Bourbon House provides Southern comfort at its best

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Photo by: Jeff Lange

Bourbon House 45’s Seafood Bucatini.

by Mark Smesko & Mike Vallas

WARREN

I nevitably the same question intrigues us each month. Where is the next stop in our culinary travels?

This month Mark found an easy answer, a new restaurant in Warren called Bourbon House 45 owned by Mike and Tessa Parker. “It’s got bourbon in the name how could we go wrong?”

Mark’s love of bourbon rivals Matthew McConaughey’s passion for Lincolns. Couple that amber elixir with the anticipation of tasty Southern cuisine, and we hit the road in short order.

We started our meal with a few of the many Southern appetizers. We first sampled Hush Puppies. Classically, this is a dish of deep fried cornmeal batter. Bourbon House takes a simple recipe and elevates it by adding crab meat and super sweet corn. These come to the table a deep golden brown, served with a creamy honey butter. When you first bite into them you think they’re going to be heavy but the inside is light, airy and filled with chunks of crab and corn. The sweet butter melts over them and is the perfect accompaniment, an authentic and fantastic starter.

The next appetizer was Crab Cakes Creole. This is a mixture of lump crab meat and tasso ham brought together with a little mayo, bread crumbs and spices.

Chef Mike Anderson explained he does most ingredients in-house, including the tasso ham. He applies a rub to chunks of pork butt and lets them marinate for three days. It is then house-smoked for three hours and used in many of their dishes to add flavor and spice. The crab cakes are fried on a flat top to give a nice outer crust and topped with a house-made mustard-based remoulade sauce. The sauce is slightly sweet, which counters the mild spice of the crab cakes. The ham provides some smokiness to make a comforting dish.

Our last appetizer was a trio of Alligator Wings. This dish features skewered alligator fillets dusted with cornstarch and house-made Creole rub then fried. The crispy alligator bites are then finished with a bourbon glaze, a unique feature that is worth a try.

The Bourbon House offers many varieties of Po’ Boy sandwiches. A Po’ Boy is traditionally a submarine sandwich from Louisiana filled with either meat or fried seafood served in a French Baguette roll. We tried the Bacon Fried Green Tomato Po’ Boy and were not disappointed. The green tomatoes are coated in rice flour and fried to a crisp texture. They are then stacked in a baguette hoagie with candied peppered bacon and lettuce topped with a whole grain mustard aioli. Everything about this sandwich worked. Serving it with sweet potato waffle fries made it even better.

We moved on to their signature pasta, the Seafood Bucatini. A selection of fresh seafood including shrimp, sea scallops and lobster meat is simmered until tender in a Cajun cream sauce with tomato, sweet pepper and spinach. It is then tossed with Bucatini pasta and served with grilled French bread. The pasta and seafood were cooked perfectly and topped with the flavorful cream sauce. Another well-balanced dish with the right amount of spice.

It would be egregious to visit a Southern restaurant and not try the Blackened Catfish. Chef Anderson takes a generous catfish filet and coats it in his secret Creole spice mix. He blackens it in a cast iron skillet and serves it over Hoppin’ John, tender black-eyed peas with tasso ham and andouille sausage, topped with a fresh tomato pineapple salsa. The fish was flaky and moist. The spice from the Creole mix and the andouille was balanced by the sweetness from the salsa. The peas were tender and creamy. We couldn’t imagine finding a better serving of catfish.

The last dish sampled was Fried Chicken and Waffles. Bourbon House takes boneless chicken breast marinated in buttermilk, coated in waffle batter and fries it to a golden brown. The chicken is placed on two waffles and topped with Franks Red Hot sauce and a peach bourbon syrup. Coating the chicken in the waffle batter gives it excellent texture while still remaining tender and juicy. The hot sauce and syrup mixed well together. This entree could be eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Again, it’s hard to imagine someone else doing it better.

You don’t have to travel far to enjoy authentic Southern cuisine. Bourbon House 45 has an extensive menu with reasonably priced offerings and a host of bourbon selections for whatever you may crave. We also suggest a new cocktail, a rocks glass with the rim dipped in caramel then sprinkled with a bit of sea salt and add ice. Cover with your favorite bourbon and sip on “The Smesko.” Unlike its namesake, it’s sweet and smooth.