My parents moved to the Shreveport-Bossier City, Louisiana a handful of years ago. There are a lot of great restaurants in the Shreveport-Bossier City area, and every time I go down there, it seems like my parents end up taking me to a new one that they have heard about from their co-workers or friends. But, ones in this post are the ones I keep going back to. They are my favorite places. Some are fancy, some far from fancy, and one might be considered just a shack on the side of the road.
The Blind Tiger
I’ve been a fan of The Blind Tiger since before my parents moved to Shreveport. When I was in college in Springfield, Missouri (Go Bears!), for some reason I decided to take a random solo road trip to Shreveport for a weekend. I think I spent maybe a total of 24 hours in Shreveport. And this gem is where I decided to have dinner.
It was a great decision. I ate at the bar, the bartender was so nice and attentive and introduced me to my first ever sazerac cocktail, which soon became one of my favorite cocktails. On this first occasion there, I was a basically a cajun food virgin, so I got the cajun sampler. It came with crawfish etouffee, a blackened fish fillet, fried crawfish tails, dirty rice, a cup of gumbo, and DEEP FRIED CORN ON THE COB. Yes, they fried their corn on the cob. But, that’s not even my favorite thing to order from The Blind Tiger.
That one cup of gumbo from that first sampler turned into a love affair. In all of my return-trips to Shreveport and The Blind Tiger, I have yet to not order their seafood gumbo. Sometimes I’ll even get an order to two to-go, freeze them at my mom’s house, and bring them back to Missouri with me. And I have yet to find a gumbo anywhere in the state of Louisiana that I love as much as theirs.
Bergeron’s Boudin and Cajun Meats
Next stop on my Shreveport-Bossier tour, Bergeron’s. Now, there are are two locations of this establishment in the Shreveport-Bossier area (but other locations all over Louisiana): one in Shreveport, and one in Bossier City. I normally go to the Bossier City location because it is just down the street from my parents’ house. For those of you who can’t make it to Louisiana, they also ship! So check them out and get some cajun meet goodness.
The best way to describe Bergerons is a cajun butcher, or meat purveyor, with the cajun fried foods version of a deli counter. Because the Shreveport location is bigger, it has tables where you can eat the delicious things you get at the deli counter. The meats at Bergerons are deliciously flavored, and you can get frozen sides too. But, my go-to order is from the deli counter: cracklins (basically fried pork belly), cheese filled boudain balls, and crawfish handpies. All fried. All delicious.
Daiquiri Express
There are daiquiri places all over Shreveport. You can basically get a daiquiri to-go at any liquor store, but this one is my go-to. There’s also one near my parents’ house that has an amazing lemoncello daiquiri.
A lot of people outside of Louisiana don’t believe me when I say you can get daiquiris to-go. And that with the tape over the top they are a closed container. All I know is that they are a treat and that I am a fan. But, proceed with caution. They are stronger than you realize.
Frank’s Pizza Napoletana
There are so many great things to say about Frank’s. I mean, wood-fired pizza, local draft beer, burrata, the list goes on. You can get everything from traditional Neapolitan pizza, white pizzas, salads, and even a few pastas. They’re menu changes slightly by the season. Not a lot, just the addition of a couple different seasonal pizzas.
So, here’s a list of my favorite things on Frank’s menu. For appetizers, the burrata is so simple, yet amazing, and the crab bagna cauda is absolutely delicious.
You can’t really go wrong with any of the pizzas, traditional or white. I’ve tried a combination of the two and have compiled a list of my favorites. For red pizzas: a classic margarita is a must, il diavolo is great if you like a little spice, and vegetariana and funghi-funghi are great vegetarian options. The next red i want to try is the prosciutto di parma con rucola. For white pizzas my favorite has been the Figure it Out, the combination of sweet figs, sweet caramelized onion, salty prosciutto, and funky blue cheese make all of your taste buds happy.
If you want to take a sneak peek at Frank’s you can check out an episode of Michael Symon’s Burgers Brew and ‘Que from the Cooking Channel. On the episode you can see one of their summer seasonal pizzas: a cajun corn pizza. It’s a really cool combination of classic Neapolitan style pizza dough with summery cajun flavors and cooked in the wood-fire oven imported from Italy.
Marilyn’s Place
Marilyn’s is my go-to brunch place in Shreveport. If you blink while driving by, you might miss it, or at least I did the first time I tried to find it. Also, this place is far from fancy. It’s an old remodeled gas-station turned dive restaurant, but don’t let that deter you. There is delicious authentic cajun food in this remodeled gas-station, some of my favorite in the area.
My go-to order? Beignets and boudin balls. In my opinion, this is the best place for beignets in Shreveport. Fluffy, pillowy, and covered in powdered sugar, perfectly messy to eat. As beignets should be. They’re perfect to alternate bites with spicy boudin balls dipped in a spicy remoulade sauce. One bite spicy, one bite sweet, repeat. Maybe sip on a cocktail or coffee in between bites. Perfection.
2 Johns
This is probably the fanciest and most expensive restaurant on this list, but it’s become one of my family’s favorite special occasion restaurant. It’s also a great place to get a cocktail (or two) and share an appetizer (or two) with your mom, or sister, or best friends. In fact, one of my favorite parts about 2 Johns is the bar and the cocktails.
2 Johns had me at sazerac the first time my mom took me there. I also found my second favorite cocktail at 2 Johns: a vieux carre. I also had quail for the first time at 2 Johns. They have this amazing bbq quail and grits appetizer. Being from Kansas City, Missouri, I’ll try anything with bbq in the title, and when in Louisiana, I’ll try anything with grits in the title. I haven’t found anything on their menu that isn’t delicious and worthy of a special occasion.
