Review: Damian's Cajun Soul Cafe in Arlington

It's December, a time for giving and being sappy; and lucky for you, I'm feeling generous. I give you the gift of Damian's Cajun Soul Cafe, a modest little kitchen in Arlington serving authentic cuisine, southern Louisiana style.

In the three years the restaurant has been open, owner and chef Damian Placide has been cooking everything from scratch, just like Mom. (If your mom is really that industrious.)

"This is my passion, and there are no recipes. We cook everything from the heart," Damian says.

And his cooking skills are the real Cajun deal.

The menu changes daily, with only a few dishes featured each day, so you'll have to make a few visits to try everything.

Two dishes, the fried pork chop ($7.49) and smothered pork chop ($7.49), floored us. I'm a cynical pork chop eater, thanks to the dish's typical lack of versatility. But Damian's fried pork chop was crispy, tender, and even juicy. And the seasoned, smothered chop will challenge everything you know about fall-off-the-bone tenderness. The folk at our table gave a collective, lustful sigh as we tried both.

And now that the mercury has dropped considerably, you'll want to try the soothing warmth of the chicken, sausage, and shrimp gumbo ($7.49). It's spicy, with a thick consistency, while tender meat was standing by to impress.

The seafood etouffee ($8.99) is a departure from the usual recipe. Damian's version has a much thicker roux, with a bite that's much more tangy and sweet than those we've tried before. We also decided it should be the roux to rule all rouxs.

The sweetness doesn't stop with the gumbo or the etouffee. Even the side dishes, like the cornbread, red beans and rice, and jambalaya have that characteristic sweetness found in most of Damian's improvised cooking. And if that's not enough, the candied yams step up the sweetness to stratospheric levels; they swim in soft, sweet syrup.

But the best thing we tried at Damian's isn't a Cajun staple: It's a slice of poundcake, which he makes from scratch. It's sweet, light, spongy, and should have its own page on the takeout menu.

Next time, I'm eating an entire cake myself.

A time for giving? Oh, I forgot about that.