Cuisine Review

Beyond the LoDa Dauphin Street “strip” sits a music hall/restaurant all on its own off St. Francis Street near the Temple. The Blind Mule has been open for maybe a year now serving lunch and dinner with live music most weekend and some week nights.

The outside is not very welcoming, but I really do not know what you could do with the exterior of the building. It all changes when you walk through the doors.

The concrete walls keep out the heat and give the darkness some character. There is a nice long bar fronting the small kitchen. Outside is a sun splashed courtyard set with metal patio tables topped with umbrellas and surrounded by chairs.

I have eaten both in and outside with good experiences. Look in the Lagniappe music listing section to see who is playing here on the weekends and other evenings. The Blind Mule gets a nice sampling of good local bands and has equitable prices on beer and booze.

They serve a complete menu of entrees, sandwiches, salads and appetizers along with a full bar. The only appetizer I have eaten is the fried pickles, which arrived in an overflowing basket crisply fried with no soggy chips. The other appetizers are typical of most restaurants in selection, ranging from chili cheese fries, jumbo chicken wings (three styles – Cajun with garlic, Asian with teriyaki, soy and ginger or Buffalo), loaded nachos, cheese bread, fried cheese or mushrooms or a shrimp martini. While I cannot say for sure, everything here appears to be homemade. The Mule has a soup of the day in addition to gumbo and a black and red bean chili ($4 cup, $5 bowl) that I tasted in cooler weather and was quite satisfied.

Fresh lettuce and vegetables do reign when it comes to their salads – no bagged lettuce remnants have been found. They are large, and with grilled chicken or boiled shrimp added make a big meal. I enjoy the Blind Mule salad ($7) that beyond the red onion and tomatoes contains sunflower seeds and fresh grated parmesan that pairs nicely with their blue cheese dressing. A wedge, Greek and Caesar are the others on the menu. When it comes to the entrees and sandwiches, you will have a hard time deciding.

The first time I went, it was a Monday, and I just had to select the Red Beans and Rice ($7) – soft red beans with the typical New Orleans mildly seasoned flavor is what I got and was satisfied. Personally I would like a bit more spice to mine. If you order the Grilled or Blackened Chicken ($10) it comes with red beans, and when I ate the blackened chicken (which was prepared well) this combination suited me better.

Many have raved to me about the Shrimp and Grits ($12) a big bowl of sautéed shrimp, Conecuh sausage, red onion, green pepper, green onion with spices over thick cheese grits. This next one seems very heavy to me, but some former neighbors of mine liked to go at night at select the Blind Mule Baked Pasta ($12) with shrimp and crab in a sherry cream sauce, topped with parmesan and baked.

When I am trying to eat right, I have chosen the Grilled and Dilled Mahi ($11) – the Mule can grill some fish, which is good, because many can not, and the creamy dill sauce gives a light coating and flavor to the fish. It comes with grits or rice and I have always gotten the grits. When I am not watching my waistline I immediately choose one of their burgers, typically the Bayou Burger ($7, plus bacon or cheese, $1 more).

The burgers here are all one-half pound, fresh and seem to be hand made and the buns are fresh, large without being too dense. These are on my short list of good burgers in town. The Bayou is a plain burger with no fancy toppings. The Texan Squealer ($8) is topped with bacon, fried red onion straws and bbq sauce and the Lafayette ($8.25) has blue cheese, red onion and tomatoes. One of my friends had the Tennessee Squealer which is a grilled marinated chicken breast fixed the same as the Texas – don’t ask me why it is called the Tennessee.

The seared tuna wrap is a large, nice serving of sushi grade tuna, slightly seared with wasabi mayo and ginger tomatoes and kind of a departure from the heavier food found elsewhere. This is a good choice when you do not want to eat things such as their home made lasagna for lunch. All of the sandwich items come with French fries, potato salad or a couple of other things I cannot remember. Get the fries.

I try to stay away from desserts as they are my downfall. On my last visit I didn’t succumb but I have eaten the peach “drop” cobbler with fresh whipped cream – it is awesome. The “drops” are like spoonfuls of dumpling, who cares if the peaches are fresh but the whipped cream sure is. If I were you, I would take a stroll off Dauphin for lunch or dinner for a worthy meal.

Kinnon Phillips is Lagniappe cuisine editor. Contact him at kphillips@lagniappemobile.com.

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