Mercer Island Gets Taste Of New Orleans

The Bourbon Street Cafe, 7648 S.E. 27th St., Mercer Island. Open Monday through Thursday 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. 236-2909.

Mercer Island needs all the culinary adventure it can get. And while The Bourbon St. Cafe isn't going to run Chef Paul Prudhomme out of business, it's a cajun-and-creole step in the right direction for I-90's favorite floating roadside attraction. Food with a little fire and attitude and a definite change from the island norm.

The location has housed several operations over the years, including Dean's Islander, Smitty's Pancake House and the Tangerine Restaurant - basically bright, abrasive, rude-awakening coffee shops. The interior is now dressed up and toned down, with the walls a muted maroon and dark patterned coverings on the tables. White harlequin masks line the north wall.

The cocktail lounge won't be open for a month, but it already looks like it'll be a comfortable little hideaway with a cross-traffic view. In the meantime, the restaurant starts early in the morning with a fairly straight-ahead breakfast - corn fritters seem to be the Southern addition to the menu - and the feed gets more French Quarter as the day rolls on.

Lunch is split among burgers, sandwiches, pasta and cajun specialties. The burgers take up one whole side of the menu, 10 variations ranging in price from $4 to $6 and carrying names like The American Burger, The Dixie Burger and The Alligator Burger, a double shot of everything - meat, cheese and all the fixings. If you're passing on the red meat, the Shady Lady is a nice turn on a grilled chicken breast with white cheddar cheese for $6.25.

The chief cajun-creole dish on the lunch menu is the Jambalaya, $6.95. The menu accurately describes it as something of a catchall over rice. The day we sampled, the concoction was chicken, slices of sausage, green pepper, onion and celery in a spicy tomato-based sauce. The fowl was sweet and moist, as was the well-smoked sausage. The sauce had a pungent cayenne bite. It wasn't sweat-inducing, but it was warm. Overall a savory dish. The dinner version, $8.95, comes with salad and corn fritters, crunch-crusted puff balls of sweet meal - a nice change from fries or a baked potato.

If the spicier meals are too, well, spicy, the fettuccine dishes are mild and satisfying. The Primavera Fettuccine, $5.95, was a fair helping of noodles, broccoli and mushrooms tossed in cream and cheese. Simple, satisfying.

The dinner menu takes the biggest delta plunge, offering Gumbo, $7.95; Blackened Red Snapper, $9.95; and Etouffee - a creole stew - for $8.95. Those with a tamer palate will find an ample selection of steak, pork and chicken.

The Bourbon St. Cafe is just a month old and still experimenting. The word catfish was heard several times in the kitchen chatter. That would be a seldom seen but welcome addition. Islanders are coming around, the cafe is doing business, and it seems to be trying hard to keep that business coming back. The food is well-presented and the service is very friendly, efficient and accommodating from beginning to end.

Restaurant reviews are a regular Thursday feature of the Seattle Times Eastside Life section. Reviewers visit restaurants unannounced and pay in full for all their meals. When they interview members of the restaurant management and staff, they do so only after the meals and services have been appraised.