The Holy City has a new choice for gutsy, Big Easy-style eats. Formerly a catering kitchen, The Crescent Connection expanded into restaurant turf three months ago. All the usual New Orleans suspects - crawfish etouffee (lunch, $6), red beans and rice (lunch, $5), and a tasty cast of Po'Boys (lunch, $5-$9) - grace the small menu with unusually authentic treats. Chef/owner Iran Coleman hails from New Orleans and, according to our server, "has worked with all the best New Orleans chefs." Unsuccessful at getting chef Coleman on the phone to confirm his resume, I can tell you his food offers the compelling earmarks of a well-trained chef, regardless of where he's worked in the past.
Most of the ingredients, from the crawfish to the beans and sausage, are shipped in from New Orleans to ensure the authenticity of the flavors of the seafood and produce of the region.
The Crescent City Connection jumps over the moon with its gumbo (small, $3.50, large, $6), a heady, brown gravy layered with smoky heat and spice, thick with roux and savory morsels of meat and seafood. A scoop of buttery, nutty rice is presented on top at the table, consequently sealing the deal on what's essentially a meal in a bowl. Similarly, sides like macaroni and cheese, corn macheux and smothered okra, are satisfying, stick-to-your ribs fare on the cheap. The corn macheaux (small, $3.25, large, $4.75) stands out as a fancy creamed corn winner of roasted corn nuggets awash in a spicy, sweet sea of cream and flavor points of fresh thyme. Alas, an otherwise sublime crawfish etouffee was marred with the lingering after-taste of burnt roux and was light on crawfish. Still, it's a worthy eating endeavor and one that was probably just having a quasi-bad day.
Little bars of slightly dry corn bread, served without butter, arrived mid-meal. Indeed, timing was off throughout the meal, which is an area where Crescent can and should improve. After all, most of this food is prepped well ahead of time. Thus, there really is no explaining slow, awkward, stop-and-go service timing, except for lack of organization in the kitchen or other distractions. Since we were two of a total of six diners in the small restaurant, it can't be attributed a sudden order- glut. If this glitch is ironed out, Crescent Connection should make an excellent lunch choice for the many professionals that work in the nearby Park Circle and North Charleston area. Until then, bring snacks or a good dose of patience, or your stomach will be rumbling (like mine was) louder than the New Orleans-style music that permeates the merry little space.
Indeed, Crescent Connection's location, in a little strip mall near the corner of Montague Avenue, is an odd one. However, parking is easy and the food and super endearing staff make it worth a visit to bring your heart just a little bit closer to the Big Easy, if only for a day. Dinner offers a broader menu of choices at slightly higher prices. Take-Out and catering are also available.
The Crescent Connection Bistro
1910-E Montague Avenue
North Charleston
(843) 529-0777
Lunch, Tuesday - Friday, 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Dinner, Tuesday - Saturday, 5 - 9 p.m.
