Let the good times roll
By Jon Busdeker on Apr. 16, 2007
The menu at Jazz Street Grill sums it up: Laissez les bon temp rouler.
Or, “Let the good times roll.”
The New Orleans-themed restaurant is like an adventure to the Big Easy.
On the walls are pictures of Mardi Gras masks and famous jazz performers. The food is highlighted with taste bud-awakening spices, Cajun flare and Creole goodness.
Owner Walter Hawkins said the success of his restaurant comes from mixing music and food.
“I’m a musician and I like jazz,” said Hawkins. “I was able to tie the two together.”
Since 1994, Hawkins has been in the kitchen of Jazz Street Grill cooking up dishes that could make an authentic Cajun miss home.
The menu features New Orleans specialties like shrimp Creole, crawfish etoufee and shrimp Dianne. Also, Jazz Street offers shrimp and catfish po’boys and andouille sausage subs.
The Cajun style of cooking — influenced by American Indians, French, Spanish and former slaves — is characterized by the spices, the vegetables and the use of seafood like crawfish and shrimp.
For starters, the Blackened Sampler features bite-sized pieces of chicken and fish served with sherry wine sauce and fresh fruit. The pieces are spicy, but not too hot. The sherry wine sauce cuts down on the kick if you like things a little milder.
The generous helping is enough for four people to get a taste of the appetizer.
The cream of crab soup goes well with any dish. Hunks of crabmeat are mixed in the rich, creamy soup. It’s topped with paprika and is a little sweet.
After a fresh salad and a loaf of lightly toasted sour dough bread comes the main fare of Catfish Jazz Street. The chef’s signature dish — which comes highly recommended by the wait staff — is a favorite among the regulars at Jazz Street Grill.
And after eating it, you’ll know why.
The catfish is lightly breaded, fried and tastes so fresh you might think they’re raising them out back. On top of the fish is a combination of onions, green peppers, celery and crawfish tails in a white wine Tabasco sauce. The flavors are a perfect blend and, despite having Tabasco sauce, it’s not spicy.
The dish comes with two sides.
The portions are big, so if you can, don’t eat lunch before dining at Jazz Street Grill, so you’ll be extra hungry.
Hawkins, who calls himself an “Army brat,” came to Lynchburg 16 years ago to help open the Applebee’s on Candlers Mountain Road. After settling into the Hill City, he was told he’d have to move again. He decided to stay and open his own restaurant.
Hawkins said he’s never been to New Orleans, but had learned to cook Cajun food by working in a test kitchen with Cajun chefs in Dallas.
Over the years, he said, he’s adapted to the restaurant scene in Lynchburg.
One of the biggest changes for Jazz Street may come by the end of the year.
In December 2006, Wal-Mart announced it might open a new store at the former site of the Winn-Dixie. If so, his restaurant would have to move.
Hawkins said nothing has been made official, but if he has to move, he’ll open at a different location somewhere in Lynchburg.
Wherever he goes, he’ll bring along the great food and the great music of Jazz Street Grill.
“The music is very important to the success of the restaurant,” Hawkins said. J
Jazz Street Grill has a variety of live music from jazz, blues and pop bands Wednesday through Saturday nights.
“It runs the spectrum,” Hawkins said.
On Thursday nights, Hawkins quits cooking in the kitchen and instead cooks on the 88 keys in the dining room. He plays piano in the jazz band The Extroverts.
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