top 5 restaurants in Sowal area

my #1 restaurant on 30A is Gravel Road and here is why:

awesome food, plentiful portions, pleasant atmosphere, not pretentious, plus go on wednesdays for the steenos & $15 entrees... i've been several times for lunch & dinner, and i always try something new plus i always taste everyone else's food at the table, so i've had a good sampling of the menu... so far it has been very consistently delicious... and the prices are not outrageous.

i also love, love, love fabrice... the croque monsieur is my favorite, plus you have to try the dessert that is layered with flaky crust & custard. the prices are very good, too.

for lunch i like the thai cafe in grayton just because it's affordable & big portions -- i always have leftovers, so i get two lunches out of it. thai food is some of the only food that i actually don't mind eating leftover -- it's just as good the next day. the pad thai is yummy & so is the curry chicken. a friend told me that the chicken fried rice is excellent,too.

:welcome: sneakin' sally ....thru the alley :wave:
Some other :cool: peeps on here been sayin' the same thing about Gravel Road. Where is Fabrice, and what is croque monsieur please? :idontno: 😀

Where is Fabrice, and what is croque monsieur please? :idontno: 😀

Fabrice is busy right now. Oh, you mean the restaurant :wub:. The existing one is located in a small strip on Hwy 98 (south side) just slightly west of hwy 393. Fabrice will soon be opening a second store, located in WaterColor.
I believe a croque monsieur is a ham and cheese, but let me tell you, it is not a normal sandwich. It is good, and made using fresh ingredients. I'm not sure if I've ever eaten fresher tasting foods than the menu items at Fabrice. That place is a delightful change of pace. His new WaterColor location will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

The origin of the name "croque-monsieur" is shrouded in mystery. The word croque comes from the verb croquer which means to crunch or to munch, thereby the translation frequently given as "crunchy mister" or "crunchy sir" or "mister crunch". In any case, it first appeared on a Paris caf? menu in 1910 and is mentioned by Proust in one of his books. In some provinces of France a "croque" is a sandwich that has been dipped in egg and then broiled, which shows similiarities to some recipes for croque-monsieur. A croque-madame is the same sandwich, served with the addition of a fried egg "? cheval" or on top. You will also see some sandwiches labeled croque-madame that are made with chicken and cheese.

I didn't know about Fabrice. It will be on my must try list this week. :clap:

I didn't know about Fabrice. It will be on my must try list this week. :clap:

What? How?! You gotta go😀

I guess I am just not in the "know". I'll quickly make up for it though!! 😀

The origin of the name "croque-monsieur" is shrouded in mystery. The word croque comes from the verb croquer which means to crunch or to munch, thereby the translation frequently given as "crunchy mister" or "crunchy sir" or "mister crunch". In any case, it first appeared on a Paris caf? menu in 1910 and is mentioned by Proust in one of his books. In some provinces of France a "croque" is a sandwich that has been dipped in egg and then broiled, which shows similiarities to some recipes for croque-monsieur. A croque-madame is the same sandwich, served with the addition of a fried egg "? cheval" or on top. You will also see some sandwiches labeled croque-madame that are made with chicken and cheese.

very accurate description and fabrice makes one of the best anywhere

i have a copy of the menu in front of me now... fabrice's description:

Baked sandwich -- slices of white breadw/ bechamel sauce, warm gruyere cheese & parisian ham

it's delicious!!

i have a copy of the menu in front of me now... fabrice's description:

Baked sandwich -- slices of white breadw/ bechamel sauce, warm gruyere cheese & parisian ham

it's delicious!!

That sounds so much better than my "ham and cheese sandwich" definition.

Greetings Neighbors and Friends,

We have been blessed over the years at Criolla's and I love reading everyone's feedback on Sowal.com, both the negative and the positive.

Smiling Joe is right about our new Chef de Cuisine Shane Vaughn, what a gentleman and superb chef and we are delighted to have him leading our kitchen. We have always been fortunate to have great folks working with us. From the beginning Criolla's has been an interactive kitchen in so far as not only does our Chef de Cuisine influence our menu but I ask for our entire culinary team to create - line cooks, sous chefs, interns - it's an incredible way to work.

If you haven't been in this year come check out our tapas bar we opened in February. We get a chance to bring the kitchen out front plus you can stop in and enjoy Criolla's without always feeling the need to go through multiple courses. It's been exciting for all us cooks.

For our fellow Sowall'ers, I would like to invite y'all to come check out what's new and recieve a complimentary tapas and dessert anytime between now and July 21st. Just let our friendly GM Tim Kinderman know and he will take good care of you. BTW, for all the Sowal soda drinkers out there, I apologze for having charged you repeatedly. From this point forward your sodas are complimentary, just let us know when you are there and we'll take good care of you. Unfortunately I can't offer the same for you oenophiles, but we do bring in some gems you can't get everywhere.

Have a great weekend and enjoy this fabulous weather - we all should all be at the beach today. Best wishes and thanks again for the past 24+ years.

Johnny

Johnny,

Good to hear you are taking our comments well. You didn't ge to be so successful by having your head in the sand!!!

We ate there last year, and frankly were not impressed. It was a slow night, but we were placed at a poor table and treated kind of like we didn't belong there. That plus the pompano I had was burned on one side and raw on the other.

In any case, we'll be back in late Sept and will give it another try.

Good to see a Bogalusa boy do well. (I'm from the Hill and ms seaside is from the North side).:wave:

Borago - fine dining
Red Bar - bluegrass brunch on sundays!
Fabrice - wonderful pastries and sandwiches.

but the top, #1, super fave is Amore. I could be biased, but it's still the best pizza!!

Where and what is Fabrice's?? Does it serve sandwiches for dinner also? Any veggie options? Thanks!

Fabrice's original location is in a strip mall on the middle part of US 98 in SoWal. He used to be the pastry chef for Criolla's and now sells French-influenced sandwiches, salads and pastries at his own place there.

He's supposedly adding a second place in Watercolor, but I don't know howconstruction is progressing for that one.

Where and what is Fabrice's?? Does it serve sandwiches for dinner also? Any veggie options? Thanks!

Currently, Fabrice isn't open for dinner. However, when he opens the new place in WaterColor, he will be open for three meals a day!