Cafe Zydeco has teamed up with the Old Hatchery Winery to take full advantage of the great location at 2711 West College Street (Big Red Old Hatchery Building), melding wonderful Cajun and New Orleans classics with a Bozeman twist for a most pleasurable casual experience.
The “new” space is much more conducive to comfortable dining. The restaurant is easier to get to with much more parking, much more seating and the same wonderful food. The kitchen looks to be more spacious – they don’t appear to be staging an elaborate Fais-do-do back there any more. The only thing lacking right now is obvious signage on the street and print media inside the building; perhaps that’s a function of the city’s sign ordinance. But that doesn’t seem to hinder folks from finding this place. The inside seating remains from the Ruperts days and there are at least 10 outdoor tables on the patio with about half of them under a canopy. There is also seating inside the Old Hatchery wine room and the wine bar has it’s own hostess in addition to the servers from the kitchen.

Walk in the big double doors on the west side and you’ll find a place to wait for your friends. While you’re there, grab a cup of coffee or a drink for yourself and look around at the great photos and prints depicting music legends, instruments on the walls, and listen to the toe-tapping Zydeco music. A couple of more steps past the Arts and Crafts columns will take you to the ordering counter on the left. There you’ll see the daily special on a whiteboard to the left of the register and the menu on familiar window frames over the open kitchen doorway.

Neither the menu nor the prices have changed: breakfasts of beignets (weekends only), breakfast wraps, bread pudding, breakfast sandwiches, and crawfish omelets. For afternoon or evening, choose from po’ boy sandwiches filled with anything from vegetables, roast beef, Italian sausage, creole chicken, fried tuna, shrimp or crawfish, barbecue or chipotle pork. Or perhaps you’d rather enjoy red beans and rice, etouffes, jambalayas, or gumbos with choices of shrimp, crawfish, or catfish tchopatoulas. Trust me – unless you haven’t eaten that day, or if you want some of the best leftovers in Montana get the smaller portions. The restaurateurs at Cafe Zydeco are overly generous.

Mug of chicory-laced coffee in hand, I ordered a regional classic – a New Orleans Muffuletta for my lunch. Served on a po’ boy roll that sports a delicately crunchy crust with chewy, tender inside, I savored the grilled ham, pastrami, salami, provolone with olive tapenade, shredded lettuce and tomato all topped with their wonderful aioli mayo. I must admit I think their aioli is the stuff of legend and I would put it on anything and everything if I were not sure to be served divorce (by way of aioli breath) papers. Yes, it’s still served wrapped in paper, taped and cut in half with the server calling your name as they scan the dining area. Good thing some things never change. Kicking back I enjoyed Cajun music courtesy of the outdoor speakers and sunshine courtesy of mother nature.

Cafe Zydeco is busy at noon on a weekday, with families gracing the high top tables in the bar section of the Old Hatchery to people who work with their hands and business people meeting for a quick delicious lunch and lady friends chatting and enjoying a glass of wine in the late summer sun. Though lined up three to four deep, peoples’ orders were taken by a friendly, cheerful hostess and they were invariably quickly served. Even at 12:30 there was plenty of room for all comers, a big change from the old location.   Many a time I heard “Boy, that was good!” as folks filed out, back to work with that aioli breath and a satisfied smile on their face.

Atmosphere: 4.5 (lack of signage and other print media)
Service: 5
Food: 5
Prices: 5 , ranging from $4.95 to $16.95
Average Score: 4.875

Hours: 11 to 9 Tuesday through Sat, 9 to 3 Sunday. Closed Monday.

Location: 2711 West College Street, Bozeman, MT 59718

Phone: (406)994-0188

Web: www.cafezydeco.com

A. Washko is happy to have been given yet another excuse to lick aioli off her fingers.