Lula's Louisiana Cookhouse

PLACE: 113 S. Washington, Owosso (Just south of the M21/Washington corner.  Parking available on the street or behind J.C. Penney's/the bowling alley, if you want the exercise.  ;) )

PHONE NUMBER: (989)720-5852

VISIT NUMBER: 1

PRICE: $$-$$$

CUISINE: Cajun/Creole

WAIT TIME TO ORDER: About 5 minutes

WAIT TIME TO FOOD: About 10-15 minutes.

STAFF IMPRESSIONS: I'm not easily won over by service.  I've worked in customer service, and honestly, I'm kind of picky.  This place...  The service was excellent.  The waitstaff was attentive without hovering, very acceptive and sweet to our small child.  We also had the owner of the restaurant come out to speak to us, which was a nice touch (I have never had anyone from "the back" come to my table, so that truly stands out to me); I noticed he made sure to speak to as many tables as he could, which was absolutely wonderful, and I appreciated the personal feeling that it gave our meal.

FOOD IMPRESSIONS:

•The Dolma is amazing - an explosion of lamb and grape leaf, with the rice sopping up the oil/garlic/herb flavor.  Add the tzaktziki sauce and it almost turns into a cake with a creamy, yoghurt-like frosting.

•The Gator and Catfish were coated with a phenomenal breading, that was not too salty or spicy, but gave a wonderful Cajun-like bite.  I've had Cajun that wanted to burn your tastebuds off in place of flavor...  This was not one of those times.

•The only steak on the menu was exceptional - tender, juicy, with a little Cajun tang...  And cooked to perfection, even to a picky eater with a rare way of ordering.

•The pasta was the perfect, just-below al dente texture.  The Cajun creme sauce is divine (think Alfredo with a twist), and worked exceptionally well with the Crawfish in the dish.

•Crawfish itself was a meaty, wild, more earthy-flavored lobster; it was kind of the backwoods cousin, what venison is to beef, if you will.

•The beignets...  Well, first, let me show you the only picture of our meal that I managed to take (food...too...delicious...can't...stop...eating!):

That is all of the powdered sugar that we couldn't eat.  I love powdered sugar, so that is...amazing.  The little tiny puffs taste like the high-class cousin of an elephant ear.  I love them.  I want more,

DRINKS:  The sweet tea is not sickeningly so, which is refreshing (no pun intended).  Other than Coke, teas (sweet and iced), and milk...  I was too busy drooling over the food menu to notice, I'm sorry.

SATISFACTION:  I'll only be satisfied if they put a location closer to Flint.  They are phenomenal!

WOULD RECOMMEND: Absolutely.

NOTES: It is small, but doesn't feel crowded.  I estimate about 20 tables are there, and they fill up QUICKLY, so definitely come early.  They also are open from 12-2, then reopen 430-9, so plan for that.