To run downtown Baton Rouge’s Cecelia Creole Bistro, it takes at least three gallons of cornbread batter a day and a tight-knit team of friends and family.
Owner Brad Watts has been in and out of the restaurant business since 1987. After opening the River Room 11 years ago, he wanted to know where to get authentic Louisiana food downtown. So, he took matters into his own hands.
Enter: the opening of Cecelia Creole Bistro in 2018. Located at 421 N. Third St., the restaurant serves a menu dominated by Southern comfort classics that tourists tear up and regulars return to.
“The food is excellent,” Watts said. “It’s consistent, and it’s quick. People downtown need to eat lunch in an hour, and we get them in and out of here in 45 minutes to an hour, so they like that.”
Menu rundown
The menu features dishes like boudin balls topped with red remoulade, shrimp and grits, short ribs, sensation salad, and skillet cornbread with a maple bourbon glaze served with whipped cinnamon butter.
“We sell 30 of them a day,” said executive chef Mark Reilly about the skillet cornbread. “We go through three gallons of cornbread batter a day. That’s just in the restaurant too. When we have parties and stuff like that, you can bump that number.”…