Red Snappa' snapped me

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 I must say I was skeptical when I heard about the new Cajun-style restaurant opening up downtown on 5th and Kansas. It surprised me and I plan to go back - but maybe when they aren't so busy.

The food was good, the service could use some work. My husband and I waited about 13 minutes to get a drink order in and menus brought to us - and about 15 minutes before we got our food after ordering. I think this is something that can be worked on, plus, we got there at about 1 p.m. and that's still considered a lunch rush time and all the tables were full.

The menus are on white paper, the walls are bare but the atmosphere is inviting and the food speaks for itself. Featuring sea food Po' Boy sandwiches and jambalayas the cuisine is pretty close to the real thing. I ordered the sausage, chicken and shrimp jambalaya and Ryan ordered the seafood po'boy sandwich and fries. My jambalaya came with corn bread but I also ordered some coleslaw because I wanted to try it.

I enjoyed the jambalaya but it wasn't exactly what I was expecting. When I was in culinary school one of my chefs, Chef Richardson, was born and raised in Louisiana. He made jambalaya one day and it was so spicy and full of flavor I just kept eating through the spice - even though it was way hot to me. Now, that I have acquired a taste for spiciness I would have welcomed that spice, but this jambalaya at Red Snappa' was not as robust. Also, the sausage wasn't Andoullie like I was expecting/hoping. It was just a  Johnsonville sausage or something like that. I would have liked to have a harder sausage. Other than it not being as I had it before, it was a tasty dish. I thought it had a hint of heat, and I enjoyed the mini corns, which I didn't expect and ended up liking.

The cornbread was so sweet and delicious. It was crumbly but it didn't fall apart. It was some of the best cornbread I have ever had. I ordered more because it was so good.

I tried the seafood po'boy and I liked that. The shrimp and oysters were breaded in some sort of beer batter and fried, and thrown on a French bread slice with onions, tomato, lettuce and brown mustard.  The seafood was crispy and tender and the French bread held up well to the bulk of it. I would have liked more of a sauce, Ryan agrees, but it was good anyway.

I plan to go back because the food was worth our wait. If you are looking for a quick bite on lunch hour, this is not your place. If you have an hour I would say it's a good place. Maybe after they are open more than 2 weeks they will have better service. I still say to try it out some time.