Jazzie Café

Some of you may have noticed Jazzie’s crazy business hours in the past months (closed during lunch and closed before 5? Come on!). Well, today when I pulled up, I noticed the building for sale. Sad but true. Does anyone know what happened?

This is my «go-​to» place for quick, yummy food. They are kind of off the beaten path right down the street from Cedar Creek. Just look for the little red «shack.» I usually get take-​out since the inside is just four tables. The owners are extremely friendly and accommodating! Generous seafood portions (grilled or fried) for a great price! I love the fried shrimp po-​boy w/​the jazzie fries which are just fries w/​cajun seasoning, but tasty nonetheless. The po-​boy overflows w/​fried goodness and the po-​boy bread is to die for! Also love the sweet and spicy wings which are very meaty compared to most wing place and go down well w/​a few beers while watching football. Shrimp fried rice is also a winner! Skip the other so called cajun place in the Heights and hit up Jazzie’s if you want to satisfy your taste buds and not break the bank. One star deducted because I wish they had a bigger dine-​in area and extended hours. Get there early because they close at 7 PM on weeknights and have limited Saturday hours (10 – 6). Closed on Sunday.

Upon driving up to this place, you wonder what kind of treat you are in for. Although the looks and location of this place might be misleading to the quality of food served inside, dont be fooled! Jazzie’s serves up some delicious NO style cooking.
If you order a sandwich, you will be surprised at how much goes into one. The last time I went, I ordered the shrimp poboy, and it was overflowing with shrimp! Any bigger and it’ll be an episode of Man Vs. Food. The owners are very courteous, and if you go often enough the cook/​owner will remember how you like your food. He is also more than willing to make it to your specifications as well.
I only wished I still lived closer to this place. Otherwise, I would be eating there a couple times a week.

I wish this place were closer. If they were, they would certainly give Calliope’s some competition. I remembered that I had bookmarked Jazzie Café a while back, so I decided to drop by yesterday and pick up some shrimp po boys for dinner.
Coincidentally, they are located almost as out of the way as Calliope’s location is for me; just slightly beyond reach, so it can’t be an everyday option – and perhaps that’s a good thing. Jazzie Café is located on 19^th St. on the «industrial» side – not the Victorian gingerbread houses/​funky stores side that I’m familiar with. They are right down the street from the Big Star Bar. It’s quite dive-​y and mainly geared for take-​out, though the proprietors are nice and probably wouldn’t mind if you set up on their back patio or at any one of the three tables inside.
I ordered a 6-​inch grilled and a 6-​inch fried shrimp po boy with a side of onion rings. The po boys come fully dressed with pickles, mayo, shredded lettuce and tomato. The onion rings appear to be your standard beer battered from a bag variety. The po boys were not as spicy as Calliope’s, but you can modify that yourself with the seven – yes 7! different varieties of hot sauce bottles they have sitting out at each table. I did get my order to go, and I promptly doused my fried shrimp po-​boy with some classic Tabasco once I was home.
The fried shrimp po boy was the star of my two picks. It was loaded with plump, fresh shrimp – the shrimp had that pearly texture and «pop!» when you bit into one and tasted clean and just scrumptiously yummy. I will be sure and order the 12″ po boy next time. The grilled shrimp po boy also came dressed with grilled mushrooms and onions, an unusual, but tasty touch. It was delicious too, but the shrimp were smaller in size and did not have the same quality as the fried shrimp po boy. Some other menu items are cajun seafood platters, pork or crawfish boudin, wings, fried pickles, red beans & rice, and shrimp fried rice. Also of note, they offer some interesting varieties of Zapp’s chips and Andy Capp Hot Fries.
So overall, similar but different from Calliope’s. Both are Asian NOLA transplants and offer Cajun type specialities. Jazzie Café’s prices are easier on the pocketbook. Although I think I still prefer Calliope’s po boys, because of how they spice their batter. The onion rings at Calliope’s are better, and they offer prawn chips. I believe I still favor Calliope’s, but Jazzie Café is definitely on the radar now.

The dining area (a couple of picnic tables on a corrugated plastic-​covered patio with a view to a barbed wire fenced junk yard) isn’t the nicest, but who gives a shit! The sandwiches here are some of the tastiest I’ve been served in Houston. I usually go with an oyster po’ boy. Really, really great. But it’s all supposed to be good — take it from the pros over at the Houston Press who recently raved about the blackened tilapia. I’ll stop well short of praising a man-​aided, natural disaster, but this place, and the nice family that runs it, are NOLA’s loss and Houston’s gain.
My plan today: submit my order by telephone, pick up some sandwiches on the way to happy hour and eat them with friends at Cedar Creek. Even though Cedar Creek has a kitchen, I doubt they’ll sweat me, and here’s why:
1. My bar tab will be considerable;
2. Ursula is kind and understanding;
3. Everyone in Shady Acres knows or should know that these sandwiches are better than anything that you can get at Cedar Creek; and finally
4. I plan to hover over my sandwich with the ravenous gaze and 100 yard stare of a white tiger devouring a side of beef.
Remember what happens to careless Cat Dancers and don’t ogle my oysters — just bring me another beer!

my quest for good food from ethnic, divey, buried treasures in the city often results in not-​so-​great experiences. case in point.
cajun food is definitely some of my favorite stuff which is why i stopped here for lunch one day. my ex-​boyfriend lived in this neighborhood and even he was surprised when i suggested we pull up to this shack. an asian family who are katrina evacuees own this place. it even feels like new orleans in there with the mardi gras posters and b/​c it’s such a sh*thole. they make po-​boys and fried rice here. interesting combination but makes sense. i’m intrigued. i ordered the fried catfish and fried shrimp po-​boy. we took it to-​go instead of sweating it out dining there. i was disappointed. everything was bland. i tasted mayo and the lettuce and tomato were fresh enough, but the fried seafood was flavorless and the french bread was tough. the catfish tasted muddy and even seemed a tad undercooked.
i really wanted to like this place. the family running the joint seemed nice enough. i feel for them and respect them for trying to make a decent living. i say if you live in the neighborhood, try it out. they may have worked out the kinks. it’s been more than a year and a half since i’ve been and there really aren’t many decent restaurant choices in that neighborhood anyway.