Can A Professional Soccer Player…

from Louisiana find love with a Columbian from Florida? Can they successfully open a small eatery in Scott, LA? Can they serve a very good hamburger? The answer to all of these questions is “Yes.”

“Jan-Scott was drafted to play indoor soccer for the Tallahassee Scorpions…As a side job, Jan found the job of his dreams…in an upscale downtown deli... (and) he soon realized that making sandwiches and friends was a natural talent for him. After several years of hard work, he purchased that same restaurant…What could be better??? LOVE!” (from the restaurant’s menu). That’s when Jan-Scott met Diana, got married in Scott, LA, and made Scott their home. Oh, one more thing, they opened Cajan’s (Not Cajun’s. Cajan’s for Jan-Scott.) Eatery.

Cajan’s is one of those places that we must have driven past dozens of times while taking Route 90 between Duson and Lafayette. Open only for breakfast and lunch, the small parking lot is perpetually full (12:15 pm, photo). But I hadn’t given it much thought until I found it mentioned on www.acadianahamburger.com: “The Dixie Burger has caused many burger lovers to question their favorite… This burger is a true diamond in Southwest Louisiana. Its taste makes even grandma proud!...Cajan's is also known for having the original Scott Dog…A truly positive experience every time I have enjoyed the Dixie Burger…”

This small eatery (forty-four-or-so seats, mostly empty at the time of this photo and the one below--1:15 pm) is a combination plate lunch house, hamburger shack, and specialty sandwich shop. There is a set $6.25 daily plate lunch (Monday—spaghetti and meatballs, Tuesday—meatball stew, Wednesday—fried pork chop, Thursday--Chef’s Special, Friday—seafood). The Scott Dog is a grilled hot dog covered with chili or chili and cheese. The Tuscan Turkey sandwich contains shaved smoked turkey breast with balsamic glazed onions, provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato, and a garlic herb dressing. The pressed CaJan Cuban is their take on the classic Cuban sandwich and is made with ham, turkey, pickles, Creole mustard, and cheese.

We wandered in shortly after noon on a Tuesday. Since this is the heart of the Cajun lunch hour, every seat was full and we knew that we would have a short wait. Fortunately, folks aren’t inclined to linger over lunch. While waiting for a seat, I could see plates coming from the kitchen. The day’s plate lunch--meatball stew--looked more like hamburger steak to me, and I knew that I would take a pass on that one. And, since I had read about the café on Acadiana Hamburger, we felt that it was our obligation to have a burger.

Chuck, sticking to the basics, ordered the Classic Cheese Burger, a six-ounce burger topped with provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato, and pickles on a toasted bun. (Extra points for toasting the bun. That is always an appreciated touch.)

Out of curiosity and in response to its good reviews, I ordered the Dixie Burger, which added a few accoutre-ments to Chuck’s Classic. In addition to the provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato, and pickles, it was topped with bacon, onions, and a chipotle pepper dressing.

We shared an order of onion rings and an order of fries.

Whenever I am served crinkle fries, my immediate assumption is that they came from a bag. But at least these were nice and crisp and didn’t taste of cooking oil. The onion rings were larger than we like, and at first look, I thought they were burnt. Fortunately, they didn’t taste burnt, but Chef Roy’s and LA Seafood make a much better onion ring.

After our disappoint-ment with the burgers at Southside Bakery, would we be disap-pointed again? No. Now this is certainly no upscale gourmet burger. This is the burger that you remember eating at drive-ins and burger shacks as a kid. (As long as you weren’t eating at one of the national franchise places.) In fact, we had a chance to talk with Jan-Scott and he described his hamburger as “old-fashioned.” It is a relatively thin patty, seated on the above-mentioned toasted bun, with lots of fresh toppings. There was lots of flavor, especially with the addition of the chipotle pepper sauce on my Dixie Burger.

This will never be included on my “Best of Addie” list, but still satisfied our hunger for a good hamburger and deserves a 3.5 Addie rating.

Parking lot (left) at 1:15 pm.