Le Bon Ton Roulé Bar & Restaurant

4332 Leary Way NW

206-297-8888

http://www.lebontonroule.com/



Please note: 21 and over only

Monday - Thursday 11:30 a.m. - 10 p.m.; Friday 11:30 a.m. to midnight; Saturday noon to midnight; Sunday noon - 10:00 p.m.



A self-described juke joint, Le Bon Ton Roulé has rolled into the former home of Bright Street, the Treehouse Bar & Grill and a few other establishments to bring us a Seattle version of New Orleans classic cuisine.  From the interior, it’s not easy to tell this is a house built in 1900. But look hard to see some surviving details, and on the outside you can still see the original front of the building, which gives a feel for the old neighborhood.



The fare is not exactly like the food in the South and it’s not supposed to be, so don’t get too hung up on that.  The name is spelled phonetically so people here can pronounce it (instead of the correct Laissez les bon temps rouler) but remember, this isn’t Louisiana.



The food and drink is New Orleans inspired: Hurricanes, brandy, oyster and shrimp poor boys, gumbo, crawfish and catfish fill the menu. Also available is King Cake, a type of cake associated with pre-Lenten celebrations such as Mardi Gras, which does not show up on many Seattle menus.



Everyone needs to feel expert about something, and it’s funny what we hear based on that need. We’ve read complaints about the incorrect spelling in the title, and gripes about the menu not being authentic enough. It’s energizing to play that game, certainly we have. You know how it goes, “there’s no good pizza in Seattle” from New York City purists, etc.



We’ve spent a bit of time in the south, including Louisiana, and we found the poor boys at Le Bon Ton Roule to be some of the best we’ve had around these parts. Burke’s in Ballard used to do a nice Oyster Poor Boy, but they cleared out of the current Volterra long ago. The Le Bon Ton offering is absolutely jam-packed with appropriately breaded oysters, was served hot with nice fries, had the right condimenting, and was basically a winner by all reasonable measures. 



We also ordered the blackened cod poor boy, which sounded slightly weird, but good enough to try. And we were relieved when the waiter told us that they were out of cod, and asked if catfish would be OK! And this really was the perfect sandwich. Piled high with fresh lettuce, this plaque-sized trophy spilled out of the soft and warm bread, sizzling with the blackened spices, cooked through to a perfect firmness.



Fish sandwiches are a strange lot. There were the “tunafish” (one word is how we said it -- it still sounds odd to hear someone just say “tuna”) sandwiches of our childhoods, which we didn’t really understand were fish. It was just like this creamy mayo thing on bread. We liked them of course, what kid did not like tunafish sandwiches?



Besides tunafish, all we knew about fish sandwiches were “fishwiches,” which were sort of like fish sticks on white bread with tartar sauce and unmelted bad cheese. That didn’t stop us from loving them, in fact those were just the ingredients that made us feel right at home! But fish sandwiches have always been somewhat marginalized, and are not seen on many menus. 



Which brings us back to our oyster and catfish sandwiches at Le Bon Ton. If you’ve never had an oyster poor boy (we refuse to say “po’ boy,” at least while we’re in Seattle and it’s still embarrassing when we’re elsewhere), this would be the perfect introduction. There’s nothing weird about these babies, unless you consider crunchy breading, nice bread, and appropriate condimentation to be weird. We don’t. 



And, if you’ve already had this fare, then try it again here. We’ve been around the oyster poor boy block, and these are extremely competent renditions. The price is right, too. Two sandwiches with coleslaw or fries, a Coke and two Hurricanes brought the total bill to a little over $40.



The staff is friendly as can be, without being phony Southern about it, and we appreciated that. Our wait was short, chatting was easy even with a couple of TVs and a game of some sort on, due to the muted volume.  A New Orleans radio station plays in the background, and customers seem to settle in and relax.
Neighbors from close by are walking in to check things out, and the parking lot has also been expanded. 



There’s a cozy wood stove, striped chair cushions, and a decor that’s warm, colorful, and slightly New-Orleans-ish without getting all “Famous Dave’s” about it. If you haven’t been there, Famous Dave’s is a national chain of BBQ with edible food, but over-the-top “BBQ” down-home decor. Thankfully, such is not the case at Le Bon Ton.



So all in all, we recommend going to Le Bon Ton Roule, either for the beginning New Orleans style eater or the seasoned veteran. If you’re not as excited about fish sandwiches as we are, consider the jazz brunch on Sundays and watch for the crawfish specials and other events on their Facebook page.



The Ballard Food Police visit all establishments anonymously and pay for all food and drink in full. Know anything we should know? Tell the Ballard Food Police at ballardfoodpolice@gmail.com.