Crawdads offers a tasty slice of Louisiana

This po' boy with tender shrimp in a crispy crust has bread from Gambino's Bakery in New Orleans. This po' boy with tender shrimp in a crispy crust has bread from Gambino's Bakery in New Orleans. Photo: Jennifer McInnis / San Antonio Express-News Photo: Jennifer McInnis / San Antonio Express-News Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Crawdads offers a tasty slice of Louisiana 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

There's nothing fancy about the shrimp po'boy at Crawdads Sports Bar & Grill, 12333 West Ave. near West Rhapsody Drive, or anything else there for that matter, but it alone makes this place worth a visit.

That sandwich starts with tender and juicy shrimp in a crisp, light cornmeal batter, nestled in a bed of shredded lettuce, sliced tomato and mayonnaise.

Completing the package, the mixture sits inside French bread from Gambino's Bakery of New Orleans.

The 6-inch small po'boy includes nicely spiced twisted fries and easily satisfies all but the most ravenous appetites. A 10-inch may seem gluttonous, but flavors this good just may go down in one sitting despite one's better judgment.

Fried-catfish and fried-oyster po'boys are good in their own right, but the shrimp sandwiches are something else.

There's the shrimp dip appetizer, a mixture of diced shrimp with mayonnaise, cream cheese and lots of seasonings. Spread some on the accompanying Ritz crackers and just smile.

And the shrimp toast — crisp slices of baguette with a creamy diced-shrimp mixture, topped with a slice of banana pepper and marinated diced tomatoes — offers another example of simple, homey flavors that prove beguiling.

Then there are the spicy boiled shrimp. They're served shell-on in a spicy sauce with a flavor reminiscent of Tabasco, but deeper and richer. This menu doesn't claim to offer anything other than simple, honest and traditional home cooking, presented without artifice or pretense. It's as if all of us are guests at a backyard party who have a chance to enjoy some Louisiana hospitality.

Beyond shrimp, other items score high. Tops among them are the Natchitoches Meat Pies. The flaky, savory pastry dough holds a deeply seasoned mixture of ground beef, ground pork and onions. The mixture stays juicy enough to deliver good flavor but doesn't bog down the pastry and turn it soggy.

The chicken and sausage gumbo starts with a base of a gorgeous dark roux, made with skill and love, and includes a scoop of rice in the middle. A delicate yet hearty jambalaya delivered a nice seafood flavor in a thick, rich base.

This place serves a crawfish boil on Saturdays during crawfish season. A single serving seems almost impossibly big and includes spicy sausage, chunks of corn on the cob, small red potatoes and a few whole mushrooms. Servers were friendly and knowledgeable, and they seemed to truly want guests to have a good time. etijerina@express-news.net

Twitter: @etij