182 Massachusetts Ave. Boston; (617)536-3068
Near the Berklee College of Music, the Dixie Kitchen serves up the cuisine that’s music too: Cajun. Neon instruments beckon from the front windows, and zydeco music whoops it up on the speakers.
The portions are large and the prices are small Mine’s kind of place. Start off with a huge bowl of gumbo; at $3.95, it’s big enough for two to share. It’s a thick, spicy stock filled with crab and shrimp, or chicken and sausage, and served with a plate of white rice to mix in.
Other appetizers include homemade Texas chili, baked oysters in a shrimp and garlic sauce, extra-spicy zydeco wings, and deep-fried alligator tail (yes, really!). You may then want to move on to the hearty Po’ Boy sandwiches fried catfish, shrimp, oysters or chicken on a French bread roll with a sharp re-moulade sauce. These are all $5 to $6.
But then you’d miss out on the real Cajun delicacies. Jambalaya is a heaping plate of fried rice with smoked sausage, shrimp, and chicken mixed in, served with a dense, warm hunk of jalapeno com bread all for $7.95. Catfish Marguery ($8.95) is pan-cooked in a sauce of shrimp, mushrooms, parmesan cheese, and garlic. Dixie Ribs arrived hanging out over the edge of the plate half a dozen meaty slabs in a tangy, not-hot barbecue sauce, sitting on a bed of rice, with cooked corn and beans on the side all for $8.50. Plenty to share or take home.
Desserts are homemade pecan, apple, and sweet potato pies, and a zippy bread pudding served with either whiskey or lemon sauce. Be sure to have a cup of Cafe du Monde with it; that’s the name of the French Quarter spot famous for its strong coffee and beignets, hot fried doughnuts. Open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays, until 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
