Angeline's in Berkeley
I'm going for dinner on Saturday: any recommendations? I've gathered from previous threads that others have enjoyed the hushpuppies, BBQ shrimp and the pecan pie.
Has anyone tried the fried chicken or the étouffée?
Thanks!
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Dave MP
May 24, 2012 10:58 PM
I ate here tonight for the first time, and overall I thought it was quite good. Got to try several things:
Fried cheese grits with crawfish etouffee - we shared this as an appetizer. The fried grits were in cubes, and the texture inside was super smooth, almost like potato puree. Not what I was expecting, but not bad. The crawfish etouffee was great - lots of crawfish meat and a rich sauce.
Mixed grill came out with meat glazed in a shimmering barbecue sauce. Ribs were decent, sausage was plump and tasty. Came with potato salad which was fine, but a bit heavy on mayo (or was it remoulade?)
Soft-shell crab po' boy was a special, and it was decent, but not as good as the po' boys at Queens in SF. It had mustard on it, which I didn't like. But the crab itself was nicely fried. Also came with the potato salad.
Fried chicken platter came with delicious sweet potatoes and gravy, as well as string beans. As others in this thread have noted, it's boneless white meat (so essentially chicken fingers)...so if you are expecting chicken fingers, you'll be quite pleased, as they have a crispy batter and a moist interior. If you're expecting a more classic fried chicken, you'll be disappointed.
Gumbo was okay, but nothing too memorable. Definitely not as good as Queens, which I had recently—the depth of flavor wasn't there in Angeline's version.
Sweet tea was excellent, and unsweetened tea was fine too.
Service was great - our server (named Nathan?) answered all of our questions thoroughly, and was really good at refilling our iced teas without ever mixing up which person had sweet and which person had unsweetened. Nice space, convenient location, so I'd certainly return.
After dinner, we walked over to Cream, and I shared a mint-chip ice cream cookie sandwich in the chocolate cookies. Really excellent (cookies still warm), and a steal for $2.
Dave MP
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Thank you everyone for the suggestions. Went tonight and had a lovely meal. The étouffée was flavorful and nicely spicy, though the accompanying Parmesan green beans were cold. Also tried the fried chicken. I usually avoid boneless fried chicken, but this was really good--crispy, well seasoned and juicy. I didn't love the ginger vanilla mashed sweet potatoes, but the accompanying gravy was delicious.
We also had the mac n cheese, which was exactly how I wanted it: elbow macaroni, good cheesy flavor, and a great crispy crust on top. The beignets were also terrific. Two entrees, a side, a dessert and two lemonades came to $50. I would definitely go back.
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re: Lisa Simpson
dotspotter
Sep 29, 2011 05:58 PM
Definitely one of my favorite haunts in Berkeley. Try the fried alligator if they have it!
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mariacarmen
Sep 1, 2011 09:30 PM
Excellent fried chicken, excellent bbq shrimp, and i love the catfish. i agree, the etouffee wasn't my favorite, but everything else i've had has been wonderful. mac and cheese, sweet potatoes, beignets - even the Blue Lake green beans are great - probably the one light moment in the 3 meals i've had there .... go very hungry,
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my office orders lunch from this place all the time. it is overall fantastic.
i'd highly recommend either the fried chicken or the crawfish etouffee -- my experience has been there is lots of crawfish, and it isn't bland, at least to my tastes.
some people here also really really like the voodoo shrimp... but i don't.
i don't think they serve chicken or oyster po'boys during the evenings, but those are good too.
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Definitely the BBQ shrimp and the hush puppies. I recall the etouffee as being somewhat bland and skimpy on the crawfish the one time I ordered it; on the other hand, my wife is a fan of the gumbo at Angeline's. For a decadent dessert, I rarely pass up on the bread pudding.
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