Alligator Soul

Alligator Soul
3121 Broadway
Everett, WA

If there is one thing I can say I am proud of is that I listen to my readers. From minor layout changes and, most importantly, suggestions: If you have something to say, as long as it makes sense, it is not burdensome and does not go against my code of ethics, it is pretty much fair game. That’s why I was quite excited when reader jlomein, in my Southern Kitchen post wrote the following:

Next time you’re in Washington you should check out Alligator Soul in Everett. It’s my favourite southern restaurant by far.

Well, that suggestion was quite interesting so why not! As a result, in the last trip through Everett, I decided to drop by to have a taste of Cajun/creole.

When I arrived, it was way past noon so it wasn’t a surprise the restaurant had only a couple of other customers. However, what surprised me was that more customers kept coming in. After been seated to a table near the window (for natural sunlight), it was a matter of checking what to order. Originally, I had po’boy in my head; however, I wanted something more heavy and po’boy won’t have cut it. Actually, I had a second reason I wanted a po’boy: That was the only option during lunch time for alligator meat! So, moving on, instead, I ordered…

Green fried tomato, served with a (Louisiana) remoulade. The green tomatoes were coated first in a mix which includes cornmeal and then fried. The resulting morsels were crispy in the outside and soft, almost mushy, in the inside. However, there wasn’t much of a distinguishable tomato-ey taste (not even heirloom tomato taste). The remoulade, though, managed to salvage it as it produced some spiciness to the dish.

And my “main” dish: endless Jambalaya: All-you-can-eat dish of spicy tomato, rice, pork, chicken ‘n veggies, topped with andouille sausage, served with cornbread and corn salad. $9.95. While most of us will frown at the prospect of ordering an all-you-can-eat type dish (I mean to keep costs down, won’t they use the cheapest, most readily available components?), the resulting dish was… Wait, how about we go through the sides first? (Oh, on that note, yeah, it is on the creole side, not Cajun side…)

Corn salad. I would have been able to live without it. In a way, it had an odd acidic taste, something I found distracting. Not even the beans in it was able to make want to eat it. However, I do believe there might be a reason why it is made that way: Consumed with some rice (or the Jambalaya), it provides some additional taste contrast. It might not work with everybody so…

Cornbread. If it wasn’t because I was about to eat rice, I might have had it, too. Unlike a lot of similar cornbreads, the one here seemed to be made with a mix of cornmeal and flour. Regardless if it is true or false, the texture was different enough, not to mention the different additional ingredients added to the mix, like some chopped green onions, made it really noticeable. But, again, there is a limit of how much carbs I am willing to eat…

Moving to the main part of the dish, the Jambalaya… I am not sure what would be the best way to describe it, given that a lot of the dishes I have consumed here aren’t even closed to what I had here. Please don’t mention paella: While both are rice dishes, this one here was moistier (?). I.e., the rice was cooked through (and partially breaking them) and the tomato-like taste was quite noticeable here. You can eat it and it might go down really smooth. In fact, that issue of choking when eating rice too fast didn’t occur here! As for the meats, the pork and chicken there were slivers here and there. You could taste some of the other meats just that, in term of pieces, it simply was minimal… But, you know what? I don’t care about that, as the rice, again, was quite good. As for the andouille, I wished it was spicier but, otherwise, it served its purpose.

I will have to admit I really liked this rice dish and, for some reason, I really wanted to order seconds (I didn’t even finish the first plate!). However, it might be a good thing: had I been able to go for seconds, a third would have, as well been a possibility! My only regret on this visit is that I should have been there for dinner (seafood Jambalaya!) with others (more dishes!). But, given it is in Everett, just a couple more Kms south of Tulallip, a trip might be a possibility! So, yes, I would like to come back… jlomein, thanks a lot for this suggestion!

Tagged under: Chicken • Pork • Rice • Seattle