Me oh my oh we gotta go

Anna Ree’s Andouille
1329 US 52, New Richmond, OH 45157
513-699-4102

Finally! We finally have a true Cajun hot spot on this side of the river. Anna Ree’s Andouille (Anna Ree pictured) in New Richmond hasn’t even been open a year and already the dining room is surging to capacity every weekend. As of now reservations are not mandatory but they are strongly suggested. You’ve been warned. Show up Saturday night on a whim and you may be very disappointed. If your itching to dig into some fine Cajun, book your table and have no hassles.

What’s all the fuss about? The food. No.. wait, the food and the view. Well, the food the view and the music... and the ambiance. Hell, let’s just start with the food.
They grow as much as they can on site. They make their own Cajun spice blends & sauces. They only buy Chef Paul Prudhomme’s sausage. They make everything else from scratch, with lots and lots of love. They have damn good recipes. They serve real Cajun (unlike soo many faux-Cajun joints that litter this city). And I just loved it.
I sampled the Crawfish Etouffee, the Jambalaya and the Red beans & rice. These are three common staple dishes down on the bayou. All three were far above the bar. The Red beans & rice were smoky, saucy and slightly salty. Addicting would describe it best. Whatever your table orders, be certain your server slaps a dish of these on the table for all to try.

The Gumbo was meaty, to say the least!
When you stir the rich peanut brown roux it reveals okra, onions, peppers and of course... Andouille.
I could go for a more saucy sauce-meat ratio but that’s just because I’d sip a good roux from a straw for dessert.
The Crawfish Etouffee featured more rich roux, sauteed peppers & onions and crammed with crawfish. They were so sweet they almost seemed like King Crab.
Jambalaya has always been close to my heart. This one was all in my belly in just a few short minutes. Smoky-spicy sausage flavors soaked into every morsel of rice. Yet the rice was not overcooked into a mush (as sadly I often see). This one is an award winner waiting to happen.
The menu is chock full of selections that all sound salivating. Blog reviewers rave about the catfish and steaks. Some say the beef even bests Ruby’s. I say, with all the love that goes into the food, it almost has to be better than you’d expect.
The true spirit of New Orleans shines through in the food, the music and the attitude. Live music from Lagniappe, Fathead Davis, Tom Wurth, The Royals and Derrick Allen make this place straight out sing with N’Orleans style. The food, the view, the music (and the love) are all in the flavor. It’s all stirred together from the soul. The autograph in my Paul Prudhomme cookbook reads “Good lovin’ good eatin’ good livin’ Paul”. I think Anna Ree’s says that in spades.