Roux

UPDATE (5/22/12): Looks like this place might be closing, sorry to see them go but looking forward to see what takes their place in the cool food scene of Santana Row

Location: San Jose, CA

Cuisine type: Cajun
Atmosphere: casual, lounge/bar
Meal: lunch
Price range: $15

Overall grade: 8.1

Ben

A fun cajun-style bar/restaurant in the fashionable Santana Row shopping center in San Jose. Inside seating looked like a respectable sportsbar, but we ate outside in their seating in the plaza for lunch. Upon sitting, warm, delicious individual loaves of cornbread were offered to each of us in true southern style, and second portions were offered upon finishing. It may have been that we ate a late lunch, but the service was very prompt and very nice. We both ordered Po-boys, a main lunch selection. Contrary to normal, we actually ordered the same order - a pepper blacked catfish Po-boy served topped with lettuce, tomato, and a chipotle mayonnaise remoulade on a large bun.

The Po-boy matched our expectations and the outdoor atmosphere in the busy plaza was pleasant. The menu had a large selection of drinks and southern sandwiches / entrees. The price was a little higher than expected for the classic ultra-cheap southern sandwich (~$12-$15).

Food 8

Drinks 8

Atmosphere 8

Service 10

Value 5

Nina

During our search for a second car (for Ben's commute), we stopped by the Santana Row Shopping Center in San Jose. It seemed like a promising destination, with many restaurants from typical chain to small, locally-owned. We decided to eat at Roux, a cajun restaurant, in part because we don't usually see this type of cuisine. The other reason was that from their stylish rendition of their name it looked like they were called Poux (read Poo), which grabbed our attention from afar. The place looked like a lounge/bar on the inside, with comfortable seating and a vast selection of alcoholic drinks. We chose a table outside, where the weather was perfect as always and the air was fresh.

After inspecting the menu for a good 10 minutes, something not entirely unusual happened - Ben and I both chose the exact same dish from their wide selection spread over 4 pages: Cat Fish Po' Boy. To make things even more exciting, we had both thought of getting the blackened filet (as opposed to deep fried or plain grilled). Since there is no rule against ordering the same food, we decided to follow our instinct and have the Po' Boy. The only difference was that mine was off the bun and served with sweet potato fries, while Ben's was served on the bun with a side of cajun fries.

Moving on to the actual food.. Before our meal came in we were served warm over-fresh corn bread with honey butter - melt-in-your-mouth deliciousness, it took all the will power I could muster to not order seconds, and thirds etc. The catfish was perfectly done, juicy and tender and deliciously spiced. It came with lettuce and tomato (which would have gone on the sandwich), with a chipotle sauce and chili remoulade on the side. These sauces ended up being the perfect replacement for ketchup for dipping fries, so they didn't go unused. In all, this place served its role of a light lunch well, though there certainly wasn't a shortage of deef-fried foods on the menu either.

Food 8

Drinks 9

Atmosphere 8

Service 10

Value 7

Nina's dessert bonus:

Kara's Cupcakes was a small shop on the same plaza as Roux, so I couldn't resist going in to check it out. After all, it's dessert and I've been particularly interested in getting in on the cupcake craze that's been taking over large cities. They had about a dozen types of cupcakes, all looking pretty in the various colors of their icing (naturally derived from added ingredients - fruit, spices, chocolate etc). The best part was their added selection on mini-cupcakes, of the same types as the larger ones. After much gawking, I finally settled on a chocolate mini with an organic blackberry (homemade) jam as filling and a blackberry buttercream icing on top. Pure delight!