Roux Brothers Review
Last night I had a chance to check out Roux Brothers, a tiny counter service (there is no seating) Cajun restaurant at the corner of Oakland and Capitol Drive in Shorewood. As I waited for my friend outside I could smell the wonderful aromas wafting out into the sidewalk encouraging passers-by to stop in. I was encouraged as a steady stream of customers entered the restaurant as I waited. I ran into a guy I new through a mutual friend and he told me that the food was outstanding.
A few years ago Cajun food was all the rage in Milwaukee. There were Cajun restaurants popping up all over and many non-Cajun restaurants added gumbo and jambalaya to their menus with varying degrees of success.. Many of these places flat out sucked with mediocre flavors in what equated to watered down Cajun food to please the palates of Milwaukeeans. All but a few remain and those that do have a much wider offering than Cajun specialties and are popular because they have incredible food. Luckily, Roux Brothers delivers some excellent food at great prices.
Inside the place isn’t much bigger than a walk-in closet. The walls on one side are lined with a dizzying array of hot sauce, bloody mary mix, and some Cajun/Creole food products like Café du Monde coffee with Chicory, Beignet mixes, Hurricane mixes, and pre-made roux, which I was intrigued by, but decided to pass. I think that buying pre-made roux is cheating. It seems like something that Semi-Homemade chick on the Food Network would do. I opted for the Shrimp Po-Boy for which the cashier handed me a spoon. My friend tried the ½ muffeletta sandwich which was giant, even for a ½ sandwich. He had enough for dinner and another meal. I think a full sandwich would feed a family of four.
I soon realized why he gave me the spoon, there was about a half a pound of shrimp covered with a great Remoulade sauce and some fried green tomatoes. It was very big and very messy. I appreciated the spoon as I used it to eat some of the contents to make the sandwich more manageable. The bread was nice and soft, but strong enough to hold up to all of the food crammed into it. The taste was incredible. The shrimp were perfectly cooked (they were either boiled or steamed) and the fried tomatoes added that obligatory po-boy crunch. I think they have an oyster po-boy but they were sold out last night. That is definitely next on my list. My friend said his muffeletta was also very good.
There are several other sandwiches to choose from including a Cajun BBQ pork, an alligator sausage, and a Cajun chicken sandwich. They have some chicken wings, which the guy I ran into earlier said were very hot but extremely flavorful and very addictive. There is also gumbo, which I could smell while waiting, some entrees like crawfish etouffe and red beans and rice.
I would highly recommend this place as it is inexpensive (my sandwich was 7.50 and well worth it) and it has a bit of something for everyone. I can’t wait to come back and try some other menu items. The only thing that sucks is that there is no seating inside or out. There is a little plaza surrounding a nearby bus stop and it would be great if they could convince Shorewood to let them put some tables out there.
A few years ago Cajun food was all the rage in Milwaukee. There were Cajun restaurants popping up all over and many non-Cajun restaurants added gumbo and jambalaya to their menus with varying degrees of success.. Many of these places flat out sucked with mediocre flavors in what equated to watered down Cajun food to please the palates of Milwaukeeans. All but a few remain and those that do have a much wider offering than Cajun specialties and are popular because they have incredible food. Luckily, Roux Brothers delivers some excellent food at great prices.
Inside the place isn’t much bigger than a walk-in closet. The walls on one side are lined with a dizzying array of hot sauce, bloody mary mix, and some Cajun/Creole food products like Café du Monde coffee with Chicory, Beignet mixes, Hurricane mixes, and pre-made roux, which I was intrigued by, but decided to pass. I think that buying pre-made roux is cheating. It seems like something that Semi-Homemade chick on the Food Network would do. I opted for the Shrimp Po-Boy for which the cashier handed me a spoon. My friend tried the ½ muffeletta sandwich which was giant, even for a ½ sandwich. He had enough for dinner and another meal. I think a full sandwich would feed a family of four.
I soon realized why he gave me the spoon, there was about a half a pound of shrimp covered with a great Remoulade sauce and some fried green tomatoes. It was very big and very messy. I appreciated the spoon as I used it to eat some of the contents to make the sandwich more manageable. The bread was nice and soft, but strong enough to hold up to all of the food crammed into it. The taste was incredible. The shrimp were perfectly cooked (they were either boiled or steamed) and the fried tomatoes added that obligatory po-boy crunch. I think they have an oyster po-boy but they were sold out last night. That is definitely next on my list. My friend said his muffeletta was also very good.
There are several other sandwiches to choose from including a Cajun BBQ pork, an alligator sausage, and a Cajun chicken sandwich. They have some chicken wings, which the guy I ran into earlier said were very hot but extremely flavorful and very addictive. There is also gumbo, which I could smell while waiting, some entrees like crawfish etouffe and red beans and rice.
I would highly recommend this place as it is inexpensive (my sandwich was 7.50 and well worth it) and it has a bit of something for everyone. I can’t wait to come back and try some other menu items. The only thing that sucks is that there is no seating inside or out. There is a little plaza surrounding a nearby bus stop and it would be great if they could convince Shorewood to let them put some tables out there.
posted by Jeff @ 8:14 AM
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