Dining Out

Mary Furr

You could be in New Orleans dripping in the humidity or you could

be in Cliff’s Ragin’ Cajun on Brookhurst Avenue in Fountain Valley

sipping ice tea and dipping hush puppies -- corn bread fritters -- in a

spicy homemade sauce.

This bright storefront in Callen’s Corner is alive with taped fiddle and

accordion music, red-checkered vinyl cloths, and fancy masks and posters

from Mardi Gras.

From a menu filled with home-style Southern dishes from owner Cliff

Huffstetler’s mother’s recipes comes a tempting plate of hush puppies,

spicy deep-fried corn bread dumplings. Legend says the name comes from

campfire cooks who tossed bits of fried batter to hush the puppies at

dinner.

Cajun style shrimp ($8.99) is a different preparation of a favorite dish.

The six big, butterflied tail-on shrimp are dipped in a spicy, thin coat,

fried and served with a good dipping sauce and two sides. One selection

was jambalaya, a dish that combines mildly spiced cooked rice with hunks

of marinated beef and bits of tomato and corn. A large serving of potato

salad with lots of celery, onion and cubed potatoes was traditional and

good.

Two crab cakes ($9.89), a skimpy mix of crab meat, onion and bread crumbs

were more like scoops of mixture than formed crab cakes. The side of red

beans and rice -- New Orleans’ best known contribution to regional

cuisine -- combines slowly simmered red kidney beans with bits of ham

served over steamed rice. The dish was so loved by trumpeter Louis

Armstrong that he used to sign his letters, “Red beans and ricely yours”!

A dessert not to miss is the bread pudding ($3.50). It’s a big square of

apple slices, raisins, halved pecans, walnuts and spices served hot with

a small cup of thin, sweet sauce to add.

Vanilla ice cream with whiskey sauce ($2.50) was served without any sauce

-- a surprise but not unexpected as energetic server Phillipe Bautista

was alone and overwhelmed as the lunch crowd increased.

Cliff’s Ragin’ Cajun is owned by Cliff Huffstetler, a former construction

worker who dreamed for years of owning a restaurant based on the food he

loved. He took culinary classes in Arkansas and New Orleans. He fulfilled

his dream, first in 1993 at a small place in a food court of Plaza des

Cafes in Newport Beach, and then with Cliff’s Ragin’ Cajun.

As his Cajun menu says, “Brought yourself on down for some good eatin’.”

You do that, you hear?

MARY FURR is the Independent restaurant critic. If you have comments or

suggestions for her, call (562) 493-5062.

FYI BOX:

CLIFF’S RAGIN’ CAJUN

WHERE: 18609 Brookhurst St., Fountain Valley

HOURS: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily

CALL: 962-6029