A new place with a Cajun flair has opened its doors at 2122 N. State Line Ave.
MeOmyO's Bayou Cafe is obviously made with the Cajun style, but Trevor Aslin, the owner, said calling food Cajun doesn't really give you the full spice of the situation.
"When you say 'Cajun food,' people familiar with that style of food need you to be more specific," said Aslin. "In my case, I and my brothers came up in Louisiana in the bayou area known as Ville Platte. Ville Platte has a very specific way of cooking Cajun, as do the other regional areas of Louisiana. And that is what we do at MeOmyO's."
According to Aslin, the sheer variety of Cajun recipes makes it impossible to expect the whole range of food to be available at a single restaurant. So the cooks of MeOmyO's focus on the Ville Platte style. Aslin said learning that sort of cooking is a specific art.
"We learned from Mamma Cyn, my Cajun stepmother," he said. "And she made sure we knew how to do it right. Cooking in this style is very specific. You learn the 'trinity' (onion, bell peppers and celery). You learn how to use garlic and other seasonings, according to the recipe. Further, there are no shortcuts. There is no skipping recipe steps. Each dish has a specific way to make it and you follow it exactly."
From the use of the trinity and disciplined applications of the recipes of the Ville Platte region, savory dishes arise.
"And that is the foundation of this style of cooking," he said. "One thing many people hear when they think of Cajun food is heat. And that is a misunderstanding. Sure, many dishes are spicy. And for customers who want more heat, we do have hot sauces and they can heat according to taste. But our first goal is flavor and richness. When you taste the broths, sauces and so forth, more than anything, we are doing it for the flavor, for you to savor."
"This isn't about piling on cayenne pepper," he emphasized. "Burning your taste buds is not the point. Again, it is all about flavor."
Aslin has made the Texarkana area his home for 30 years. For much of that time, he has run a moving business but decided to branch out into the restaurant business.
"We do have gumbo and what not in this area," he said. "But I wanted to bring something specific to Texarkana. It is all about regional styles when it comes to Cajun food. Even the chefs of New Orleans go to the Cajuns to learn how to do what they do."
Aslin and his family are slowly building up the restaurant, not taking on more than they can handle at once.
"We will be expanding our hours and adding menu items as time goes on, but we want to make sure we are ready for each step," he said.
As a hint of what is to come, he said that Mamma Cyn will occasionally visit the restaurant to both cook and to share recipes.
"We'll announce it in advance when she is coming," he said.
MeOmyO's is named after an alligator that lives on their bayou property, and the logo has a secret or a joke, if a customer looks long enough.
MeOmyO's is at 2122 N. State Line Ave., Texarkana, Ark.
Call 870-330-9109 or visit them on Facebook.