Openings

What to Eat at Criolla Kitchen, Now Open in the Castro

Photo: J. Barmann/Grub Street

We’d say chef Randy Lewis lucked out with snagging the Bagdad Café spot at Market and 16th — not only is it a cute, flat-iron shaped space with lots of light, but it’s in a neighborhood with a dearth of good food and a hungry, often drunk population that likes spend money. His new pan-national soul food restaurant Criolla Kitchen (not Criollo, as previously printed) is now softly open, and it’s already received a pretty welcome reception on Yelp, especially for the shrimp-stuffed hush puppies and yam-yam tater tots. Also of note, there’s slow-smoked “purist” BBQ, and chicken and waffles with four choices of waffle batter: original, sweet potato, johnny cake corn, and savory herb. Sounds like Lewis, who hails from Louisiana, could be giving Boxing Room a run for its money in the Southern/Creole department! See the full food menu below, and we think, until the liquor license comes through, it’s BYOB.


Let’s Get Started

Zatarain’s Mustard Vinaigrette Mixed Greens Salad - $4.90

Shrimp Stuffed Hushpuppies With Bread & Butter Pickle Remoulade - $5.90

Rl’s Charbroiled West Coast Oysters With Crunchy Baguette
Half Dozen -$9.90
Full Dozen - $19.80

Yam-Yam Tater Tots With Cilantro-Lime Crema - $4.90

Pan Seared Tender Chicken Gizzards With Pepper Jelly - $5.90

Mirliton Salad With Avocado & Lemon-Cumin Vinaigrette - $4.90

Natchitoches Parish Meat Pies - $5.90

Rice & Beans

Cast iron pot-simmered vegetarian black beans, or creamy ham-hock red beans, served with Louisiana longgrain rice.

Red Beans & Rice - $7.90

Black Beans & Rice - $7.90

½ Black & ½ Red Beans and Rice - $8.90

Three-Piece Southern Fried Chicken With Rice & Beans - $13.90

Two-Piece Southern Fried Chicken With Rice & Beans - $12.90

Creole Spiced Marinated Pork Steak With Rice & Beans - $13.90

Grilled “Ricker” Schmitt Andouille Sausage With Rice & Beans - $13.90

Calypso Spiced Flank Steak With Rice & Beans - $15.90

Grilled Louisiana Garlic Shrimp With Rice & Beans - $14.90

Plancha Seared Louisiana Catfish With Rice & Beans - $14.90

Grilled Meloongen Eggplant With Rice & Beans - $13.90


Castro Quarter Fried Chicken and Butter Batter Crispy Waffles

Southern fried chicken, with choice of waffle, served with sweet cane sugar butter, and warm syrup.

Waffle Batter Choices:

Original Crispy
Yam-Yam Sweet Potato
Johnny-Cake Corn
Savory Herb

with vermont maple syrup + $1.00
with herb chicken gravy + $1.00


THREE-PIECE CHICKEN & WAFFLE - $12.90
Three pieces of chicken & choice of waffle

TWO-PIECE CHICKEN & WAFFLE - $11.90
Two pieces of chicken & choice of waffe.

CRISPY GIZZARDS & WAFFLE - $11.90
Crispy fried gizzards & choice of waffle.


Soul Food Plates
Each plate comes with Zatarain’s mustard vinaigrette mixed greens salad.

CREOLE-CUBANO CRISPY GRILLED SANDWICH - $10.90
Slow roasted leg of pork, thin-sliced tasso ham, pickled okra, swiss cheese, Zatarain’s Creole mustard crema, press-grilled on French bread.

LOUISIANA FARM RAISED CATFISH MOJITO ISLEÑO - $14.90
Seasoned & seared catfish filet smothered with a tomato, green olive, sweet pepper, onion and garlic pan sauce.

LOUISIANA SHRIMP PO-BOY - $10.90
Louisiana fried shrimp, shredded lettuce, and sliced tomato, with N’awlin’s remoulade on French bread.

GULF SHRIMP CRIOLLA & CREAMY RIDGE CUT GRITS - $14.90
Eight perfectly cooked white gulf shrimps over creamed country grits, smothered with RL’s Holy Trinity tomato sauce, with fresh scallion and herbs.

CRIOLLA-BURGER - $10.90
Chargrilled half-pound angus & andouille patty, crispy fried shoestrings potatoes, queso fresco, sliced Vidalia onion, and Cuban ketchup. (add a fresh fried egg - $1.00)

STUFFED MIRLITON - $14.90
Roasted mirliton stu”ed with bay shrimp, queso fresco, garlic crouton, and fresh herbs, with a squeeze of fresh lime.

Sides

Herb Chicken Giblet Gravy - $1.00

Smoked Sweet Plantain - $1.90

Mirliton Slaw - $1.90

RL’s Biscuit Rolls With Fresh Sweet Creamery Butter - $1.90


Criolla Slow-Smoked “Purist” BBQ

Criolla BBQ is smoked daily at our BBQ pit in the east bay. It is truly old-style BBQ , done with the simplest of tools, and the oldest cooking method known to mankind. We use only whole pieces of oak hardwood; then we smoke our ribs and brisket at very low temperatures over many, many hours. All our BBQ is served with sweet savory Criolla Kitchen BBQ sauce, creamy Zatarain’s Potato Salad & Mirliton Slaw.

HALF RACK (5 BONES) BBQ RIBS - $14.90

FULL RACK (10 BONES) BBQ RIBS - $17.90

FORK TENDER BRISKET - $15.90


Criolla Kitchen
- 2295 Market Street at 16th Street - Now open

What to Eat at Criolla Kitchen, Now Open in the Castro