Friday - Surprise cuisine at 102 a bistro

JAC: Jamie and I were both able to sneak away from work a little early this afternoon. We got out of town just before the 5 o’clock rush and hit the road for the Delta Delights Trail. (I had cereal for breakfast and lunch in preparation for the trail, and my stomach started to growl an hour into the drive.)

JAMIE: Jacquelyn is a sweet, delicate, dainty woman, but she was ready for some road snacks. Seriously, she asked to stop for “treats” at every gas station we passed.

JAC: Dainty? Really? Anyway...the drive up was a welcome distraction from my tummy. Goodbye sprawling, four-lane interstate. Hello rolling hills, quaint two-lane highways, forest, and farmland!

JAMIE: The two-lane highways are pretty charming until you’re stuck behind Uncle Festus in the slowest truck ever let loose on the road.

JAC: Come on. Remember how much you liked driving through the Kisatchie National Forest?

JAMIE: Of course. I thought it was a beautiful drive. And I was kidding about the truck. (Kind of.)

JAC: I think my favorite part of the trek up was witnessing Jamie's childlike delight when we passed the Louisiana town with his favorite name. Ever. Dry Prong.



JAMIE: Brilliant. A great little town with the best name EVAHR!

JAC: Like I said. Okay, onto the really important stuff - the food. A few young couples we know recommended a place to us in downtown Ruston, on the edge of the LA Tech campus, called 102 a bistro (102 N. Monroe Street).

JAMIE: Actually, Jac kept calling it 102A bistro, like 102A was an apartment number or something.



JAC: Let's tell the truth here, Jamie. It was you who told me the restaurant was called 102A bistro! In any case, we found out we were, well, completely wrong, when we arrived at 102, a bistro. Get it? (Check out the video above and to the right to see us laughing at ourselves about this and for other footage from this gem of a restaurant.)

JAMIE: It wasn’t just the name we got wrong. We were told 102 a bistro was a “sushi place.” There was definitely a first-class sushi bar there, but there were also dishes like slow braised lamb shank with stone ground grits, stewed onions, and date relish; low country shrimp and sweet corn grits with andouillie sausage, tomatoes, thyme, and wild mushrooms; bacon-wrapped shrimp shiitake mushroom sauté, with Abita Turbo Dog BBQ, and garlic cheddar grits.

JAC: (Drool descends from Jamie's lips onto a plate of deconstructed shepherd's pie.)



JAMIE: Eww. Was I that bad? Seriously, we loved this place. Even the decor of 102 a bistro was surprise. It was sophisticated. I mean really sophisticated. Think corrugated tin ceilings, exposed brick, muted colors, warm round drum lights, white tablecloths.

JAC: I would say sophisticated cool. Unless that sounds really cheesy. Does that sound really cheesy?

JAMIE: Chic?



JAC: Okay, chic. And our service was first-class. Extremely professional, very attentive.

JAMIE: We wanted to try the sushi, since we’d heard so much about it, but we also wanted to try some of the unique regional food that caught our attention on the menu. So, we ordered a bit of everything - sushi, crabcakes, duck spring rolls, and shepherd's pie.

JAC: The whole meal was incredible, to say the least. The sushi was as good as anything I’ve had, fresh, creative, and delicious. The crabcakes and crispy duck spring rolls were perfect. It was tough to choose from a small plates menu that included sauteed potato gnocchi with tasso, crabmeat gratin, braised pork sliders, and more.

JAMIE: You can tell - the food here was anything but boring.



JAC: I think the real highlight for Jamie was the shepherd's pie.

JAMIE: And the real highlight, for Jac, of course, was dessert.

JAC: Okay, so I have a little bit of a sweets issue. Nothing wrong with that.

JAMIE: We wanted to try a Ruston peach dessert that was on the menu, but the table across from us ordered the last one!

JAC: Jamie thought about walking over and giving a little speech about how we were working on an important food blog, and wouldn't they like to sacrifice for the sake of the greater good...

JAMIE: ...but Jac stopped me.

JAC: Somehow we made due with a measly little homemade brownie topped with fresh berries and homemade vanilla ice cream. (Read "Best Dessert Ever.")

JAMIE: EVAHR!

JAC: EVAHR!

JAMIE: That's my girl.



JAC: The night couldn't have been better - exceptional food, fantastic service, a beautiful atmosphere.

JAMIE: A real surprise in the heart of a small town on our first night of the trail.