At Table
Veet's Bar & Grill
By M.B.T. Gastronome
Veet’s Bar & Grill is a rather unassuming establishment on Royal Street. The daily lunch buffet is a good bargain at $8.75 (slightly higher on Friday), including beverage, salad and dessert.
On entering Veet’s, one definitely gets the feeling of being in a bar. The interior physical appearance is not inviting to one who wanders in off of the street, not knowing exactly what is inside. While dining, I noticed a couple of would-be diners,
obviously tourists, step inside the
door, look around, and leave.
The buffet line is set up in the
rear of the large room. Buffet
entrees offered on this visit were
fried chicken, jambalaya and ham. Sides included corn fritters, fried potatoes, field peas and collard greens. Dessert was a choice between peach and buttermilk cobbler. I chose chicken and jambalaya for my entrees. Peach cobbler was my dessert of choice.
The spicy jambalaya was very good, tasting like jambalaya should taste. It was not dry and contained ample portions of shrimp and sausage. I enjoyed both my first and second helpings of this delicious dish. It was seasoned very well and was spicy enough to create a few beads of perspiration on the back of the neck, but not so hot as to mask the flavor of the dish. The only change I would suggest for this dish would be to cut back on the spicy heat a little bit and increase the presence of garlic. Regardless, though, this jambalaya is far superior than that I was served recently at The Captain’s Table.
The fried chicken was good also and I enjoyed it. The chicken was
well fried, although lacking somewhat in seasoning. I prefer the taste of Mama’s fried chicken which has more of a robust, home-cooking taste.
The peach cobbler was good. I could have eaten a second bowl, but the calorie angel (always perched on my shoulder) whispered in my ear and dictated otherwise.
The web published Friday lunch buffet menu looks interesting and includes shrimp and grits, crawfish pie, crab cakes and, of course, fried chicken. The Friday price is $9.75. I want to return on a Friday and check out these dishes. I’ll let you know when I do.
Meanwhile, this is a good lunch restaurant, especially for one who is interested in quantity to go along with quality. Given a choice, I prefer Veet’s to its next door neighbor.
(Editor's note: Our pseudonymous gourmand visits area dining establishments and reports on the experience. Wherever food is served, our peripatetic critic is likely to arrive with an appetite and depart with an opinion. He dines at his own expense; remains anonymous to all; reports only on those restaurants he frequents in the regular course of life, primarily reasonably priced places. However, he does splurge on occasion. Bon Appetit!)
