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If you are anywhere near Elysian Fields and Claiborne Avenue, there is a place that you can eat or drink at any hour of the day. This place is an eatery. This place is a bar. This place is a laundromat (I may have just given it away). This place IS Melbas!

If you are familiar with Wagner Meats, those folks have created the St. Roch staple that offers up great home-style grub at really reasonable prices. Melbas is a great spot to go if you want those great southern classics like fried fish and chicken (more about the chicken later), red beans and rice, baked chicken, baked macaroni and  Melbas’ 9th ward gumbo.

Lets get back to that fried chicken. Melbas fries up some great chicken. They are quick to tell you that they fry up a lot of it too.   In fact, a sign by the front door states that they serve over 120,000 pieces each month. That is some serious chicken. We were lucky enough to get our hands on some fried chicken wings from the fine folks at Melbas. It was great. It had a nice crispy batter on it that wasn’t too light and wasn’t too heavy. the chicken was juicy and flavorful. It’s no wonder they churn out over a hundred thousand pieces each month. The staff at Melbas say that their chicken wings are a super popular item during the fall and it all because of football. General Manager, Keith Wolfe tells us that for LSU and Saints games 1000 piece catering orders are commonplace. It doesn’t guarantee a victory but it certainly pleases the masses.

Speaking of guarantees, the crew at Melbas serve up a shrimp poboy that is guaranteed to contain at least 30 plump, gulf-coast shrimp. When you unwrap one of those shrimp poboys, you will instantly realize why Melbas is bold enough to make such a guarantee. This sandwich is packed with shrimp. You know that you’ve had a quality shrimp poboy when you can’t manage to stuff all those shrimp in the sandwich and keep them there. If you want something tasty and fully leaded to wash down your grub, Melbas has daiquiris churning that will go down smooth and easy. So whether it’s food or beverages or both, head on over to Melbas anytime. They are ALWAYS open.