very versatile restaurant, a normal person would never find this place. ...and i thought barney's diner was a difficult place to find, at least it wasn't disguised like the houses that were all around it!
a friend of mine invited me to lunch the other day and we both agreed on shuga's as the destination. upon arriving, you find you literally have to park on the street/dirt area right off of the street. walking up to what looks like a house, with a really neat little outside dining area out back, i opened the door to a very quaint and artistic inside. i'm not sure why they use a name that makes one assume this place has creole/cajun fare, but it works. if anything, this place is a bistro with a somewhat international menu.
the wait staff are somewhat friendly and incredibly efficient. we went during the heat of lunch hour on a thursday, but did not have to wait at all to get a table. the menu is very straightforward breaking it down into soups, sandwiches, salads, drinks, main dishes, etc. daily specials are wrote up on the wall on a chalkboard.
my friend ordered their daily pasta which had a marinara sauce. i ordered a half sandwich/half soup combo. i chose the brick chicken sandwich with a cup of their supposedly famous soup, the brazillian spicy coconut shrimp soup. the sandwich came out on what would appear to be baked pita bread, because it was not soft and pillowy, but it was more substantial to act as bread. i could not figure out how to eat this thing because i could not fold it like a flatbread sandwich, nor could i eat it like a taco. i had to eat some insides out of it and then attempt to fold it. then the pita began to tear apart in an inconvenient way, dropping the innards down on the plate. it turned out to be more messy than i assumed it would be, but the flavor and freshness was excellent. i'm always a fan of blue cheese and it was almost like eating a salad with the pita bread as your plate.
the soup was extremely odd, but not in a bad way. i literally took 3 spoonfulls and still could not determine what it was i was tasting. i literally had to focus my taste buds to center in on the coconut milk, and that is what i determined to be throwing off the flavor. once again, this is not bad soup, it's just got so much going on in it. i highly encourage you to try it. for reference as to what this would come close to, i'd say a seafood bisque.
my friend enjoyed his pasta dish and wolfed down every bite. i wish i could tell you what was in it, but since it was a daily special, i cannot recall the ingredients that were listed.
overall, shuga's has a very pleasing atmosphere and it is a place i'd like to go to again to try more of their unique dishes.