At new D’Iberville restaurant, a classically trained chef is inspired by her grandmother

What soon becomes evident when you visit Aunt Madge’s is that there is a lot of passion going on here.

A quick look at the daily menu and I am pretty sure that the chef here is classically trained, and that turned out to be true. Tanaya Smith is owner and executive chef, and she did attend the Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts.

She can talk to you about the four French mother sauces — she comes out smartly dressed in a white chef’s jacket and black and white apron — but what this place puts out is soul food with a spicy twist.

It is not very often that I get this excited about a new restaurant on the Coast, but if you are serious about good food, really good food, your path will sooner or later take you to the door step of Aunt Midge’s.

After being in catering for a few years, the restaurant is brand new, so hours and menu are limited during a prolonged soft opening. In these crazy days, that’s a pretty good idea. It is spotlessly clean; Chef Smith is a serious professional, and her food is stunningly good and beautifully presented.

I stopped by on a Saturday, and there were two steamed platters on the menu. Steamed seafood in a part of the world that is in love with frying everything? Just wait till you try it, and your mind will be changed.

I tried the shrimp and sausage steamer platter. When it came out, I was surprised at the artful presentation and copious amount of food. There were eight jumbo shrimp, one link of really good beef sausage, seven mini potatoes, two deviled eggs, one corn on the cob and citrus wedges.

The whole plate was covered in Chef Smith’s signature sauce, which she calls the “big dawg sauce,” and her homemade seasoning, named Pi-yow, a term her grandmother, for whom the restaurant is named, used to declare that something really important was about to happen.

The Sun Herald featured her grandmother, Mildred Johnson, in a “Good Neighbor” feature years ago. A neighbor said she watched children from all over her Long Beach neighborhood after school, and described her as “simply the most lovable person on this earth.”

Make sure to squeeze the lemon and lime and orange wedges over your food before you start, then grab a big handful of napkins, because this delicious pairing of food and seasonings is as messy as it gets, and I loved every bite.

The other platter on the menu that day was even bigger than the one I had. It was made up of snow crabs and shrimp, and all the sides I had on my platter. There is so much food the takeout container had to be closed up with rubber bands. No kidding.

The menu changes daily, and the steamed platters are available on Saturdays. Cajun and Creole favorites include shrimp and grits and blackened red snapper.

Chef Smith told me here favorites include red beans and rice, served in a cornbread bowl, and Patron margarita chicken tacos, made with the famous margaritas, pineapple pico de gallo and guacamole.

Give Chef Smith and Aunt Midge’s a little time to come online fully, and I think this little restaurant is going to be a culinary tour de force.

Aunt Midge’s

Location: 10523 Lemoyne Boulevard, D’Iberville

Hours: Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Phone: 228-731-2590 or https://www.facebook.com/auntmidges/

This story was originally published December 11, 2020 at 5:50 AM.