marilynn's place

wonderful brunch....wish we had more places like this in maryland! :). marilynn's place in shreveport.....i just don't know where to start this review. my hubby has been working here in louisiana for the past six weeks as part of his job. we thought that we were going to be relocating here; i booked a trip as we thought we were going to be house hunting. things changed, so my house hunting trip turned into a pleasure visit. usually, i'm a little more prepared when i am traveling and i know where we are going to go. this time, not so much. about a week before my arrival, i did a little reading about local places and came across marilynn's place on several websites. most all of the reviews were very good to amazing, so we decided that we would do the sunday brunch there. sunday brunch is not something that many places in maryland have and i have a total romance with it. marilynn's place did not let me down!

marilynn's place is located in an old gas station in a lovely area of shreveport. there is a lot of character and marilynn's fits the neighborhood to a t. sunday brunch opens at 10. we got there early and it was a good thing that we did! you order at the counter and the menu is on one page....love this! we didn't have to spend a lot of time stressing over what to have! we met the chef/owner, robert and he was just in a word, awesome! he explained the menu and the drinks and told us about some of the food. he was exactly what i think of when i meet someone that is a chef....someone who enjoys food and people! he has it going on in that department. i understand it well as someone who considers herself an amatuer chef and a consummate foodie!

there is some indoor seating and a lot of outdoor seating. my husband preferred to dine inside, so we were able to secure a table for two with no problem. there is a bottomless bloody mary and mimosa bar that we opted not to get as we had other plans for the day, but if we would have been just hanging around, i would have opted for it. drinks looked delcious!! we both had big cups of coffee instead.

upon ordering, you give your name and they call you by name to pick up your breakfast at the counter. food is southern style, stick to your ribs, forget your diet at the door!! my husband selected the mexican breakfast, which was a tender, flavorful hunk of bread with the right amount of heat and sweet, topped with a fluffy egg with a tomato based sauce and two huge strips of applewood smoked bacon. he was in heaven and was very pleased with his selection.

i ordered the country biscuits with andouille sausage and gravy. i'm a product of a southern mama and can make a mean biscuit myself, so i pretty much compare any biscuits to mine. these did not let me down. they were very tender, flavorful and flaky. the gravy was a little thinner than i am used to, but it was really, really tasty! loved the spice in it.....i've never thought of doing that to mine. i would most certainly order this again!

we had an order of beignets which were just the death of us! light, pillowy puffs of dough, sprinkled with just the right amount of 10x sugar along with some strawberry sauce to dip in. they were in a word just delightful!

if things couldn't have been anymore caloric, robert the chef personally delivered the special of the day which was a shrimp and artichoke strata. this isn't something that my husband and i would have normally ordered, but it was delicious! it was presented on a beautiful bed of greens and was full of plump shrimp and tasty artichoke. everything was very fresh and tasty.

marilynn's place draws a crowd, so it's well worth getting there a little early. we still have a few days left....might have to try a dinner there. if you are in the shreveport area, i definitely give it a two thumbs up!

marilynn's place is set in an old gas station & on days weather permitting, all doors are open and folks can enjoy open air dining. it was perfect weather for our visit. to order, walk up to the counter and take a menu and a seat. make your choice and pay the cashier, when your order is done, your name will be called to pick up your meal.

i chose to order the shrimp remoulade po-boy and my lunch date ordered the fried crawfish po-boy. marilynn's serves real gambino french bread from new orleans. that's a great place to start. i loved the remoulade sauce they make. it has all the right flavor and a consistently that compliments the seafood rather than covering it up. i asked for extra shrimp, i like my po-boys packed. i was given what amounted to an extra portion, and although i offered to pay for it, was not charged.

it was deliciously filling, sweet potato fries was a nice side. the crawfish were breaded with a mouthwatering mixture that made them outstanding to pop & eat if ordered alone. the po-boys came dressed and with very little wait time. the people are very friendly, the prices are great and the food is simply delicious. there are several awards on display for their culinary excellence, when you taste the food, then you will know why. enjoy a bite at marilynn's place, i sure did.

anyone who says this place isn't good probably thinks ruby tuesday is a 5 star steakhouse. seriously some of the best food in north louisiana. sunday brunch is the best...

wow. who knew such a hole in the wall would serve such fantastic southern food!

huge portions. friendly and casual dress! helpful staff

absolutely the best shrimp po-boy i've eaten. the large size is enough for two to three people and very reasonably priced. the restaurant is a huge asset to our area bringing authentic new orlean's style food. i like that it is a locally owned restaurant with very attentive service. it is definitely on our favorite list.

we stopped here passing through town and it was so good. we had the roast beef poboy and the shrimp poboy and they were both phenomenal. bonus: it’s in the cutest area of town and they are dog friendly. definitely worth the trip!

i have had three items off of the menu to date. the shrimp po-boy, seafood gumbo, and the kids fried shrimp platter (because the regular portion is a lot of food). i give all three items 5 stars. each plate it seems is enough food for two people.

