Michael Warren lives in Brambleton, more than a thousand miles from many of his kinfolk in southern Louisiana. But it was there that he acquired a taste for – of all things – alligator meat.
“I just remember always eating strange things at family reunions,” Warren said. “Alligator, frogs, and crawfish were always on the menu. The Cajun cooking I grew up with is still a favorite of mine.”
So, when Bourbon Bayou Kitchen, a new Cajun restaurant, recently opened in Ashburn, Warren and his wife, Tina, made a beeline there and they promptly ordered up the Fried Alligator appetizer – small chunks of flaky, white gator meat bathed in buttermilk, deep fried and served with a side of Cajun remoulade.
“It is very good,” was Warren’s succinct review. “The sauce it was paired with really made it perfect.”
Yes, gator meat has made its way to Ashburn.
It may not be the first time. Gator sometimes pops up as a unique and special offering on restaurant menus. But alligator is now a daily item at Bourbon Bayou Kitchen. Besides the Fried Alligator, the restaurant also serves Alligator Nachos.
To find out where the gator meat comes from, why it might actually be healthier than chicken or beef, and how diners react the first time they try gator — click here and get the rest of the story at the Ashburn Magazine website.
(Images: Astri Wee Photography)