Cafe Rue Orleans Fayetteville, Arkansas
I regularly travel College Avenue here in Northwest Arkansas as it’s a regular thoroughfare and is close to Downtown Fayetteville and The University of Arkansas. My heart skipped a beat a few months ago when I spotted a sign on a building that read “Café Rue de Orleans.” I knew it could only mean one thing: A restaurant serving the food of my childhood. My favorite kind of food, Louisiana cuisine!
I made a point of visiting the website and determining that indeed it is a restaurant and not, perhaps a Blues Club or a bakery. I’ve kept in the back of my mind for quite some time knowing that eventually I wanted to sample the food.
Today I spontaneously dropped in with the express purpose of doing just that and hopefully recording a podcast. I showed up at 11:00 a.m. as soon as they opened for lunch and was greeted by the owner and chef Maudie Schmitt. We sat down and I was immediately faced with what on earth to order that would allow me to sample the menu items that called out to me most loudly. I ordered crab cakes w/remoulade, fried green tomatoes, red pepper and crab bisque, jambalaya, mumbo gumbo, red beans and rice and a tall glass of sweet tea.
Maudie was both kind and gracious by sitting down with me and allowing me to interview her. What impressed me most about Maudie is she’s a true pro. She didn’t flinch nor indicate any degree of nervousness, she simply accepted the microphone and told me her story. As I listened to her talk, I almost forgot I was interviewing her because it felt like I was catching up with an old friend. I felt a type of kinship with her knowing that we are both from New Orleans, come from Italian families and enjoy the same kind of food.
The food was as delicious as it was stylishly presented. There were so many other menu items I wanted to sample but there’s only so much I could comfortably consume. Lucky for me Cafe Rue Orleans serves breakfast on the weekends, lunch every day, and their dinner menu is even more expansive than their lunch menu.
She explained that she retired from teaching and was considering a few areas to move and open a restaurant. Among them was Phoenix, Atlanta and Fayetteville. According to her research these areas were expected to grow but she chose Fayetteville. She’d attended college in Arkadelphia and knew that it was in close proximity to the University. She imports a lot of her ingredients from Louisiana namely Gambinos French bread and Community coffee. There’s so much more to tell about Maudie’s journey and Cafe Rue Orleans and she tells it so well. I would encourage you to listen to to the interview and to visit Cafe Rue Orleans located at 1150 College Avenue, Fayetteville, AR.
