Bogard's in Orlando, FL

Bogard's is located on International Drive in Orlando. I came across Bogard's a while back when I was looking for the Amigo's that formerly sat at this location. Several months later, I decided to give Bogard's a try.

Actually, the main reason I wanted to eat here had to do with the very cool water spouts draining off the building's roof into an alligator filled pond below. I didn't know much else about the place, but decided to give it a try. Inside, the restaurant had a biker theme that wasn't obvious from the outside.

The tables all had an interesting table setting consisting of crossed knives and forks...

Really tasty jalapeno corn muffins were served as an appetizer.

I decided to order The Bonafide Shrimp Po'Boy. I was considering a few other menu items, but they were all pretty expensive for what you were getting. Some of the barbecue sounded good, but all the sides were sold separately. From the menu description, it sounded like all you got was meat and bread for twice the price of a complete meal elsewhere. Shrimp & Grits also sounded good, but $17 sounded a bit much for something I've had success cooking at home. So, I went with a $13 sandwich, served with fries.

The Po'Boy didn't have much flavor. The fried shrimp were very bland. The cole-slaw that topped the sandwich was way too soggy and messy and also didn't have much flavor. The sandwich was edible, but definitely not worth $13.

I liked the Amigo's that was here previously much better...

Cajun Food at the Crooked Bayou

I was going to go to the Food Festival that was happening in Downtown Orlando, but that turned out to be a rip off. Instead, I gave Crooked Bayou a try. With Jockamos out of business, Crooked Bayou is the only restaurant in the Central Florida area that specifically specializes in Cajun food. Crooked Bayou was a tiny little place on Central Blvd that seemed to be more bar than restaurant. They had some cool stuff in the tiny space like a big tree made out of bent rebar in the center of the restaurant and a window to an old painted advertisement on the neighboring brick building.

I started by ordering a cup of Jambalaya. It was really good, with plenty of chicken, andouille sausage, and shrimp along with the rice. According to Wikipedia, this was Creole Jambalaya since it was tomato based rather than Cajun Jambalaya that is tomato free. It was definitely some of the best Jambalaya that I've eaten.

I ordered a Cajun Crawfish Po'boy to follow the Jambalaya. The crawfish were tiny, but the sandwich was still really tasty. There was plenty of seasoning on the crawfish, which were placed on pressed french bread with lettuce, tomato, and tarter sauce. A pickle and potato chips were served with the sandwich.