When I saw that British R & B singer James Hunter was playing in Lafayette, Louisiana on Thursday, April 10, and that he wouldn’t get any closer to Memphis than that, I made plans to drive down for it, and decided to leave a day earlier on Wednesday, since I could see my friends in the TBC Brass Band at their weekly gig at Celebration Hall in New Orleans. Usually, when I drive to New Orleans, I either eat at Middendorf’s Seafood Restaurant in Manchac, or drive on into New Orleans. But this time, I decided to check out a small town on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain called Madisonville, and it proved to be a delightful place, with old historic buildings, and a waterfront street called Water Street along the Tchefuncte River where there were several restaurants and bars and a coffee shop. Initially, I checked out the Water Street Bistro, but it proved to be a very expensive and upscale restaurant that was probably very good, but I was in the mood for more basic fried seafood, so I decided to drive across the river to a marina on the opposite side where there was a restaurant called Hook’d Up. This place had a Jimmy Buffett-styled band playing indoors, and plenty of people both indoors and out as the sun was going down. Some little girls on the outdoor deck were having fun feeding french fries to a baby alligator! I opted for the shrimp poboy on Gambino’s bread, and was absolutely thrilled with how good it was. Prices were reasonable as well. Afterwards, I would have liked a latte, but the Abita Coffee Company on Water Street was closed.
Hook’d Up Bar & Grill
100 Marina Del Ray Dr.
Madisonville, LA 70447
http://hookdupbarandgrill.com/