The secret-recipe jambalaya. The pecan pie. This Cajun kitchen in Biloxi is the real deal.
Marlen Babin grew up in a Cajun kitchen. It’s a lifestyle if you are from Acadiana — the hot stove with a bubbling pot on top seems to be the very heart of a happy home. People gather here and talk, stir the pot with long wooden spoons, and everyone learns how to cook. Recipes are passed down from generation to generation, like family heirlooms, but not all recipes are shared with people outside the family.
I stopped by to see Parrain’s Jambalaya Kitchen shortly after it opened, and owner/chef Marlen Babin told me right off that I’d never learn his etouffee recipe. We could talk jambalaya, and hogshead cheese, but some recipes are simply off limits. Babin isn’t a trained chef, although he is an accomplished Cajun cook. So many people urged him to open a Cajun restaurant, he finally relented, although admitting that he was going to have to take it step by step, that it was all new to him.
It is delightful to see another restaurant open on the Coast that has a clear vision. It won’t take you three minutes after you walk in this place to know exactly what it is all about. Anything Cajun goes and it is about time we had a real-deal Cajun place when the need for gumbo, jambalaya or boudin strikes.
Babin told me his top three menu selections were crawfish etouffee, jambalaya and pecan pie. The first two are not much of a surprise, but the pecan pie seemed a bit unusual. As is so often the case with a family run business, there is a good story behind the pie. Babin’s grandfather didn’t have any teeth, but he loved pecan pie. His grandmother figured out a way to grind the pecans and make it soft and delicious. It’s a 100-year-old recipe and is just as innovative and delicious today as it was when discovered.
So, when you are in the mood for Cajun specialties, like house-made hogshead cheese (always served with crackers), boudin from Gonzales, Louisiana, jambalaya, fried boudin balls (simply amazing!), meaty and crunchy house-made cracklings (super meaty) and even some pretty darn good beignets, this is the place.
The menu will expand shortly, and an outside deck will be added. Also look for community events, such as movie night.
Parrain’s Jambalaya Kitchen is just across the street from the Saenger Theater, so it is centrally located in Biloxi.
Just a parting challenge, if you have never tried hogshead cheese, it’s Southern charcuterie at its best. I dare you.
Parrain’s Jambalaya Kitchen in Biloxi
Where: 179 Reynoir St, Biloxi
Hours: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday-Saturday
Phone: 228-872-3922