Sam’s Southern Eatery
2910 Barksdale Blvd.
Bossier City, LA
(318) 658-9980

Sam’s Southern Eatery

Sam’s Southern Eatery is a chain of Cajun style restaurants based in Shreveport, and which consistently shows up on restaurant review sites as a readers’ favorite. There are several locations in the Shreveport area, and they appear to be individually owned although linked to the chain through the supply of shrimp they receive as well as following the same recipes for cooking the food.

One feature pointed out to me that made this location unique was its sale of freshly made home made cakes. The regular menu appears to be the same at all Sam’s locations, although I did notice some differences between this restaurant and the one I had previously tried in Oklahoma City (the OKC restaurant served fried rolls and this one did not).

When I went to this location in the evening hours it had already run out of some items. They had run out of red beans and rice, and they initially said they were out of gumbo but then said I could have the gumbo but they were out of the rice that went with it (I gladly accepted this offer).

Gumbo

Gumbo without rice

The Gumbo was my main order, and it was a very good one. They were out of the rice that usually came with the order, but I thought the gumbo was very good anyway. The flavor of the roux was really a lot better than the one I had tried in Oklahoma City, although the shrimp and other ingredients were about the same at both restaurants. This was not the largest size gumbo they had, but was nevertheless filling if you ate it with side dishes.

Fried Shrimp

Medium sized order of fried shrimp

The sign on the front of the restaurant says “Home of the Jumbo Shrimp,” and this is to be taken seriously. I think these are actually prawns, but in any case this order of eight shrimp really seems to be enough for three people although two of us with great effort managed to eat it (and enjoy it very much).

My dining companion ate the side dishes, and they were reported to be very good as I have found them to be in the Oklahoma City Sam’s.

Cake

Chocolate cake

This location features home made cakes made by a third party, with about eight or ten varieties available. The restaurant recommended peanut butter and reviews also indicate this is one people particularly like, but I thought the chocolate I ordered was quite satisfying (you probably can’t go wrong with any of the flavors).

General Comments
This was not the absolute best fried shrimp I have ever had, but it was close, and I can see why it is the featured dish of the restaurant. Keep in mind, though, that the pieces are quite big. In my mind about three or four pieces per person is about right if you eat it with side dishes or a small gumbo.

The gumbo is what I enjoyed the most, though. I feel that it is a special treat to get gumbo as good as the one here, and ones with comparable flavor are not available in most parts of the country.

RATING: 23

Cuisine: Cajun
Cost: $$
Hours: 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM (closed Sun.)
Accessible: Yes
Smoking: No smoking
Alcohol: N/A

Most Recent Visit: Nov. 27, 2017

Number of Visits: 1

Best Items: Gumbo, Fried Shrimp

 

Special Ratings

	Fried Shrimp
	Gumbo
	Chocolate Cake

Lucky Palace

750 Diamond Jacks Blvd.
Bossier City, LA
(318) 752-1888

Lucky Palace

Although Lucky Palace is thought by some to have the best Chinese food in the Shreveport area, and even described as having Chinese food “like Dallas,” it is quite easy to miss. The location is straightforward (at an exit of I-10) and I knew about it being inside the Bossier Inn and Suites Motel, but I still missed the entrance to the motel until making a second try. Once inside the building I did not see the restaurant but the desk clerk pointed me in the right direction.

The dining room at Lucky Palace

Once inside, though, I found an upscale restaurant with a view of the outdoor patio through plate glass windows, a wine bar, and a rather impressive menu (although without the special Chinese menu found at many Dallas restaurants). The soothing jazz and classical music in the background turned out to be a theme I found in various Asian restaurants throughout Louisiana, and the restaurant was non-smoking.

View of the motel pool and patio

Prices were in line with the more upscale food served, although by upscale I do not mean the type of large family style dishes served in large cities. It is good quality food, and the dishes are the type that I think most people would enjoy for lunch or dinner.

Appetizers

Scallion pancakes

There are two types of appetizers here–those that come with the meal and those that can be ordered separately. I chose one of the latter, the Scallion Pancakes, because it had been reviewed as one of the restaurant’s “authentic” dishes. I had to agree that it was authentic and very good, but I will tell people who are not as intent on trying different dishes as I am that you will get plenty to eat with the regular dish (and will likely be more than full without ordering an extra appetizer).

Hot and sour soup

Hot and Sour Soup is one of the soup choices which comes on the lunch menu with any selection, and I would definitely recommend it. This had a very good flavor and a substantial amount of ingredients in the soup. I made a note that this was better than any hot and sour soup I knew of in Oklahoma City (I mean this as a suggestion that you should definitely try this one if you like hot and sour).

Pork with Garlic Sauce

Pork with garlic sauce

The Pork with Garlic Sauce had a sauce that I thought was a little sweet, but the meat, vegetables, and sauce were all good with this one stipulation. The large amount of water chestnuts and other vegetables were very enjoyable, and overall I thought this was an excellent dish. I would have preferred it to be more spicy because it would have helped the allergies I was suffering that day, but the flavor of the dish was good with the amount of spice it had.

Tea

Jasmine tea

They served a brewed jasmine tea which I thought was excellent (I think the dark spot in the tea is a loose leaf which came from the brewing process).

Further Comments
The restaurant is located in an aging motel with a hard-to-find entrance and other problems (such as the bathroom not being accessible). The food is good, though, and the restaurant is very pleasant.

This restaurant is not like the ones in Dallas in the sense of having a “Chinese menu” (usually a separate menu written in Chinese), butI the scallion pancakes and a few other items are authentic, and in my opinion the garlic pork was certainly close enough. The big bonus was the hot and sour soup, which was just about the best I have ever had.

I did not have any problems with MSG, but it will have MSG unless you tell them otherwise. I have to assume that the amount in the hot and sour soup was very small since I ate this along with the other food.

RATING: 22

Asian Food Details

Tea:	Jasmine (brewed)
MSG:	Yes
Buffet:	No

 

Special Ratings

	Pork with Garlic Sauce
	Scallion Pancake
	Hot and Sour Soup