The Cajun Steamer- A-

With March Madness in full swing, I wanted to find a place to hang out and watch the games and enjoy some tasty food at the same time. With the rumor of the Cajun Steamer coming to Tuscaloosa this summer, I made the short drive to Hoover to see what all the buzz was about.

While the restaurant was small, it offered a laid back, friendly environment with plenty of televisions and a fully stocked bar.

Once seated, I was surprised at the expansive choices available on the menu and decided to order a Big Easy to quench my thirst while I decided.

The Big Easy is made with Malibu and light rum, Triple Sec, banana liqueur, pineapple juice, orange juice and a splash of grenadine topped with Meyers and garnished with a cherry and an orange. Once the colorful drink hit the table I was greeted with a fruity but stout drink and I was quickly feeling a little buzzed.

I was impressed with the variety of not-so-common items on the menu including boudin, crawfish enchiladas, and alligator bites, which were all available on the appetizer menu.

The menu was split into two main categories, land and sea. Being a lover of seafood, I stayed to the sea side.

I love platters where I have the opportunity to sample many different foods in one big dish, so naturally, I ordered the fried seafood platter which came complete with shrimp, stuffed shrimp, catfish, oysters, clams, hush puppies  and, to my excitement, frog legs.

My platter hit my table, and I was in awe at the amount of food placed before me. The Cajun seasoning in the breading gave everything an authentic creole flavor and complimented the seafood perfectly.

Usually, when a platter comes with fried clams I am disappointed, as often there is no flavor and most end up left on the platter because, who really wants to eat greased filled breading with no flavor? However, the Cajun Steamers’ clams were bursting with flavor and were even more delicious dipped in their house-made cocktail sauce.

The platter was served with both their house-made cocktail and tartar sauces and my server informed me that all the sauces served at the Cajun Steamer are made in-house.

The oysters, shrimp and catfish were perfectly breaded with the Cajun breading and offered an authentic fresh seafood taste.

The stuffed shrimp was a giant ball that I originally thought was my hush puppies. To my delight, I bit into a giant piece of shrimp mixed with a stuffing that hinted at flavors of crab and more Cajun seasoning, all deep fried together.

I had always heard about frog legs and how delicious they were but had never had the chance to try them for myself.

Everyone described their flavor as similar to chicken, so I did not find myself nervous as to what I was going to encounter.

I took a giant bite off the end of my frog leg and felt I had been lied to by everyone who had ever told me about frog legs.

While they were not bad, they didn’t taste like chicken at all. They had the texture of a chicken wing, but they had a swampy fish taste, much like catfish. I would be interested in trying them again, but will not be adding them to my daily menu anytime soon.

I was more surprised at how boney they were. The big bite I took ended in me pulling five or six bones out of my mouth before I could begin actually chewing the meat.

Overall, the food was good, but I would have enjoyed it a little more had it come with at least one side item, as the platter only included the seafood and nothing extra.

The Cajun Steamer advertised an extensive happy hour menu and with the laid back environment, expansive bar and menu and friendly staff. They will fit into the food scene in Tuscaloosa perfectly, as long as their manager, who is an avid Auburn fan, stays at the Hoover location.