Bayou
Out of the box cajun for the adventurous appetite

Twin brothers, Robert and William Jenkins stand in front of their new, joint business venture: Bayou Cajun Restaurant and Lounge, located on Milwaukee’s east side.--photo by Harry Kemp

by Kia Marie Cook
Say the word "bayou" and what comes to mind? Most likely words like: swampy, dirty, lowland, sluggish and slow moving. You’d probably even think of images of New Orleans.

Well, Milwaukee get ready to enhance your thoughts of the word bayou as the Milwaukee River welcomes its new addition: The Bayou Restaurant and Lounge.

Twin brothers, William and Robert Jenkins, 30, recently unveiled their new restaurant that sits off the banks of the river at 2060 North Humboldt Boulevard.

After deciding to "combine forces" and create an exciting new business venture, the twins devised a plan to create the Bayou where the food is "cajun with a fusion twist," said William who has owned the eastside nightclub Cush for seven years.

"What you have is the base--the roots of the cajun food. That’s what the chef is going off of. And what he’s doing is he’s bringing in different aspects of different styles of cooking into the cajun creole family," he said.

As result you’ll find traditional cajun dishes prepared in nontraditional ways.

"You’ll have a traditional jambalaya, but (the chef will) use a nontraditional hot sauce with it or a nontraditional way of styling the dish."

The Bayou surely has nontraditional hot sauces in a wide variety of flavors ranging from roasted raspberry chipotle sauce to wild blueberry hot sauce to a tequila citrus habanero hot sauce. Bayou’s chef, Bayard Michael, a fox point native, concocted the sauces, which are bottled and sold at the restaurant.

Of the chef, William said: "He’s an artist by nature—that’s the way his mind thinks. He’s always into things and the menu is representation of how he thinks."

The menu boasts a plethora of cajun-fusion style appetizers, sandwiches entrees, salads and deserts. With items such as Cajun Crawfish Caesar Salad, Fried Plantains and Guacamole, Butter Poached Lobster Tacos and catfish stuffed with crawfish, even the pickiest palate can be satisfied, the brothers say.

Although the Jenkins admit that when coming to the "sexy, modern Bayou" an open mind is key.

"The menu is creative as the interior. You’re not going to have the gumbo or the jambalaya that you’re used to getting," Robert said. "People that do dine here or expect to come here, have an open mind and be ready to be adventurous."

A little bit more ’bout Bayou...

o The Bayou Restaurant and Lounge is open daily from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. On Saturdays and Sundays Bayou hosts a special brunch, or as the owners like to call it "Breakfunch," which is full of unique dishes like Blackened Red Fish Benedict and Caribbean Smoked Salmon.

o William and Robert chose to open a cajun-style restaurant because "New Orleans itself and it’’s flavor and flair kind of represents our personality," Robert said.

o In describing the restaurant. William says it’s a "sexy, modern bayou," whereas Robert dubs it a "comfortable, sleek, urban modern bayou."

o Since opening, many customers have compared the interior design of the restaurant to something that they’d see in New York feel. Though the brothers weren’t necessarily trying to go with a "New York feel," they were trying to bring something different and unique to Milwaukee.

o Already thinking long-term, the Jenkins are hoping to make Bayou a mainstay in Milwaukee and then launch other Bayou’s around the country. "This will be our flagship restaurant," Robert said.