Small Plates + Jambalaya = Tapalaya

I love Southern food. I also love small plates. Put the two together and wowza - I am a goner. I took my restaurant group to the new restaurant Tapalaya over on NE 28th Ave and Burnside.

Crispy catfish - crispy, light flavor and non-greasy. Portobello fries with homemade ketchup - crispy fried, just the right amount of mushroomy flavor. Black eyed pea salad - served on a great plate in a little metal bucket. It was a little difficult to maneuver my fork in the bucket, but a delight to look at.

I had a bite of the mushroom bread pudding with gravy - delish and I wish I had ordered it so I could get the whole flavor.

For dessert - a brownie with buttermilk ice cream - chocolate plus the tangy buttermilk is a great combination.

I will say that in a fluke of flavor, the lemonade I had was truly, truly awful. It was pretty much just water and a bit of lemon juice without sweetener. Which would have been fine had I ordered water with lemon, but definitely not what I was expecting for lemonade.

I'm not feeling very wordy tonight, so this is the end of my Tapalaya report. You should go check it out - and order lots of different things, so you get the whole tour.