365: The Reboot

Restaurants come and go here in the center of the sunshine state... and New Orleans cuisine is not different.  The last place to last a fairly decent amount of time was Jockamo's, off Sandlake and John Young Parkway, but alas we said our farewells some time ago.  The new kid on the cajun cuisine block is Tibby's, a new restaurant in Winter Park, owned by the same owners as the infamous fast-food Mexican spot Tijuana Flats.  My cousin loved it.  My friend Shea swore by it. But me?  Well... let's just say I won't be back anytime soon.  I wasn't impressed.  First off... in true cajun fashion almost everything is cooked with butter... or some form of dairy.  So what I was actually able to eat was limited and frustrating to say the least.  I was excited to learn the gumbo was dairy-free (which is actually odd - most good roux's start with butter) so that was my order.  Jeff got the crawfish pie.  We both left sadly disappointed. The crawfish pie, though the center had a decent taste, should have been in a pie crust similar to a pot pie.  The pastry-esque outer shell left an odd taste in comparison to its gooey center.  Oh... and that part?  Well, let's just say the center was less than half filled.  So a whole lotta pastry and air is what you are getting.  My gumbo tasted like a gravy... the file was way too overpowering and the andouille sausage and chicken was bland.  Overall, NOT truly a cajun gumbo.  The manager did a table visit, asking how things were so I was honest and told him.  He seemed to disagree with what I was saying (really - who does that!?) so I informed him I was from NOLA... I knew what I was talking about.  I know, really mature right?  He then informed me he was too... he grew up there until he was ten.  TEN! The guy was like 30... so let's see... being a child in the city definitely qualifies you to argue with me about how gumbo is supposed to taste?  I'm not following the logic, but whatever.  He didn't seem all too concerned that we were happy with our meals, as he thanked us and moved on to the next table.  No offers for alternative options; nothing.  Oh well.  Lesson learned.  You just can't get authentic cajun cuisine outside of NOLA.  Just won't happen.