Riverbend Restaurant and Bar

Riverbend is quaint restaurant located just a few blocks south of the wonderful Anheuser-Busch Brewery.  It's on the corner of Utah and S 7th St.  It was started by a chef who has 25 years experience cooking Cajun cuisine in New Orleans.  I had been to New Orleans just a month before I visited Riverbend, and to say that it is just as good as anything down there would be an understatement (if you ask me)- gumbo was better, etouffee was better, and I'm excited to compare the other things the menu has to offer.  We went on a Saturday night around 7 PM, so it was very busy.  The restaurant is not very big so we had to wait for about 15 minutes.  They have a bar, so we were able to have an Abita while we waited for a table.  Now for the good stuff:

Heavenly Delight

Appetizer:  Crabmeat-stuffed shrimp.  Caution.  This dish will make you think you are eating in a parallel universe.  I'm not sure how everything is prepared, but the shrimp is simmering in a garlic butter sauce, and then topped with crab stuffing (so the shrimp isn't technically 'stuffed').  Shrimp was delicious on its own, but the combination with crab stuffing simply brought it to perfection.  Cost was 9.99 for 6 large shrimp- it could serve as your meal if you wanted.

Jumbo Gumbo

Alex:  Bowl of chicken and sausage gumbo.  I wasn't very hungry so I went light, but the bowl was huge!  It only cost $5, and was very filling.  I find most Cajun food to be so spicy that any flavor is washed away, but not here.  The broth was quite thick, giving a nice cream taste to it.  The meat was seasoned literally to perfection, and extremely tender.  Then they top it with a scoop of steamed rice to give it some more substance.  I'll say this with caution, but this may be the best bowl of soup I've ever had in my life.

Crawfish Etouffee

Tyler:  Crawfish Etouffee.  This dish is a tad more spicy.  The crawfish is very succulent and has more flavor than I expected (I'm not a huge fan of crawfish).  It's a traditional etouffee, in that it has the onions, peppers, and celery with spicy seasoning, and also not lacking butter- but not too much to make you feel bad about yourself.  What was unique about this etouffee was the amount of tomatoes in the dish.  They were diced and gave great flavor to the dish overall.  Like I said, this is for people who can handle a little more spice, but the flavor is not overpowered by the pepper.  Cost was 12.99.

Zach (Matt's replacement this week):  Cuban Sandwich.  Wow.  This sandwich is perfect.  I've had Cubans before where the meat was dry, or the sauce was plain, or the pickles were too bitter.  It's served on a panini, and grilled to perfect crispiness.  The pork and ham is actually oven-smoked, so it doesn't have the flavor that comes with a traditional smoker.  The pickles are mild, and the Swiss cheese adds a good flavor, not too strong.  The sauce that comes with it is a mayonnaise/mustard mix.  It is a perfect combination that I've never tasted on a Cuban before.  I highly recommend it for everyone, but especially if you're not fond of spicy, Cajun food.  Price was 7.99, did not come with a side.

Cuban Sandwich

Overall, this place is truly incredible.  The menu is versatile and everything so far has been magnificent.  The only downside is that certain menu items are available on certain days, which limits your options (Seafood gumbo on Fridays, red beans and rice on Mondays, and jambalaya on Thursday).  I usually like to try a restaurant once and then move on, but I can't wait to go back and try other things- especially the jambalaya.  And if you like to have a beer to wash the spice down, they have a very nice selection.  We give it 4.5 out of 5 stars!  Awesome, awesome stuff.