The Ojai Post

Mardi Gras also holds religious implications for the predominant Catholic culture of south Lousiana. It is the last day for indulgence, actually the day of over-indulgence that occurs before Ash Wednesday and ultimately Lent. During Lent people often give up something that has meaning for them and take part in certain forms of fasting for forty days before Easter. This time is to mimic the time Jesus spent fasting and wandering in the dessert when he endured temptations by Satan.

I am sorry I missed the Ojai Mardi Gras and look forward to seeing photos soon! Meanwhile, this morning, I donned my beads and went to Main St. in downtown Ventura to the Cajun Kitchen Cafe for a little Cajun fare. We were the only one with beads and the waiter didn't have any idea what I meant when I yelled "Happy Mardi Gras!" He also had no clue about the beads...it was lost on him.

We perused the menu...I thought about trying the Blackened Sea Bass Eggs Benedict or the Cajun Shrimp, Jack Cheese Omelet but I settled on the Jambalaya with 2 Eggs on Top and Chris had the Blackened Catfish, 2 Eggs, grits and an biscuit. I asked if I could get a Crawfish Etoufee Omelet but that was out of the question. They were willing to toss some blackened crawfish together with spinach but it didn't sound the same. I was so enthusiastic I thought I might get some Crawfish Etouffee on rice to go but decided to see if I liked the other food first.

My jambalaya arrived in a large, shallow bowl and my two poached eggs were sitting on top like curious googly eyes. Jambalaya is a rich dish that often contains sausage, (Andouille if you have it) and chicken or a combination of seafood with a tomato-based flavor. My first bite of jambalay set my mouth ablaze. Now I am from Cajun country and I love Tabasco as much as any McIlhenny might but "May Lah!" that was spicy.

People are under the misconception that everything you get in Cajun country is H O T but it's not! Most of the flavors are smothered, layered and rich. Some items can be spicy but usually there is flavor that supersedes the amount of heat. This did not. Chris, who'd already stayed up with a funny belly couldn't even touch it!

He got a bowl of grits that came with butter, salt and pepper. We asked for some shredded cheese and mixed it in. Ohhh that brings me to another point which is that all the food came out really (temperature) hot, blow on each bite for a couple of minutes hot. Some people love that, some don't like to wait but either way, watch out for it so you don't scald anything. His grits were pretty good and I was happy to have some -- especially since they cut heat so well!

Chris loved his blackened catfish. It was surely seasoned but not overly so. And it was nice to have a bite of eggs, a piece of catfish and a touch of grits on the fork. Yummy bites. His biscuit was -- I kid you not, a 3-inch-high dough explosion. Truly fun.

As we ate an older gentleman walked in the door solo and I said hi to him. As he picked up a menu and seated himself as everyone does there. I said "Happy Mardi Gras"! to him as he passed. He said, "Did you say something to me?" and I shyly repeated myself thinking I'd bothered him but instead he said, "How'd you know I'm from Louisiana?"

Well I didn't of course but when I asked him where in Louisiana, turns out he was from Abbeville which is thirty minutes away from Lafayette -- much like Ojai is to Ventura. He and I quickly got into some discussions that really have me thinking. He was a black man born in 1933 and raised in a still VERY segregated south in a time where black people weren't even supposed to walk on sidewalks. He told me tales of being poor and hungry,not having shoes until the age of ten and hunting with handmade tools as he couldn't afford shotgun shells. I only sat with him for a moment but we covered what felt like years. I hope to see him again and possibly write some of his stories. As I sat down across from him, eating his hot link sausage and eggs, it was like some door opened. We ended our conversation with him telling me he never thought he'd live to see a black man become president.

I told him I still make gumbos and southern food and he said he does too and we secretively said that our food is better! (isn't home cooking always?) But here we both were, two southerners living in Ventura, remembering how things used to be in the south -- both good and bad -- and marveling at how they now are now both there and throughout this country.

We'd both stumbled into the Cajun Cafe looking for a little touch of home and left with a hint of familiar flavors and someone who understood shared stories and histories. Before walking out I turned around, walked back to his table, took off my biggest beads and gave them to him. He said, "I knew you were going to do that! God bless you!"....To him I wish I'd said, "he already has".

On the way out, I tried to stop by Bonnie's Costumes for beads to give away had no idea they were closed!! Terrible! So we stopped in Wild Planet but they didn't have them either. I don't have time to wander much further today before I head out to work but I have a few beads on and so does my dog. We will try to spread the Mardi Gras spirit wherever we go! Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulle Ojai! (Let the good times roll!)

p.s. There are four branches of the Cajun Kitchen Cafe and there is The Palace Cafe and Santa Barbara and an establishment named http://www.vcreporter.com/cms/story/detail/pinch_the_tail_suck_the_heads/5679/">La Louisianne Express in Simi Valley that I wrote a review of last year for the VC Reporter. If anyone knows of any other Louisiana Cuisine nearby, please let me know.