Bayou Bob’s Restaurant and Bar1635 Glenarm Place
Upper downtown, Denver
303-573-6828
Bus directions: from Market Street Station, take the free shuttle up 16th Street to Glenarm. Bayou Bob’s is next to the Paramount Theater and near the Pavilions.
After the Green Festival, Todd and I headed out to Bayou Bob’s for dinner. The next day I would be succumbing to the Eat to Live diet (1 lb. each raw and cooked vegetables, 1 cup beans, 1 oz. nuts, and 4 fresh fruits daily), so fried food sounded like the proper sendoff.
There is nothing at Bayou Bob’s on the Eat to Live diet, not even the house salads. But we didn’t bother with those. I ordered jambayala with green beans Acadien, 
which was suitable spicy and gooey and loaded with sausage and chicken. Amazingly enough, the portion was just right.
The hush puppy was crispy but not mind-blowing like one I had at Brunet’s in Baton Rouge.
Todd ordered friend shrimp and mashed potatoes with cream gravy. The gravy had a little too much white pepper, but the potatoes, mashed with the skin, were creamy.
The gumbo could have been spicier, in my opinion, but it does look pretty in this picture. As you have no doubt noticed, food presentation is not Bayou Bob’s strong point.
Todd claims the fried shrimp at Bayou Bob’s is the best he’s ever had. He said there were only a couple of places in Louisiana that measured up. The shrimp I ate was tender; the batter was crisp and not too thick—what’s not to like?
Bayou Bob’s is a vinyl-covered-booth kind of place, with lots of windows that allow you to watch passersby if you can’t think of anything to say (or you’re dining alone).
Now that I think about it, Denver has quite a few Cajun/Creole restaurants. If you want elegance, you could try Gumbo’s in LoDo. Another home-grown favorite is Lucile’s, with house restaurants in Denver, Boulder, Longmont, and Fort Collins.
I know of two chains:Pappadeaux in Westminster and south Denver and a Bubba Gump Shrimp Company 4 blocks from Bayou Bob’s. As far as atmosphere goes, Lucile’s and Pappadeaux are pretty much opposites—Pappadeaux is one huge room with glass and dark wood accents, and Lucile’s is crammed into a worn old house. Bubba Gump’s main claim to fame is that it allows you to harass your waitron.
You wouldn’t eat at a chain when you could eat at a local, family-owned place, now, would you?
Oh boy, the cholesterol counts taking a hit from that meal. 🙂
I love Bayou Bob’s…haven’t been there in a couple of years. But now I can’t stop thinking about fried food. Darn, why isn’t it on the Eat to Live Diet?
Tracie’s last blog post..Okay…wait, do what?
I am not a fan of Bayou Bob’s. I’ll take Pappadeaux over it any day. And Lucille’s over the rest of them always. Also, I have no interest in Bubba Gump – I’ve seen the one in the French Quarter and it looks exactly the same. That’s a turn off for me.
I like Gumbo’s – a lot. I like gumbo – a lot.
Peter’s cousins live in Loveland and come down to go to Pappadeaux – the lived on the Gulf Coast for all their lives until moving here. I take that as a good sign.
Now I am hungry. Thanks. Too bad it’s 8:36am.
I’m causing cravings all over the place! 🙂
The only thing to do is have Southern food as a break from the diet. Seriously, when I was in Louisiana and eating a lot of fried food, I wanted a break from it. I don’t know how people eat that way all the time. I grew up eating cold cereal for breakfast, a school lunch, and a dinner that always had meat, some kind of starch, a vegetable, and a green salad. It was the best diet for preventing heart disease, but it was better than fried food all the time.
Beth Partin’s last blog post..Denver Neighborhoods: Stores Across 6th Avenue to Downing II
Maybe it’s just my eyes, but the photos look a little out of focus, for some reason.
Catherine, I agree with you that Bubba Gump is nothing special, and that Lucile’s is a delight. But Bayou Bob’s has a bigger and more varied menu than Lucile’s, plus it’s got one HUGE advantage – it’s open for supper. I’m hardly ever near Lucile’s around breakfast or lunch time. I’m curious why you don’t like Bayou Bob’s.
I used to go to Pappadeaux in Houston when I visited there, back before they had a restaurant in Colorado. I was so excited to learn whey were opening a store in Denver, even if it was way down in the DTC area. And even more excited when they opened up north in Westminster. But the food at the Westminster Pappadeaux is just not as good as the food at any of the Houston Pappadeux that I visited. I’m not sure why. And their prices have gone up so high – especially for what you get – that they’ve fallen off my mental “Favorite Restaurants” list. Last I went there, I think they charged $3.40 for a glass of Coke. That’s just insulting. Cajun and Creole food shouldn’t be expensive. In Louisiana, that’s the daily cuisine of poor folk.
Todd Bradley’s last blog post..Humans Originated Near Current Border of Angola and Namibia
Todd,
Unfortunately, I focused on the Paramount sign instead of the Bayou Bob’s sign. And I probably forgot to use the closeup feature when taking pics of the food.
Beth Partin’s last blog post..The Fillmore Auditorium on Capitol Hill: Standing All Night
Huh, I never even noticed this place…interesting. On the indie Cajun/Creole front, there’s also Lincoln’s Roadhouse—which, get this, is also a biker bar. I’ve been meaning to get over there forever. Among the curiosities on the menu: pot roast burritos (obviously not one of their Gulf-tinged offerings).
http://www.lincolnsroadhouse.com/
Denveater’s last blog post..Tidbits: top 5 cutie pies (Tres Jolie, Flower Wraps, Izakaya Den, Go Fish, Divino)
The menu at Lincoln’s Road House looks quite respectable. I want to go!
Eh, my family’s Cajun, so I just can’t get satisfied with the Denver simulacra. Instead, I just drive an hour to my mom’s and she cooks me up some gumbo and shrimp ettouffee.
saint’s last blog post..She gave me poems
That’s great for you, saint, but doesn’t do the rest of us much good! Likewise, I don’t get excited about eating elk or rainbow trout, since I grew up on it and can get that any day at Mom’s house. But that doesn’t invalidate restaurant reviews of places that serve wild game.
Saint, that’s sweet. I love just about anything etouffee.
Beth Partin’s last blog post..The Capitol Building on Denver’s Capitol Hill, Part I
I do not like a lot the Bayou Bob’s i prefer Pappadeaux.
I love Bayou Bob’s green beans Acadienne, and I like the crab etoufee as well. Did you know the Pappadeaux across from Westminster Mall has closed?
Okay, tried them all! From Houma and Pappadeauxs and Lucilles are both creole. Bayou Bob’s serves real Cajun as well as creole. They had great food specials, happy hour, fried shrimp was amazing and they had the best Lafeyette style gumbo. Lucilles didn’t live up to the hype. It was okay. Seems like a nice place to have breakfast or brunch. Lunch was mediocre. Pappadeauxs is not even real up here. Over priced, crawfish were bland. The only thing I would go back for is the oyster fondue. Awesome. Tried to go to Gumbos but apparently they weren’t very good. They are out of business. I recommend Bayou Bobs!
Southern Rose, glad you could check them all out. I’ve never been to Houma. I like Lucille’s and Bayou Bob’s. I thought Gumbo’s was pretty good; the story I heard was that the rent was doubled from $20,000 to $40,000 per month.