Lots of restaurants have a few Cajun-themed items on their menu, but Parrain’s Jambalaya Kitchen is one of the few places in Biloxi that I know that is completely Cajun.
Gumbo, etouffee, boudin, they have it all! And this place is authentic too. Their Facebook page proclaims, “Parrain’s Jambalaya Kitchen features homemade Cajun dishes with origins from Gonzales, LA.” Gonzalas is in the heart of Acadiana, so you know you are getting the real deal.
Some of the most popular selections are the white chocolate bread pudding, crawfish etouffee, and the swamp tour, which is a sampler of gumbo etouffee, red beans, and sausage. The red beans and rice, a Monday special in most places (Monday was wash day and the beans could simmer on the stove while the wash was done in the side yard, in a big black pot over a hot fire), and of course, the most popular po-boy almost everywhere, the fried shrimp po-boy are on the list too.
The list of appetizers is extensive with 10 options, and you know a sampling of small plates is one of my favorites. My top picks would have to include the hog’s head cheese (something you don’t see around very often anymore), pork cracklins, boudin links (mine with hot mustard please!), and fried catfish and shrimp platters.
If you are going for an entrée, you have some hard choices to make. I have to say, any restaurant that has the moxie to have a fried baloney sandwich on the menu gets my vote. I love fried baloney. The swamp platter is another good choice, being a sampler of some of the most popular choices, as is the crawfish etouffee and the chicken and sausage jambalaya. The boudin sandwich, the catfish po-boy, and the Cajun cheese steak po-boy are all good choices as well.
There are only a few sides, but they are all good choices: spicy corn on the cob, potato salad, coleslaw, and Cajun potatoes. It’s the same with the desserts: beignet bites sure sound good, as does the pecan pie.
If you want a taste of some of Acadiana’s best and most famous dishes, this is the place to go. There is also outside seating (when it finally cools down), service is extra friendly and I am betting that if you try this place, you will be back!