Neighbors, man. Sometimes they’re awesome. Other times... well, you genuinely hope the big tree growing on the property line falls on their car and not yours because they always park it partially blocking your driveway. Maybe you’ll even “help” it fall.
It can be that way geographically, too, as far as Arkansas is concerned. Texas? Enjoy that tree, which I honestly hope is bigger when it falls on your side of the line. But Louisiana? That’s the neighbor you visit when you’re ready to let your hair down, the neighbor whose cookouts you just don’t miss.
So, it’s a thing worth getting excited about when a new restaurant brings a sadly under-represented Louisiana cuisine to the metro, as the west Little Rock opening of J. Gumbo’s has done. Oh, to be sure, there are some fine stops for Cajun and Creole cooking already here, but as Louisiana knows better than most anyone, you really can’t get too much of a good thing. At least, not when this kind of cooking is concerned.
Thanks to the all-seeing Internet, I can report that the titular J. in this gumbo shop refers to founder and Metairie, La., native Billy Fox Jr. More specifically, it refers to some strange French spelling of not “junior” but “jockey,” as Fox was once upon a time a rider of thoroughbred horses. More recently, he inspired a franchise operation that’s stretched to 10 or so states, Arkansas being one of the newer additions.
In a large shopping center out west on Highway 10, the location shares proximity with other eateries around, and thanks to that, boasts abundant parking. Inside, the place has the feel of a build-your-own sandwich shop with a touch of Marie Laveau in a cast of zombie-like cartoon portraits along the walls (including, as I interpreted it, a zombie Razorback, which I’m not sure how to feel about). Orders are placed at one end of a long glass counter and paid for at the other. In between are vats of soup-like entrees that are served over rice in the establishment’s signature massive bowls or on bread as a po-boy. Those entrees are listed on a large, colorful menu board at the ordering end of the counter and classified by the amount of punch they pack.
On the mild end, it’s chicken sausage jambalaya; red beans and rice; vegetarian Creole ratatouille with eggplant, okra, squash and tomatoes; and the house gumbo, which includes chicken and andouille sausage with its veg. Kicking up the the heat a notch, the next category includes etouffee (choice of crawfish, chicken or shrimp); white chili; and an item called Bumblebee Stew, a vegetarian mix of corn, tomatoes, onions and black beans in a cream sauce. Lastly, for the bold at heart, there’s the hot category: Drunken Chicken (which is, in fact, cooked in beer); Voodoo Chicken in a tomato sauce; a buffalo and red onion mix called Chicken Red Hot; and the Jean Lafitte bowl, which mixes Bumblebee Stew and Voodoo Chicken.
However, one doesn’t have to follow in the footsteps of a French pirate to get multiple entrees. Each bowl can be ordered as is for $6.50 to $8.25 or you can opt to mix and match. Pick a second entree to add to the bowl for $1 or third for $2. Kids meals mean half sized portions for $4.25.
Outside of entrees, the menu also includes a handful of appetizers: a crawfish cheese dip, a black and bleu dip that mixes the Bumblebee Stew with bleu cheese and a couple of nacho plates. Also, the Drunken Chicken, Voodoo Chicken, Chicken Red Hot and Jean Lafitte entrees (those are the hot ones, in case you weren’t taking notes) can be had served on bread rather than rice to be served as a po-boy, which comes with chips, for $7.25 to $8.25.
The result is as fast and casual as a drive-through daiquiri shop with an atmosphere that makes you wish ordering one was an option. For that you’ll actually have to go visit the neighbors, but at least after a stop at J. Gumbo’s, you won’t be making the trip on empty.
THE DISH
Crawfish cheese dip ($6.50)
The only thing that makes cheese dip better is a handful of mud bugs. There were several good-sized pieces of meat sprinkled in the rich cheese sauce. It was spicy and plenty cheesy. Our party of four made quick work of the ooey-gooey Cajun goodness, gobbling up every chip and drop of the concoction. If you enjoy cheese dip, you will love the Cajun twist. (no)
Voodoo Chicken po-boy ($7.25)
I sort of thought, when ordering the Voodoo Chicken in po-boy form, I’d be getting a sandwich. Instead, it basically just meant serving the thick, soup-like Voodoo mixture over bread rather than rice. It was piled on so heavy there was no picking this thing up. Not that I’m complaining, mind you. Just know it’s a meal for knife and fork. And it’s a fine meal, too, with tender pulled chicken. I like spicy food, and the Voodoo sure qualifies with its hefty, peppery heat. A dash of chili powder to dust the sandwich doesn’t hurt either. The bread itself isn’t quite what I recall from New Orleans po- boys. It’s a softer sort, including the crust, with no crunch to it. But I think it works given that the creation here is, as mentioned, more like a thick soup over bread than a sandwich. (sw)
Mixed big bowl ($9 for three)
The Big Bowl includes a choice of up to three different types of entree. After trying the spicy Voodoo Chicken and Drunken Chicken (the free samples rock), I couldn’t decide so I chose those two and added the Chicken Red Hot. All three were tasty and separated into three sections on top of rice. I liked the Chicken Red Hot (Cajun buffalo sauce) the best because of its kick. The Voodoo, with its mix of Cajun tomato sauce, garlic and crushed red pepper and Voodoo spice, also had a good kick. The Drunken (olive oil, stewed tomatoes and Cajun spices slow-cooked with beer) was not bad, either. In all, I loved the variety, but it was too much. One entree is more than enough, but I wanted to sample all three for the sake of being thorough. I like the bowl concept, and would like to try these again along with some of the other varieties like the Jean Lafitte Burrito Bowl and Bumblebee Stew, which I also sampled while waiting in line to order. (no)
IN A NUTSHELL
This franchise operation brings another outlet for fast Cajun and Creole cuisine to Little Rock via vast bowls of staples like red beans and rice, jambalaya, etouffee and (surprise!) gumbo.
Location: 12911 Cantrell Road, Suite 18, Little Rock
Phone: (501) 916-9635
Web: jgumbos.com
Hours: Monday-Saturday 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Sunday Noon p.m.-8 p.m.
Prices: $6.50-$8.25
Alcohol: Beer