This past Wednesday I woke up bright and early with the incorrigible Matt Ball ’08 and set out on a short trip to Cromwell in order to sample the famed fare at Mama Roux’s Kitchen. This cozy New Orleans style restaurant begs those who wander in to eat until they experience the distinct urge to unbutton the top button if their pants. Everything from the mismatched silverware and plates to the down home soul on the radio encourages obesity – and the attractive members of the wait staff will happily bring you plate after plate with smiles on their faces.

Now, most restaurants that boast about their “house blend” coffee are full of it, but Mama Roux’s makes a fine cup of joe: smoky and sweet, a real treat. And I must recommend a breakfast appetizer of whatever their homemade bread of the day is. For us it was banana bread, grilled and buttered, tasted just like my mom’s (well, no, it wasn’t quite that good). There is always a selection of fresh breads to try, which is a good excuse to have a pre-breakfast sampler as you browse the menu.

The selection itself is unofficially divided into distinct categories of traditional American breakfasts and Mama Roux’s Cajun specialties. For those looking for a traditional breakfast, I wouldn’t even make the trip out to Cromwell – you can get a Denver omelet anywhere. If you’re going to Mama Roux’s, do yourself a favor and get something you’ve never tried before. Variety is the spice of life, and you wouldn’t be getting the full experience with a half stack of flapjacks and a side of sausage.

Looking for something unique, both Matt and I ordered distinctive dishes. The “Philly Special” was quite good but almost overpowering in its rich, high-quality steak slathered with a creamy Mornay sauce (béchamel with cheese) on English muffins. This is a real gut buster, but a pleasure to eat: I would warn against the dish if the diner were prone to indigestion or suffering from even the mildest hangover. Along with the dish comes some of the best hash browns you can get, big chunks of potatoes fried just right and dashed with salt and pepper – keeping it simple.

Now, I was lucky enough to peruse the special menu long enough to stumble upon the “crispy blueberry French toast.” When I saw that the French bread was deep fried, I closed my menu and waited to order. This dish comes topped with an incredible blueberry sauce and sautéed blueberries to boot – a real beauty. The French toast itself was incredible: crispy, soft on the inside, couldn’t have been cooked better. And the sauce … let’s just say I’m lucky they only gave me three pieces. A dish I was sure would be too sweet for my taste was just right, and if any of you stumble into this fine establishment with this item on the special list, I officially recommend that you eat it.

Matt and I also tried an order of the Andouille hash, looking to balance out our Cajun experience with something that seemed authentic to us southwest hicks. This was a unique taste to me – the distinctive spice of the Andouille sausage went well with the potatoes and onions, putting a subtle but unique spin on an otherwise traditional dish. If one of you suckers is silly enough to order a plain old waffle, you might as well spice your breakfast up with a little Cajun hash – you’ll feel better for doing so.

Now, if the preceding hasn’t made it obvious, this is a damn fine restaurant, and accordingly, the wait for a table on the weekends can extend well beyond the annoying 40-minute mark. Stop in on a weekday for the promptest service, and if you do go on the weekend, expect a wait. There aren’t a lot of tables – not a bad thing, as excessive capacity would detract with the homeliness and excellent service. All in all, this place is worth the wait. It’s less than a 10-minute drive from school, and it offers multiple menu items I’ve never seen before. If you like breakfast as much as I do, this place is a must-visit during your short stay at Wesleyan.