Boateng's - now open

I wasn't there on opening night, but I was told by the owner that it wasn't the Grand Opening which is still to come. Boateng's Cajun Creations has opened in Bessemer. Finally; (for those who remember, I wrote a post in anticipation quite a while back).

Boateng's joins a couple of other restaurants, Nukes and Courtyard Cafe, in the area of the new DHR building which will open in September, bringing over 100 workers to the area. (I know of another potential project in the area that would be a boost for the city, too, but my lips are sealed for now).



Friday night the family dined at Boateng's and we did not come away disappointed. OK, what did everybody have? I can't remember everything, but two in the party had fried gator, and another had fried shrimp. I had grilled grouper. Another had a grilled shrimp salad. And among the side orders the group sampled were seafood gumbo, chicken-n-sausage gumbo, jambalaya, and fried okra.

Before the meal a serving of fruit was brought to the table for each guest. Strawberries, grapes and a slice of orange whet the appetite for what was to come.

The Boatengs have roots in Ghana, California and New Jersey.



Not the flag of Ghana alongside the US flag on their sign.

None of those places are known for their Cajun cuisine, but the Boatengs have developed a bill of fare equal to any in the Bayou State (or Bessemer, meaning they rival my own Cajun cooking - ha!).

It's really impossible to share all of the menu items, and of course, some items are out of season (or just coming into season), but there are po' boys or platters of your favorites; shrimp, catfish, grouper, gator, crawfish or several other things. And of course there's red beans and rice, jambalaya, gumbo, crab-n-shrimp bisque, fried green tomatoes, shrimp-n-grits and more. Here's a picture of their low boiled shrimp. I'm ready to go back.




Sometime toward the latter part of next week guests may get to enjoy a slice of orange pecan pie or tearoom lemon cake. You get one guess as to where those may be coming from.

Now, should I share my hit Christmas party favorites - crawfish etouffee and gator jambalaya - recipes?

Find Boateng's Cajun Creations Restaurant on Facebook, where you can see more pictures of their food.

Boateng's is open 7 days a week, 11:00 am to 9:00 pm Monday through Saturday, and 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm on Sunday. They are located at 2 - 19th Street N in Bessemer, next to the railroad tracks. Tell them you heard about it on Bessemer Opinions.

South Bessemer gets more good news

More good news for Bessemer's south downtown.

Boateng's Cajun Creations Restaurant will open on the South side near the railroad tracks on 19th Street in this building in mid-July.

The owner is interested and committed to keeping the historic nature of the building.




Many of us have been wishing for something to go into this historic former gas station. What better than a Cajun restaurant?

The restaurant owner plans to have some outdoor seating in the front, but maybe not at opening. There will be seating for about 48 indoors, with some booth seating and tables.

Boateng's was formerly at Watermark Place. Here are owners Carolyn and Graham Boateng.

Picture credit Birmingham News

Here's a review of their food when it was at Watermark.

Improvements are being done by Darden Contracting and Remodeling. I had a conversation with contractor Willie Darden. Willie sees great potential for downtown Bessemer, and has an eye for historic buildings and such. Between he and I, we had the south area of downtown made into a showcase. We can dream, can't we?

I can walk to this restaurant and really am looking forward to it opening. Who wants to go on opening night? Stay posted to Bessemer Opinions for the latest.

A cooking lesson

I love the smell of cooking Cajun or Creole foods. The seasoning mixture, the onions, peppers and celery cooking in olive oil, a bourbon pecan pie, fresh from the oven (and fresh from John Besh's cookbook, featured in the Birmingham News yesterday).

I use Emeril Lagasse's Creole seasoning recipe. Let me stop here for a minute. I am not a purist. Cajun and Creole foods are often confused, and I make no attempt to keep it straight which foods are which. So my Cajun pork tenderloin, for instance is actually seasoned with this Creole seasoning.

Anyway, I made up a batch of seasoning this morning. Here are the ingredients. They are: paprika, fresh ground black pepper, cayenne red pepper, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, thyme and salt.

Here is the finished product. Yum!


This can be used in a lot of dishes, but I especially like to coat pork or chicken with it. Pork tenderloin can be brushed with melted butter, then rolled in the seasoning (or sprinkle it on). Line a shallow pan with aluminum foil (for easy cleaning), and place the tenderloins in, separating by 1/2 inch or so, and roast at 375 for 1 to 1.25 hours. This smells so good while cooking, but tastes even better.

Or, take some boneless chicken breasts and wash them, then cut into strips about 1/2 inch wide, and skewer them on wooden skewers that have been soaked in water. I skewer the strips by folding them back and forth, like an "s" pattern. Then sprinkle generously with the seasoning mixture. Grill for a few minutes (depending on your grill and such) until done. Yummy.

You can also skewer peeled shrimp, brush with melted butter and season with this mixture and grill them.