Taytro’s Bistro is a New Orleans style restaurant in Festus. Luke Tetrault, one of the owners, recently welcomed the 573 Magazine to Taytro’s to experience his Cajun cuisine.
The aroma of good Cajun food greeted us in the parking lot and whet our appetites. The friendly and attentive staff was equally inviting. The meal began with the house salad—Taytro’s Poppyseed Salad. Luke’s stepmom, Lynn, created the poppyseed vinaigrette dressing as the perfect compliment to the fresh mandarin oranges, the sweet candied almonds, and the mix of fresh greens, red onions, tomato, and shredded mozzarella cheese. All this was served with grilled French bread. The salad can be ordered with chicken, and it would be a very satisfying meal in itself.
Next, Luke chose Taytro’s Cajun BBQ Shrimp for our appetizer. Delicious! This sautéed shrimp was covered in signature Cajun BBQ sauces served with grilled French bread for dipping. You’ll definitely want to dip your bread in this sauce. The sauce is prepared using a three-part reduction method. It has an almost creamy, chocolate-like taste with a hint of smoky flavor and is served with fresh lemon juice on top. We instantly loved it! Dip the bread again and it’s perfection. I mean, you don’t want to leave a drop of the sauce on the plate!
One of our main course dishes was Catfish Etouffee: farm-raised catfish cooked in a light breading and served in a blond roux based sauce.
We instantly loved it! Dip the bread again and it’s perfection. I mean, you don’t want to leave a drop of the sauce on the plate!
What is a roux? A roux is a simple flour/fat mixture that is added to dishes to thicken it. It is a combination of equal parts flour and fat (butter, oils, etc.).
The flour and fat are then cooked together to form a paste. The fat coats the starch/flour and prevents it from clumping together when introduced into a liquid. In some professional kitchens, roux is prepared ahead of time and used as needed throughout the night. What is a blond roux? It’s just cooked a bit longer than a white roux to produce a blond coloring from the beginning stages of caramelization.
Taytro’s serves this dish in a delicious crawfish sauce with Andouille sausage, fresh herbs, and the Cajun holy trinity (onion, celery, and green pepper) over white rice. This is definitely a crowd pleaser!
What if you’re not certain about Cajun food? Taytro’s offers a variety of po’boys and classics like burgers, grilled chicken, pulled pork, and chicken tender sandwiches. We tried the ribeye po’boy dressed with Taytro’s citrus chipotle mayo. We could smell the delicious char-broil before even tasting this sandwich. It was delicious and very tender!
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