with two sides (except on Monday and Wednesday).

The owner is very friendly and the rest of the crew pleasant, even if they kept telling us they were out of what we asked for.  If they can get the supply chain working better and work out a few kinks in the service, the Wades could have a little gem of a hole-in-the-wall restaurant on their hands, something maybe even worth trekking down Route 291 and dodging the truck traffic to visit.  Unfortunately, this being Chester, it's not a place you can visit for dinner, though.

De' Essence of New Orleans

1000 West Second Street (at Lloyd)

Chester, PA 19013

610-874-1505

Noon to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday

Nearest SEPTA service: Bus Route 113 from 69th Street Terminal, Darby Transportation Center or Chester Transportation Center to Third and Lloyd streets.  The restaurant is one block towards the river, at Second.

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[MarketStEl]

Rereading my initial post after posting a link to it on another board where a side discussion of Chester is taking place, and I see that I need to make a correction:

The family that runs the restaurant is named Davis, not Wade.

Next time I should remember to jot down notes in my pocket notebook.