Monday, November 14, 2011

Orleans Crawfish, Randolph, MA

Orleans Crawfish at Hearth Stone is a restaurant in Randolph, MA that specialized in what they call "Asian Cajun" food.  This has been a restaurant that has been on both my and my husband's radar for a while, as we are both big fans of Cajun style food (our dream is to eat our way around New Orleans).  A few weeks ago I was able to snag a Groupon to this restaurant, and finally, this past Thursday we grabbed the girls and headed over to Orleans Crawfish for dinner.

We walked in on a Thursday evening about 6:15pm, and were immediately seated in the small dinning room.  There was only one other table occupied, but during our meal there seemed to be a steady stream of take out orders coming in (and going out!).  After checking out the menu, both the girls ordered chicken tenders (a small children's menu, but kids are able to choose a side for their meal from the generous list of sides).  Paul decided on the jambalaya while I ordered crawfish etouffee.  We also decided to order some hushpuppies for the table.

The kid's meals were typical kid's meals.  Nothing special, nothing terrible.  A good portion of chicken and well cooked.  Ellie ordered a side salad and Maggie got garlic bread for her side choice.

The hushpuppies were tasty, but did not come with any kind of dipping sauce, which left them a little dry.  One of them was also undercooked, with raw dough in the middle.

Paul liked his jambalaya, but didn't love it.  He thought the taste veered toward the asian, and not a typical flavor you would find in a traditional jambalaya dish.  Tasty, but not what he was expecting.  My crawfish etouffee however was very good.  The server had warned me upon ordering it that it was quite spicy, and as a spice lover, I was fine with that warning.  The dish did have a great spicy kick to it, but nothing that burned my mouth.  It was loaded with crawfish and came in a thick and flavor filled sauce.  The portion sizes of our meals were perfect, and both Paul and I cleared our plates totally!

While we weren't blown away with the meal, we were satisfied enough to comment we would come back to try other items on the menu.  I look forward to our next outing at Orleans Crawfish!

Orleans Crawfish on Urbanspoon

Friday, November 4, 2011

I Got a Christmas Card!

I did it!  I completed our family's Christmas Card already, using Shutterfly. I absolutely LOVE Shutterfly.  I use their service not only to get prints made but also to make fantastic photo books, cards, stationary, and loads of other fun stuff.  Check them out!  You will be hooked, too!


Stationery card
View the entire collection of cards.