Let the Good Times Roll at Roux Orleans
Located in the North Side’s Chateau neighborhood, the eatery specializes in authentic New Orleans cuisine.
PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER
It’s lunchtime on a Tuesday and Roux Orleans is bumpin’ like Bourbon Street during Mardi Gras.
Jazz blares from overhead speakers as folks parade through the restaurant carrying trays loaded with jambalaya, blackened catfish, gumbo and gator po’boys.
During brief lulls in the action, chef Mike “Big EZ” Barnes swings by my table to tell me about his journey from New Orleans to Pittsburgh’s Chateau neighborhood.
“Everything in here reminds me of home,” he says.
PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER
There’s a mural on the wall of a window overlooking various NOLA landmarks, including Caesars Superdome, St. Louis Cathedral and the Crescent City Connection. The menu, too, sparks memories of Barnes’ childhood in the Big Easy.
His grandparents ran a New Orleans bar and became known for their Cajun and Creole dishes — and their generosity. They believed in nourishing the mind, body and spirit of each patron.
The family lived above the business, and Barnes recalls sneaking downstairs as a kid to scope out the scene. Eventually, his grandmother allowed him in the kitchen for cooking lessons.
“She taught me everything that I need to know about my craft, my art,” he says, adding that when it comes to cooking, he’s the Kobe Bryant to his grandmother’s Michael Jordan.
Her slam-dunk recipes are helping him carve out his own culinary niche in Pittsburgh, where people can get a hearty meal and laissez les bons temps rouler.
So, why did he leave New Orleans?
“It’s hot down there,” he says with a laugh.
Barnes, a veteran of Louisiana’s hospitality industry, moved to Pittsburgh in 2014 and opened a construction company with no intention of returning to a professional kitchen. But, when friends discovered his culinary skills, they began requesting trays of dirty rice and jambalaya for their parties.
As demand grew, Barnes realized he was building something unique that went beyond bricks and mortar. In 2016, he opened Roux Orleans as a catering service in Homewood. Barnes also operated a small kitchen at Tortured Souls Brewing in New Kensington before opening his own North Side space in April.
Like a building needs a solid foundation, authentic New Orleans’ food needs a solid roux, a base made of equal parts flour and oil for thickening soups, gravies and sauces.
PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER
Last Friday, I indulged in the crawfish étouffée special: creamy cajun sauce, spice, garlic, fresh herbs and white rice topped with fried catfish and a thick slice of cornbread. Ordering a dozen hushpuppies was a bit overindulgent since a few of the deep-fried cornmeal balls could silence a growling stomach, but I wolfed them down anyway. On Tuesday, I took a pork chop and jambalaya to go so I could pig-out in the privacy of my own home.
Chateau sits on the banks of the Ohio River near Bicycle Heaven and East End Brewing Co.’s Pop-Up Beer Garden. The neighborhood will soon be home to the $740 million Esplanade project, a multi-use development with condos, a splash park, an ice skating rink and a 200-foot-tall Ferris wheel. It’s slated to open in 2028.
In the meantime, Barnes is still cranking out catering orders in Homewood and creating a community at Roux Orleans in Chateau. He plans to offer cooking classes at the restaurant on Tuesdays and Thursdays, teaching others the knowledge his grandmother passed on to him.
His birthday is on July 18, so he’s hosting a bash at the B.Y.O.B. establishment from 5 to 8 p.m. If there’s one thing New Orleans natives know how to do, it’s throw a party. There will be live music from the Bayou Brass Band and a special menu of fan favorites.
What will he be wishing for when he blows out the candles on his cake? More Roux Orleans locations throughout Pittsburgh, the city he’s proud to call home.
