Fifolet

-Grubbing in Chicago

Nola Food + Drink in Wicker Park 

Fat Tuesday is around the corner. There's more options than ever as far as places to celebrate with good Nola food. One of those spots is a bar on Division called Fifolet. It opened up a couple years ago and while it didn't garner much attention a few people I know had been and said they enjoyed it. Anyways we went there one night a few months ago and ended up enjoying what felt more like a neighborhood bar than most of the other spots on this stretch of Division through Wicker Park.

Locals Favorite in Wicker Park

Fifolet advertises Cajun and Cocktails to their Chicago neighbors. Here in the North we have different perceptions of what Cajun food is so I think they were keeping that in mind with their description. From what I could feel the food here is more like that in Nola than it is is in Lafayette. There's nothing wrong with this though. I should point out items like fried alligator etouffee are actually more Cajun than most you'll find around town. But enough nitpicking. The food here is a good choice if you're looking for a taste of Louisiana. Example: Honey Custard cornbread cooked in a skillet. Delicious.

Honey Custard Cornbread 

If I remember correctly I really wanted some jambalaya the night we dined here. More times than not I usually resort to making that myself. Problem is I lost my real deal Cajun andouille contact when Treasure Island Foods closed. Anyway I tend to stay away from jambalaya at restaurants where they tend to cook it with seemingly a few gallons worth of tomatoes. I like mine with minimal tomatoes in it and I appreciated the fact that Fifolet does the same. I'm not sure what the squirts of yellow and orange sauce were but they manged to serve a jambalaya that scratched my itch. Usually this is an honor that only the folks at Coop's Place in New Orleans have bestowed upon me.

Jambalaya at Fifolet

I'd heard good things about the gumbo so we had to try some of that too. Fifolet makes theirs with crawfish, shrimp, clue crab, sausage, okra, and herbed white rice. I didn't like that the rice wasn't on the side but that's my own preference. The roux was a dark brown color only achieved by a nice long cook. Considering we're in Wicker Park Chicago this is a good example of a classic one typically finds at a local watering hole in the French Quarter. Fifolet does nice renditions of the Nola classics.

Gumbo at Fifolet 

Fifolet
1942 W Division St
Chicago, IL 60622
(773) 384-6886
Website