Mardi Gras On Madison

Mardis Gras on Madison, located in East Walnut Hills, is a queer restaurant anomoly in Cincinnati. It's closed more often than not. In fact, the owners don't consider it a restaurant at all: they've coined it a "homearaunt" or a "pop-up style" restaurant. As they see it, this gives them license to keep their hours and inventory in a constant state of flux.

I ordered the shrimp po boy and it never disappoints.  The shrimp was hot and fresh, and perfectly seasoned and breaded.  I wanted to kiss the cook, but I took it to go.  It came with Zapps chips, which are an amazing cajun kettle chip.  I’m not usually a fan of potato chips, but these are an exception.  I fell in love with these back in Nawlins about 10 years ago.  Munching away on a habitat site a year after Katrina and eating them always takes me back to that amazing time!  I digress.  This sandwich is so amazing, its the only thing I ever order here.  I vow to branch out and try something else next time.  Its so good though, I can’t think of anything else when there’s a possibility of a shrimp po boy!

Posted on 26 May, 2015 By Mindy Trujillo 1 Comment We just tried Mardi Gras on Madison .  Not only am I a fan of Cajun food, but I’ve been hoping for this area of East Walnut Hills to further develop. So this restaurant, along with the Growler House and O Pie O are welcomed new businesses (both located close to Suzie Wong’s ) on DeSales corner . When you enter the restaurant, you want to walk up to the menu board to see what’s being served that day.  As the waiter described it, Mardi Gras on Madison is a homearaunt- meaning the menu changes frequently and the hours change, too.   The first time we tried to eat there, it was closed. While I always appreciate a local, family business, their hours can be tricky.  Best thing to do, follow them on facebook. The theme of Mardi Gras on Madison is New Orleans style cajun food.  Po’ boy sandwiches are the feature.  Some of the revolving items include cheesy grits, kale, gumbo, sweet potato casserole, okra, caramel sweet potato pie, fries, and slaw. The gumbo was not on the menu when I was there, but I cannot wait to go back and try it!  Zapp’s kettle chips, straight from New Orleans, are a staple. The Po’ boys offered are catfish, chicken, and shrimp.  We got one shrimp and one chicken .  These huge sandwiches served on a baguette simply must be man-handled.   Expect to get messy!  I had to take three pieces of chicken off my sandwich just so I could close it up and eat it. Disclaimer:  If this if your first date, and you get self-conscious, don’t eat here!  These Po’ boys come with lettuce, tomato, mayo, pickle, and a homemade spicy honey.  I’m not a fan of honey so I was going to skip this, but the waiter convinced me to at least order it on the side.  Let me be the first to admit, I was wrong…very, very wrong!  Remember those pieces of chicken I pulled off. That spicy honey ended up on my sandwich

After the Museum. Waking up at 9am, having breakfast at 10am, and walk around the museum for 5 hours with some acquaintances (I really get into the art, I try to smell it and see if I can smell the time period it was in. Sure, it probably smells more like museum and other pieces of art and such, but somewhere in all the smells it has collected there is its past and origin.) and almost giving up when the gps sent us about a block over. I got the etouffee (16$) and some sweet potato casserole(4$) and everyone else got po-boys and fries. I lived in Galveston, Tx for 2 years and while it is not nnaaaliiinnnss, it had a lot of cajun flavor. My etouffee was was right on and the portion was heavy handed, in this situation it is a good thing. The sweet potato casserole was a tiny portion, only when reflected that you paid 4$ for it, buuuuuutttt it was sweet, savory, with pecans in it and just had an awesome cinnamony notes in there. Etouffee also came with a toasted and buttered bread that is used to mop up the sauce that makes the dish one that will leave the plate clean. My girl got a shrimp po boy and fries with some sweet hot sauce. A honey based with crushed red pepper, season all i think, and maybe some apple cider vinegar. I am not sure of the ingredients, but i am sure that they should call it CraCk sauce when put on top those fries. The whole table got sweet tea and almost everyone said it was too strong, but thats how we drink it in the south. If you cut it with some ice water it gets a little smoother. I could not leave any food on my plate and almost fell asleep on the table. You could tell they have regulars and also a bar. The staff was friendly but not as friendly as the chef that asked how we liked it, and we liked it real good.
You might be able to get 3-4 meals at a fast food joint with the amount of money that you will spend here but this is way better that any place like that. Skip fast food for a week and treat yourself to some Kick-Ass Cajun. I am pretty frugal and do not like to spend 20$ on lunch, but dayum this food will have me coming back and I suggest that if you want to experience the taste and smells that give the south that je ne se qua then ill see you at Mardi Gras on Madison.

I have been stalking the New Orleans To Go food truck for years. We have just never been able to be at the same place at the same time. Now they have a brick and mortar restaurant in Walnut Hills, so I don't have to hunt any more!

I had dinner there tonight, and it was delicious. I got the Shrimp Po' Boy and Spicy Honey Fries. DAMN!! Super tasty batter on the shrimp, and the fries were really well seasoned and the spicy honey was a great add.

Let me tell you why this sandwich was especially amazing: I haven't actively eaten a shrimp since December 26, 1999, due to a food poisoning experience. It was so bad that I used to change the channel if a Red Lobster ad came on. As of recently, I've maybe had some ground shrimp in egg rolls or sushi, so I've been coming around. This Po' Boy is the first shrimp dish I've intentionally ordered in 15 years, and I would not hesitate to order it again! Really tasty!!

They have beer (Abita Varieties), wine, and liquor. The liquor was up on display behind the bar, but it was Well Liquor quality booze. Like really low-end stuff... With the Growler House next door, and Myrtle's Punch House basically across a parking lot, their patrons know their booze, so they might want to amp up their alcohol quality to attract carry-over business. The other gripe I had was their decor. Flair for food, aesthetics, not so-much. Sparce decor in the dining area, typical beads and Mardi Gras masks, etc. Overly lit with fluorescent bulbs. Bathroom literally decorated with spray paint (very odd/poorly done).

Now technically they are still in their "soft opening" phase, so they are still learning. Grand Opening is on Mardi Gras (as it should be). The food here rocks, service was really good too. Decor is the only missing component here. "Trendy" lighting, a bathroom repaint, and better liquor on display, this place will rock!

Yum!. Food was great - service is a bit slow but it's in the first couple of weeks - we were all STUFFED - the spicy honey fries are amazing! every day is a different menu - very small - so you might call ahead to make sure you like the special for the day - i went on po' boy day and was not disappointed. blog post to come!

New Orleans to Go is said food truck and on their recent trips they mentioned that their physical location - Mardi Gras on Madison was about to open. Well - that's all it took - I was on top of it!... I was up first with a Shrimp Po' Boy and Ms. Mabel's green beans. Let me tell you - the beans are spicy! They were a bit too spicy for me - but good flavor. The Po' Boy was awesome! Let me tell you - the portions are huge!