Tastes of New Orleans at Miss Nola’s Cafe

Why: Melissa and Tim McCusker opened Miss Nola’s Cafe in September in the historic Camas Hotel, where they previously owned and operated Harvest restaurant. The cafe is a full-service, family-style restaurant that features Cajun and low-country style Southern foods and Sunday brunch.

What I tried: I had the Cajun burger, and my dining companion had the McCusker meatloaf with a mixed green salad. We started our meal with hush puppies and finished it off with an order of beignets.

The hush puppies were served in a paper-lined can with whipped honey butter alongside. The hush puppies were fried to a golden brown and tasted like a combination of cornbread and onion rings. The hush puppies had a moist texture and didn’t fall apart when the butter was applied.

The burger began with a large, artisan-style bun. The meat patty was topped with melted cheese, fried andouille sausage slices and a delicious crawfish sauce. The burger was very satisfying, and the crawfish sauce and sausage gave it what it needed to represent the cuisine. The burger came with hand-cut fries that were deep fried to a dark finish and salted with coarse salt.

The meatloaf is a family recipe that wraps bacon and pastry around meat ground from choice cuts, and the loaf is topped with chopped tomatoes. The result was somewhat reminiscent of beef Wellington, though kicked up a notch. The meat was a savory blend that is moist and a bit crumbly. The salad was garden fresh.

The beignets were served with thinly sliced strawberries on top with a very light amount of syrup. Each beignet was true to form — like a cake donut without the hole. The strawberries complimented them perfectly.

Menu highlights beyond what I tried: A shrimp po-boy is on the menu, as is catfish. The creamy jambalaya sounded intriguing. The salmon cakes, greens and remoulade, and the roasted corn soup with a Parker roll, would make a good pairing. Brunch options include sweet potato waffles with real maple syrup, and eggs Benedict made with your choice of pork belly, Canadian bacon, andouille sausage, fried oysters, sauteed shrimp, crawfish or salmon cakes, and served with Southern-style grits. Collards, red beans and rice, and muffuletta sliders are some of the New Orleans classics that populate the menu. Beverages include Coke products. Beer, wine, and cocktails also are available.

Atmosphere: The restaurant’s decor portrays the rustic, coastal region of its menu selections. Orange walls are decorated with a potpourri of items, including old window panes, shelves stocked with beverage and sauce bottles, an old milk bottle crate and a galvanized tub. A few lanterns are hung from a slanted metal and wood beam ceiling. Toward the rear of the space, a large chalkboard lists menu items, but there also are well-used paper versions at each table. Each table is set with a pail filled with chalk for use with a built-in chalkboard, which is the centerpiece of each table. A ceiling fan circulates air near the entrance, and the front windows are dressed with fleur-de-lis-stamped cafe curtains.

Other observations: The waitstaff was friendly though a bit disorganized on the evening of my visit. Our table was tended to by three servers who repeatedly overlapped inquiries and forgot two requests that my dining companion and I made — no apples on the salad and malt vinegar for the French fries. The noise level was high when the restaurant was full, making it difficult to have a conversation with ease. A few outdoor bistro tables and chairs were available for sidewalk dining.

Cost: Smaller bites cost $3.50 to $12, and entrees are $13 to $18. Brunch selections start at $4 and top out at $14 with sides ranging from $2 to $7.

Hours: Noon to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday. Noon to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.

Where: 401 N.E. Fourth Ave., Camas.

Telephone: 360-210-4037.

On the web: Miss Nola’s Cafe may be found on Facebook for more information.

Health score: Miss Nola’s Cafe received a score of 10 on Jan. 22. Zero is a perfect score, and Clark County Public Health closes restaurants with a score of 100 or higher. For information, call 360-397-8428.