Review of Trinity Creole Cafe, Kennesaw, GA

Have you ever had one of those experiences where you buy a GroupOn or a LivingSocial to a restaurant that sounds uber-interesting, time passes, and 4 months later you look at your deal app on your phone and realize that you've got 3 weeks to use it?

Yeah - that was me last week.  I saw this LivingSocial to a new Creole restaurant in Kennesaw that got some great reviews, and given my affinity for Cajun food and the lack of options in Metro-Atlanta I thought I'd give it a shot.  It was due to expire in a couple of weeks.

So guess what, last night I took my girlfriend out to this place (don't worry, I bought it intending to take her :) ).  

And here's my review of the place... in the spirit of the cute little old lady that reviewed her town's new Olive Garden in Grand Forks, ND.  

(Don't worry - this place is one of a kind.  It's not a review of a ginormous national chain copied over 730 times across the nation.  I did smile when I read her little review and thought, "man, either she doesn't know it's a huge chain or she's given them the best 5 star review they've ever gotten.")

--------------------------------

Trinity Creole Cafe is a new Louisiana (actually New Orleans) style restaurant in the heart of downtown Kennesaw, Georgia.  It's very quaint... built out of an old house that has been renovated to create an intimate "casual fine dining" experience in a northwest suburb of Atlanta.  There is a sizable outdoor patio area lined with Abita beer banners for the more casual crowd, a large bar room for the happy hour patrons, and a row of dining tables for dinner parties and couples going for dinner out.  

Our server was very good, and knowledgeable about the specifics of the menu.  There were a couple of really good "fresh catch" options that could be ordered bronzed or blackened (I ordered the snapper blackened and it was exceptional, served with jasmine rice and sauteed green beans).  We ordered "cajun popcorn" (fried crawfish tails) as an appetizer, Danielle had shrimp with grit cakes cooked creole style, and I had the snapper fresh catch, blackened.  

Each of our dinners were very tasty, had enough spice to let you believe we could be in Louisiana, but not enough "kick" to upset milder Southern palates (being a Texan, I used the Tabasco provided on our table to increase the heat on my dishes a little).  The food was very flavorful, and not overpowering.  

For dessert, we ordered the bengnets.  They provided 7 small bengnets served in a paper bag and shaken with powdered sugar (not as much as you would get at Cafe Du Monde, a little bit of a disappointment), which were very tasty and about the size of a Dunkin Donuts "Munchkin" donut hole.  

Because the restaurant is very small and built out of an old 50's style ranch house, the quarters are somewhat tight and the acoustics make for a fairly noisy experience, so this may not be the best place for a first date or an intimate romantic experience.  However, the ambiance and decor of the restaurant is very "homey" and really helps you feel relaxed.  There were also a lot of large parties out when we were at the restaurant which could have contributed to the noisiness.  

Overall, this is a great restaurant that I will be back to.  As a Creole restaurant, they provide the food quality and level of creole cooking that I'd expect to find in New Orleans or Baton Rouge... not in Kennesaw, so I will be back.  It is a fun place to take groups too, so I imagine that I may try to plan a smaller dinner party or a double date on the next visit.

And doing it on LivingSocial was a bonus.  But seriously, I'd go to this place without the "half off coupon."  It was great.  

Oh - and you have to check out the bathroom.  There's only one in the restaurant and you can tell they went all out on the fixtures.  Not that you'd go out to eat to see an awesome bathroom sink, but if you're there you should check it out.