Pick the base
Long-grain rice is standard. Ask for the alternatives if you want the pot to sit differently.
- Steamed long-grain
- Rice and soft beans
- Cornbread instead of rice
- No base, deeper ladle
One stall · one stove · two pots a day
Louisiana pot food, ladled to order into clay.
We start the roux before the hall opens and cook two pots until they are gone. Rice is cut fresh into each vessel, the ladle goes in deep, and nothing is held over to tomorrow.
Eat in a clay vessel · takeaway in a tin- Pots per day
- Two, never three
- One dark-roux pot and one lighter pot. When the ladle scrapes the base, that pot is finished.
- Service window
- 11:30 — 20:00
- Lunch runs hard until about two. The evening pot is smaller and the queue is shorter.
- If we sell out
- The board flips
- We chalk the empty pot off the board rather than stretch it. Sides and rice stay on until close.
The board
What is in the pots today
Prices are per vessel, rice included. Heat marks show how much cayenne goes in before service — ask and we will pull it back or push it further at the ladle.
Pots
-
Dark-roux gumbo 14.00
Chicken thigh and andouille, roux cooked to the colour of strong coffee. Long-grain rice, scallion, a spoon of file at the pass.
-
Crawfish étouffée 15.50
Blond roux, tails folded in late so they stay springy. Smothered onion, pepper and celery cooked down for an hour.
-
Monday red beans 11.50
Soaked overnight, simmered with a smoked hock until the beans break down on their own. Mondays only, until the pot is empty.
-
Garden gumbo z'herbes 12.50
Seven greens, no meat, no stock from the bone pot. This is the vegetarian vessel and it is cooked in its own pan.
-
Half vessel −4.00
Any pot, smaller portion, same rice. Good if you want to try both of today's pots in one sitting.
Sides & drinks
-
Skillet cornbread 4.00
Baked in three batches through the day so there is usually a warm one. Cane syrup butter on the side.
-
Pickled okra & chilli 3.50
Sharp, cold, cuts the roux. Made in jars every Sunday and rested a week before it goes out.
-
Extra rice 2.00
A second scoop in the vessel or a separate tin for the walk back.
-
Chicory iced coffee 4.50
Cold-brewed overnight with roasted chicory, poured over ice with a little condensed milk.
-
Hibiscus & lime cooler 3.50
Steeped, not syruped. Lightly sweet, refilled once for anyone eating at the counter.
Reading the board at the stall: the chalk line through a pot name means it is finished for the day. A circled price means the pot has been stretched with extra rice and is sold at the lower half-vessel rate until it runs out.
Cooking clock
When each thing lands
The stall runs on one stove, so timing decides what you can get. If you want the gumbo at its darkest, come early; if you want a short queue, come late.
- 06:40Roux onFlour and oil, stirred without stopping for about fifty minutes.
- 08:15Trinity inOnion, pepper and celery go into the hot roux and the pot starts to build.
- 11:30Service opensFirst rice is cut. Cornbread out of the skillet at 11:45.
- 13:00Peak queueExpect to wait. Half vessels move fastest if you are short on time.
- 14:00First pot usually goneWhichever pot moved hardest is chalked off around now.
- 16:30Evening pot downA smaller batch, lighter roux, on the stove for the second half of the day.
- 19:30Last riceRice cooker off. Whatever is left is sold as half vessels.
- 20:00Stall closedPots scrubbed, board wiped, tomorrow's beans go into water.
Build a vessel
Three choices at the ladle
Everything is assembled in front of you. Say these three things in order and the queue keeps moving.
Pick the pot
Two pots run at a time. The board shows which is dark-roux and which is lighter today.
- Dark roux, deep and smoky
- Blond roux, sweeter
- Meat-free, cooked separately
- Half of each, split vessel
Set the heat
Cayenne goes in at the ladle, not in the pot, so every vessel can be set to your level.
- Mild — pepper only
- House — as the board marks it
- Hot — extra cayenne stirred in
- Chilli vinegar on the side
In service
The stall, mid-shift
Questions
Things people ask at the front of the queue
How hot is "house" heat, really?
House is the heat marked on the board — warm across the back of the throat, not sharp. The dark-roux gumbo sits at three marks, the étouffée at two. If you eat chilli daily, ask for hot; if you are cooking for children, ask for mild and the cayenne is left out entirely.
Is the vegetarian pot actually cooked separately?
Yes. Gumbo z'herbes has its own pan, its own ladle and its own stock made from the greens and their cooking water. It never touches the bone pot. It is not cooked every day, so check the board or ask before you queue.
Can I take the clay vessel away?
The clay vessels stay at the stall — they are for eating at the counter or the shared tables. Takeaway goes into a lined tin with rice packed separately so it does not go soft on the walk. Bring your own container and we will fill it.
What time should I come to avoid the queue?
Straight at 11:30, or after 18:00. The stretch from 12:45 to 14:00 is the worst and you may arrive to find the first pot already chalked off. The evening pot is smaller but the wait is usually a few minutes.
Do you list allergens?
Every pot starts with a wheat-flour roux, so none of them are gluten-free. Shellfish is in the étouffée only. Dairy appears in the cornbread and the iced coffee. Ask at the stall and we will tell you exactly what went into the pot that morning — one person cooks it, so there is always someone who knows.
Can you hold a portion for me?
Not during service — everything goes in the order the queue stands. The one exception is a pre-ordered big pot, which is cooked as an extra batch and set aside for a named collection time.
Pre-order
A big pot for your table
Feeding a crew, a shift handover or a family gathering? We cook big pots as a separate batch outside service so the queue is not affected. Tell us the date, the size and the heat, and we will come back with a collection time.
- NoticeThree days for anything over eight portions.
- SizesEight, sixteen or twenty-four portions, rice packed separately.
- PickupCollected at the stall before 11:15 or after 20:00, in your pot or ours.