text: Ok, I admit it - I got sucked into the DD&D's hype over this place.  I bought into the pizzazz and popularity, just like Chris Humphries did with Kim, and had my own whirlwind romance - his lasted 72 days, mine lasted about 7.2 minutes.  But I think my romance ended a little better than his - glad I tried Lola's, it was good, but it didn't blow me away.\n\nThe gumbo was fine, but lacking a kick or any real distinguishing characteristics.  There's a place in Chicago that I grew up going to that does it so much better, so it was tough to not draw comparisons.\n\nI got the shrimp & grits based on the waitress's recommendation of that item being \"what keeps the locals coming back.\"  Please note that I am in no way a connoisseur of grits, but these were way too cheesy and smooth for me - almost liquified, and completely overpowering with cheese.  But the gravy that included mushrooms & andouille sausage was good, as was the shrimp.\n\nMy dad had the fried chicken po' boy, and we found it to be boring - there was barely any chicken or sauce on it, and so it just felt sad and not Louisiana at all.  But his french fries were good.  My mom went with the jambalaya, which came out way too thick, like the consistency of the filling for chiles rellenos or shepherd's pie.  It did have a little kick of spice to it which was nice, but the rice was so so overcooked. \n\nEverything came out lickety-split, so if you're in a hurry you'd have no problem here.  If you've been to New Orleans and enjoyed the food, this doesn't feel like a true substitution for the real thing, but it's reminiscent enough to make you want to plan another vacation back to NOLA.