and oh wait....i forgot i have had the beignets and while it isn’t cafe du monde it sure is good! i give it 5 as well. again...one order is enough for two in my opinion.

kudos to you marilyn’s. please don’t close your doors anytime soon. we need good food like this in shreveport!!!

had dinner here about a month ago, the po boys have no flavor and too much mayo, one of us got food poisoning from the brisket and one from the roast po boy.  we are not from la but live here now.  this was disappointing when trying to enjoy authentic cuisines.  the beignets were just meh! and the cajun fries well i'm still trying to figure out what was so special about them. the location didn't make us turn away but the food will keep us from returning.

first time and last time i will go to this place. poboy bread not crisp as advertised in menu ... my nephew got hamburger it was cooked do hard he almost broke his tooth... my uncle got gumbo he said was good but very hot ....

we had a good time here a couple weeks ago.
jg score from us this visit of 4.5/10 (+1.5 for food, +1 for atmosphere, +1 for price, 0 for no diet dr pepper, 0 for typical service and +1 for we would return)
the food here was good; some very good but some not so good. the very good for us was the william edward joyce curry fried catfish poboy. we also liked the seafood gumbo especially with its crab. the not so good was the hurricane katrina burger with its bland meat patty and roast beef...what a shame because it had the most promising name. the rest was just okay like the cajun fries, the beignets, the crawfish étouffée, and the boudin. basically, the food here was worth it and we would like to try more.
the atmosphere here was cool. we went in the spring with the doors up and nice weather. this converted texaco site has just the right touches. would be less fun though if really hot or cold here.
you can eat here for $15 or less but it would be hard...probably have to get a water.
no diet dr pepper, only diet coke.
the service was friendly and nice.
we could easily go back here sometime.

if i could give marilynn's over 5 rating i would! the food is phenomenal and there is something so rustic about dining in an old gas station. my absolute favorite thing about marilynn's is there unlimited mimosas on sundays for only $15!!!! don't worry if you aren't a mimosa fan they do other unlimited drinks. i 100% love this place!!!!

so delicious and loved the atmosphere! poboys are amazing. thanks to zomato we found a diamond in the rough, as we are not from shreveport.

even if the food would have tasted like dirt, i still would rave about this place just for the atmosphere. extremely upbeat and friendly staff. i've worked in the food industry off and on for 15 years and i can tell you for a fact; this is very hard to find in a restaurant. it is extremely valuable though. the entire restaurant seemed happy. and it carried over to me and husband. thank you!

on to the food! mac n cheese was fantastic. pepperjack was a nice change :-) fried catfish was great as well :-) portions were huge with everything! jambalaya was some of the best i've ever had. perfect amounts of seasoning. cajun cheese fries... yum! spicy but in a good way which was surprising for this yankee! we will definitely be back!!

to tell the truth i haven't reviewed marilyn's before because i was a bit torn. i like the atmosphere even thou there's that dreaded walk up order counter. my past visits have been so mixed i couldn't really decide where i landed, clearly it was on the fence. after my last visit i'm ready to come down on the good side of that fence but with a small reservation...

 tired of the usual places for lunch and having recently revisited marilyn's zomato page from bayoubabe's review i set out for marilyn's just after the normal lunch rush had ended.  things had quieted down as i entered, that was a big help, in the past i felt rushed and crowded at the register as i ordered, not good. i also recalled seeing chris jay's ode to coleslaw from years past as well as the curry catfish mentioned, so my mind was made up form me. i mentioned upon ordering that i usually like gumbo with my meals and the very upbeat and friendly lady behind the counter suggested the combo, great idea!

i found a table nearby and enjoyed the new orleans blues playing from their sound system as i waited. it was a short wait as my name was quickly called out for me to come retrieve my meal. my hopes were lifted as i saw the large bowl of very appetizing looking gumbo sitting next to a good size portion of crispy golden catfish.

the gumbo was one of the dishes that put me on the fence before. granted i'm very picky about my gumbo. my mom made absolutely amazing chicken and sausage gumbo, the kind my friends talked about for weeks after a visit then would bring up again months or even years later! i was also blessed to spend time in south louisiana traveling to many cities large and small sampling amazing food as i went, it's harder to find bad food down south than good! my first taste confirmed that this was indeed much better than i remembered from past visits thou not up to "down south" standards.

the catfish changed everything, no longer a fence sitter!
thou i was looking for more curry flavor, it was terrific, perfectly fried crisp. the fries were really good, thick "steak" fries that i enjoyed dipping in the remoulade sauce. the hushpuppys were good also with fresh bits of onion and green pepper inside. then there was that coleslaw! spot on chris, this is not your ordinary slaw! fresh chopped cabbage with red onion, cilantro and carrot in a vinegar based savory dressing, outstanding!  

my final take, i like this place and it's food. i will say from my experience that i'd go with their fried creations over the other entrees. if you are looking for a more traditional "sit down" restaurant this might not be your thing. there's not much in the way of service and the layout is different. it's more neighborhood bar / hangout feeling to me, a good thing if you like south highlands, if not well...