Tibby’s New Orleans Kitchen
2203 Almo Avenue
Winter Park, FL
407-672-5753

Price range: $

Looking for cuisine of the noir variety in and around Orlando is not only easy; it is a rite of passage. As one of the top cities offering up black-owned restaurants on a plate, Orlando has numerous eating options for the epicurean who craves an African-American dining experience.

Therefore, while I was looking for my perfect Diaspora eating adventure, I soon discovered Tibby’s New Orleans Kitchen by way of an online search. Their colorful website that offered “FoodFunkMusicSoul” to potential diners was, on its own, an invitation to come in and eat. Although Tibby’s was not black-owned, the fact that its roots could be found in the “Big Easy” was enough for me to explore this casual restaurant offering mid-priced foods ranging from $7 to $15.

Founded on the memory of Walter ‘Tibby” Tabony, a New Orleans native and lover of French Quarter fare, Tibby’s prides its spirit (and menu) around Tabony’s favorite foods. I was sold. If it was good enough for Tibby, it was good enough for me. I called the restaurant, spoke to the manager, connected with the marketing representative and after a few polite “pleases” and “thank yous,” I was scheduled and set to whet my Southern appetite.

Unfortunately, a change in plans and lack of transportation thwarted my intended 1:00 arrival. No worries; after begging my way into a car, I finally arrived at my food destination. By this time, it was past lunch, and I was starving. Instead of meekly explaining to a rushed (and probably annoyed) wait staff the reason behind my tardiness, I tiptoed into the restaurant and was led by the host to a cozy little table where I could enjoy what would hopefully be an amazing replica of what New Orleans has to offer.

While waiting for my waiter or waitress to take my order, I had just enough time to take in the colorful surroundings and the funky sounds, just as the website promised, before I felt a familiar rumble in my belly.  Enough looking. Time to eat.

I chose an appetizer for my first course. I’m a cheese addict, so ordering the New Orleans cheese plank was par for the course for me, and though I don’t usually enjoy pepper-jack cheese, preferring American or Swiss, those crispy cylinders of gooey cheese melted in my mouth and made me a convert.

I wanted more.

For my main dish, I picked an old favorite: Cajun shrimp pasta. Cajun? Check. Shrimp? Check. Pasta? Check, check and check. I inhaled a collection of eight large shrimp dipped in a wine butter sauce, (another gooey plus), tomatoes, green onions and, of course, Cajun seasoning that lay over a bed of linguine. My mouth was on fire. Being on assignment, I didn’t want to indulge in any spirits. Luckily, my iced cold Coke was the perfect stand-in.

I couldn’t possibly visit a New Orleans-inspired kitchen without tasting a good old-fashioned po-boy, but, before I could be judged as the gluttonous girl in the corner, I ordered the chicken parmesan po-boy to go and headed out.

On the way back, I reflected on how positive eating at Tibby’s was. More than a New Orleans effect, I gathered more of a Caribbean feel, with the tropical colors and clanging sounds. All in all, my dining out experience was a great one, indeed.

Safe inside my room with no one around to judge my expanding stomach, I happily bit into a confusing (in a good way) mixture of chicken and cheese and Creole sauce, its spicy sweetness bursting out of a roll and onto my tongue, throwing me into a Cajun coma.

It took a nap to revive me from my New Orleans overdose.  Then I remembered that I forgot to order the red beans and rice, the gumbo and the jambalaya.

I’m going back tomorrow.