July 29, 2017
Palmdale, California – Some friends told me about this place several years ago. Ever since I heard about it, I had been wanting to try it. Years went by and still no visit. I figured the only way to make this happen was to clear a Saturday afternoon. Which is exactly what I ended up doing.
Lee Esther’s Creole & Cajun Cooking was started by chef Michael Brignac and named after his mother, Lee Esther. Chef Brignac has been cooking since the young age of seven, learning at the feet of his mother. This place is his dream come true.
The restaurant is located on a side street and is very easy to miss even though the street is short. I missed it the first time I visited. When you are driving there, look on the south side of the street. Once you locate it, you should be able to find plenty of street parking.
I was greeted promptly when I walked in. A man and a woman were the only customers inside at the time, but a steady stream of customers came through to pick up phone orders.
There are four tables in the main area when you first walk in. This section also serves as a waiting area and the counter where you place/pick up to-go orders. They opened up the main dining area off to your right about two years ago. That area seats maybe twenty diners.
I really enjoy Creole and Cajun food so it was difficult to choose what I wanted today. I finally decided on the Catfish Po’ Boy ($11.99), Shrimp Étouffée ($14.50), and an order of Red Beans and Rice ($3.50).
I decided to get my order to go. You may have a wait of over 15 minutes while your food is being prepared. I would suggest calling ahead. The server told me it would take about 20 minutes for my order but it was ready in less time than that.
By the time I arrived home, I was quite hungry and really anticipating this meal. Everything was well packaged. I could smell garlic as soon as I opened the foil that contained the garlic bread.
First up was the catfish po’ boy. It is served on French roll. The catfish was fried in a cornmeal batter. I shook some Tabasco hot sauce on the catfish, mostly out of habit. Lots of lettuce to work through but when I got to catfish, I noticed it was cooked to about medium firmness, yet still flaky. The batter added just the right amount of crunch. I like the house-made Creole marmalade they serve on the sandwich.
I noticed there was julienned zucchini throughout the po’ boy. The zucchini altered the smell and taste of the sandwich. I was not liking this so I removed as many zucchini as I could find. This was a different taste for me in a po’ boy. Next time I will make sure to request no zucchini.
The red beans were nice and hearty. A perfect ratio of beans to rice. Nice flavoring. You’ll find shredded ham and/or turkey in the dish. You can usually tell a good Cajun/Creole restaurant by their red beans and rice. After a couple of forkfuls of the beans and rice, I got a good sense of the authenticity of this place.
Garlic bread comes with the étouffée. It was toasted French bread, buttered with some other spice I couldn’t recognize, and salted. It was toasted just right. Not much else to say about it.
The étouffée was served in a bowl. The presentation was such that it looked like a mound of rice set in sauce. Imagine an island of rice surrounded by a sea of roux-thickened red sauce, with shrimp swimming around it. You can see the onions, pepper, celery, and tomato in the sauce. Lee Ester’s features smoked Tasso ham in their étouffée. There was plenty of shrimp; shrimp in just about every forkful. You can choose the heat level of the dish. I chose 4 of 5. When I ordered, they said 5 was ghost pepper hot. 4 has some heat but it is a big jump from here to ghost pepper level. Good flavor and authentic taste, though.
Daily specials are a good bet if you can’t decide what to get. They serve what they call Zydeco BBQ on Fridays and Saturdays. I think I will have to try that next time.
Since everything is cooked fresh, it may take a while to prepare some items. A little patience goes a long way, but it is worth the wait. Better yet, call ahead unless you plan to dine in.
Lee Esther’s Creole & Cajun Cooking – 4.0 forks. Recommended. Locals know and love this place.
Kanale Eats 