Gumbo Kitchen

Authentic New Orleans cuisine: it's not something you come across often in ole Melbourne town. However things are about to change.

I introduce to you, Gumbo Kitchen. The newest gourmet food van on the scene, bringing their deep south favourites to the masses.

The main attractions at Gumbo Kitchen are gumbo (der) and a little delight known as the Po'Boy sandwich.

For those who are unfamiliar with New Orleans fare, let me elaborate. Gumbo is a spiced thick soup/stew often made with chicken/seafood and vegetables, usually served with rice. A Po'Boy is the Louisiana equivalent of Subway. Gumbo Kitchen do theirs with deep fried crumbed shrimp or beef 'debris' (shredded roast beef in a rich gravy) in a soft white sub roll dressed with lettuce, tomatoes, mayo and pickles. A decadent and tasty 'sometimes' food.

I had the pleasure of finally sampling Gumbo Kitchen's wares at a Melbourne Food and Wine Festival Event at Dandenong Market not long ago. They mainly trundle around similar areas to the other food vans (Brunswick, Northcote etc) but recently have been branching out a little to other parts of Melbourne as well. Needless to say I was very jealous when my husband announced Gumbo Kitchen was outside his workplace in Abbotsford one afternoon!

After much agonising I decided on a shrimp Po'Boy and a serving of chicken and sausage gumbo. Also on offer that day was a sweetcorn gumbo with fried green tomatoes and something called 'The Don', a generous serving of chips smothered in beef debris.

As you can see gumbo ain't pretty but my is it delicious. There were some nice chunks of chicken and smoky, spicy sausage, good value at $11. It's the perfect winter dish and something I'd definitely go back for.

The Po'Boy came with a VERY generous serving of shrimp, in fact I took half of it out to eat separately! The shrimp was a tad overcooked, which was a little disappointing but the crumb was nice and the salad combination went well with the shrimp. My toddler certainly approved, he ate a whole half! $12 might sound a bit steep for a sandwich but considering the amount of shrimp in there, I'd say it was very good value. Had the shrimp not been dry it would have been total ripper.

So a big thumbs up for Gumbo Kitchen, it's a great concept and serves up good, honest comfort food. I've noticed they're now adding a few other items to the menu such as catfish or deep fried oyster Po'Boys and some desserts as well (bread pudding with bourbon sauce...hello!).  So next time you feel like trying something a little different, give them a crack!

Follow Gumbo Kitchen on Twitter: @GumboKitchen