Restaurant Review: Ponchatoulas in Ruston, Louisiana (Cajun/Creole)

* Name: Ponchatoulas New Orleans Style Cuisine
* Location: Ruston, Louisiana
* Open For: Lunch, Dinner
* Under Review: Dinner
* Price Range: Medium
* Fare: New Orleans Style Cajun/Creole
* This meal cost $10 to $20 per person.
* Including tip? Yes
* Food Score (out of 10): 9
* Service Score (out of 10): 5
* Reservations: No
* BT Blog Recommends?: Definitely
* Booking Information:

109 East Park Avenue
Ruston, LA 71270
(318) 254-5200

* Website: www.ponchatoulas.com
* Review: Here’s the thing with Ponchatoulas – it has the very best shrimp creole this side of New Orleans, despite the fact that they’re a little light on the shrimp. I would actually make the trip from Monroe to get the shrimp creole. The food is SPECTACULAR, but the service is…not so much. Despite the plethora of sorority waitresses (which is probably a draw for some in and of itself), I have to recommend Ponchatoulas. It’s more or less pronounced Ponch (like pancho) a too luhs. It’s a hole-in-the-wall college-hang-out sort of location, which I’m all in on. If you somehow end up with clients in Ruston, which is the tiny home of Louisiana Tech University, they’ll probably be impressed that you even know it exists. How did I find it? It was on Northwest’s Dining for Miles Program through Rewards Network. So, yummy gulf shrimp goodness and 10 miles per dollar. Unbeatable.