Evangeline Cafe proprietor Curtis Clarke Credit: John Anderson
Louisiana native Curtis Clarke created a definitive bastion of Cajun-Creole hospitality, cuisine, and live music in an ordinary strip center in far south Austin ten years ago. This week, he’s inviting friends and customers to help celebrate that important milestone at his Evangeline Cafe.
Evangeline Cafe proprietor Curtis Clarke Credit: John Anderson
Clark’s guiding principle has always been to provide authentic Cajun-Creole dishes in a family-friendly environment with live local music as lagniappe. On nights when a Cajun band in jamming and the tiny dance floor is packed, you could swear you’ve wandered into a bayou country crawfish boil.
For the uninitiated, Evangeline Cafe is highly-regarded for all those things, in addition to the annual Mardi Gras festivities which pack the cozy restaurant and overflow into tents in the parking lot. These folks take that party so seriously, there’s even a countdown to Mardi Gras on their website, chere.
In honor of the anniversary this week, Clark is rolling back prices 10 years on the chicken and sausage gumbo, jambalaya, red beans and rice, and boudin, a special that runs though Thursday, Sept. 18. He’s also serving up some great music: Tuesday night will feature the Twilight Trio; Wednesday’s headliners are the Demonic Duo of Floyd Domino and Redd Volkaert; and Thursday offers the stylings of Danny Britt and Marvin Dykhuis. The music starts at 7pm and the house has a tendency to fill up quickly.
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