text: Recently I was in NOLA for a few weeks and lived in FLA for 2 years and I do know good Cajun food and alligator. I was cookin' with Paul Prudhomme back in the early 80's before he was Chef Paul P! \nFor almost $50 we bought the combo plate with two meats and sides, a shrimp Po' Boy and an order of (3) Beignets with sweet tea. The Po' Boys are very good. The Shrimp was lightly battered and well seasoned, fried golden brown, sweet and crispy with just the right amount of spice. The roll was fresh and crusty. The red beans and rice were very good - lots of meat, beans were toothsome (not mushy) and the rice was done just right and it was spiced perfectly. The french fries were good, fresh, hot and crispy brown and moist on the inside.The sweet tea was just right and freshly made. Unfortunately - The alligator is terrible and the Boudan balls are just plain horrible. Alligator consisted of tiny breaded balls of flavorless chewy meat ranging from the size of a pea to a large blackberry - not one chunk or strip mixed with a lot of debris from the fryer (fried crumbles of batter). They were mostly tough and chewy. This is supposed to be tail meat which is usually pretty tender and there was very little or no seasoning. The Boudan balls were a huge disappointment. The filling was an unidentifiable tasteless gray paste with very little powdered spice, rolled in bread crumbs and fried. I pulled one apart and could see not one piece of meat, vegetable or rice. My best guess is that it consisted of bread crumbs with powdered spices and some binder (don't have a clue what). That they call this a \"meat\" selection is really a joke and for the price, absurd. When I was in NOLA I had Boudan balls at a half dozen different restaurants and they all contained meat, liver, ground with pepper/celery/onion/garlic, spices and rice . I've made my own for years and these resembled nothing like anything I've ever seen. There was no tartar or other sauce for dipping.The beignets are tough and chewy instead of the moist ,airy,  delectable powdered treat they are supposed to be like I had every morning at the Cafe Du Monde in N'Orleans. The combo plate contents and two of the three beignets now resides in my refrigerator, barely touched and will go into the garbage tomorrow....what a waste of money. If I wasn't so far away, I'd bring it back and explain why to the manager. So, if you go - which you should as there IS good food to be had, stick to the Po'Boys (NO ALLIGATOR!!!), gumbos, rice, fries and other selections. I will go back and stick to the above mentioned selections as they are the only option in this area for Cajun food. On VA s'revoir!