A-Bear’s

Not My Mama’s Home Cooking

I’ve seen the food at A-Bear’s Cafe described as home cooking. If you were raised in the bayous by a mama who was a kitchen wizard, it just might feel like that. For us travelers from afar, A-Bears offers a rare opportunity to taste Cajun food in a local cafe. This boy who grew up in Chicago can tell you that my home-cooked dinners did not taste like A-Bear’s!

True Country Cafe

Other than the taste of the food, A-Bear’s demands attention of Roadfood lovers because eating here is not a big deal. It doesn’t try to be anything but a country cafe. It’s been that way since 1963 when it was opened by Albert “Curly” Hebert. Curly’s mom had taught him how to cook.

Cajun To The Core

Here you taste true Cajun food without pomp or pretense. Even though Cajun and Creole cuisines have somewhat blended over the last few decades, this bottom line still holds true: Creole expresses the spirit of the city. Cajun belongs to the country. And this place is country!

Menu Classics

Eat such classics as red beans and rice, crisp-crusted boudin balls, crawfish pie, and po boys loaded with crisp fried oysters. Here po boys are known by the Cajun name, pirogues. They’re called that because they resemble the long canoes (pirogues) that old timers used to navigate through the bayous.

A-Bear’s chicken-sausage gumbo is thick, complex, and hugely satisfying. It does not pack a spice wallop as do many more urban gumbos. That’s why I would rate it in the category of comfort food, Cajun style. If you do need heat, every table holds a bottle of Tabasco sauce.

On the side of just about anything, you want some of A-Bear’s smooth, rich potato salad.

And do leave room for dessert: either bread pudding with rum sauce or a slice from one of the kitchen’s renowned cream pies.

Friday Night Is Special

People come from near and far on Friday night for Cajun food in a local cafe in the form of all-you-can-eat catfish topped with A-Bear’s unique crab sauce. Friday night also features live Cajun and country music.