It was my son's pick for lunch and he wanted to visit the Saint Louis Galleria food court so he could get his free sub sandwich from Charley's Grilled Subs. That means I could select from the myriad of Galleria food establishments to find something to eat for lunch. I had tried Five Guys Burgers (not to be confused with 5 Star Burgers) and the burgers were pretty good, but I wanted to try something different. I checked the Galleria site earlier and had noticed a new establishment there, Cajun Gourmet, so I knew I had to try it out. I also had never visited the Vida Mexican Kitchen y Cantina, but since everybody else was congregating in the Food Court, I decided I would either try out the Cajun Gourmet or eat at one of my usual Galleria spots (Panda Express, Sarku Japan sushi bar.)
My wife and mother-in-law were going to get their lunch at Panera, so my son and I would go down to the Food Court to meet my daughter and her friend there and choose from the selections downstairs. As we rode the escalator, the Charley's sub sample person and I had already locked eyes, and she knew she had a customer. My son walked over to her and received a sandwich sample and I, of course, took one also, even though I knew I would not be getting a sub there! I spotted the Cajun Gourmet at the end of the row, to the left of the Villa Fresh Italian Kitchen, and they seemed shocked when they saw me headed in their direction. There were two guys behind the counter and when they saw me they both waved me down with samples of two of their products. As I came closer I noticed the place looked amazingly similar to Panda Express, offering 2 or 3 entrees along with a side of white or fried rice or with some noodles. I was curious what exactly made them "Cajun"! They did have one dish called Jambalaya chicken which I tried and was pretty spicy and also some pepper shrimp that was pretty good. Their dishes were somewhat different from the selections at Panda Express and I thought I would give them a try to help out the new guys in the court. I went with the noodles, the bourbon chicken, the pepper shrimp and the chicken jambalaya. The noodles were definitely an improvement over the noodles at Panda which are usually pretty bland. The entrees were different as well, seeming less "processed" and flavorful. Although still heavy on the sauces, the Cajun Gourmet offerings still had a different flavor than Panda Express, and I liked having a different option.
Nonetheless, I did not feel that "Cajun Gourmet" was the proper name for the restaurant, and it should be named something like "Panda Express Alternative" or maybe the "Beatrix Express" named after K. beatrix an ancient relative of the giant panda. They could use the picture of the K. beatrix as their logo instead of the weird Cajun crayfish thing which has nothing to do with their cuisine. Since I consider the Cajun Gourmet to really be an Asian restaurant in disguise, that means the Galleria Food Court now has 4 of its 8 food tenants as Asian food: Cajun Gourmet, Panda Express, Sarku Japan and Hibachi San. It is hard to believe that all of them can survive.
The final item I noticed at the Food Court was a new storefront opening up next to the Subway. There was a large sign saying "COMING SOON" and the picture there was for some place called "Raising Cane's". I googled them and it sounds like all they serve is chicken fingers! Their web site does not show any located in Missouri, so the Galleria location and one in Mid-Rivers Mall will be their first ones. I may just have to try them out if they are open the next time my son picks Charley's!
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