After almost two years of waiting, Camellia Grill is back in business. The cheeseburgers, freezes, pecan pie, pecan waffles and chili cheese fries are all cooking up again at the diner-style restaurant near the corner of St. Charles and Carrollton Avenues for the first time since Hurricane Katrina.
The wait in line wasn’t any worse than it would have normally been on a pre-Katrina Sunday morning. Around 20 or so people waited outside the freshly-painted white exterior the second day it had been open.
Walking in to the eatery, it was easy to see that nothing had changed: the camellia prints on the wall, the Mickey Mouse clock hanging above the grills and even the grills themselves had all been renovated in the same place they had been before.
Looking around the room as six or seven men hustled and bustled behind the new white marble countertop, it was obvious that they had been there before. All of them were the same waiters and line cooks that worked there pre-Katrina. Then, out of the corner of the restaurant, Marvin’s face emerged.
Marvin has been at Camellia Grill for what feels like forever. Upon sitting down at the green stool in one of the coveted corner spots at the countertop, Marvin’s first words as he put out his fist were, “The Camellia Grill is open. I ain’t got to cry no more. Now I can wake up and sing that James Brown song, ‘I Feel Good.'” And that set the mood for the rest of the afternoon.
But the food is what’s most important about the Camellia Grill, so it was time to explore the wonders of sustenance after taking in the atmosphere. It came time to order some old favorites to see if they tasted the same. Marvin marked a ticket on the counter with all the classics: cheeseburger, cheese omelet, chili cheese fries, chocolate freeze and a waffle.
Ah yes, the stomachs started to growl even louder as Marvin yelled out the order to the line cook standing at the grill, chugging a Red Bull to keep up. He hustled to the back counter to prepare the coveted chocolate freeze. Vanilla ice cream, milk and chocolate syrup were all dumped into the pitcher and quickly blended to smooth perfection.
As he handed it over the counter, he uttered, “You know you can’t drink this too fast, now.”
Then after unwrapping a straw and handing it over, he added, “It’s the ultimate cooling sensation. We know you might already be cool, but once you have one, you ultimately cool.”
It was cooling, in fact, that it stopped time between Marvin preparing it and the line cooks preparing the food, because before you knew it, there sat the steaming hot order.
Staring at the food, Marvin said, “It’s been two years too long. You getting your grub on. Word.”
With one bite, it was clear – everything tasted exactly the same. As everything on all four plates was devoured and they were practically licked clean, the desserts portion of the menu started calling out.
A piece of their classic pecan pie was in order. Marvin slapped one on the grill right next to the hamburgers and dribbled some butter on it until it sizzled on the hot surface.
“That’ll knock the calories off that pie for ya,” he said.
He dumped it on the plate and placed a double scoop of Blue Bell vanilla ice cream right on top.
“I gotta warn ya about the pie now. We gotta secret ingredient that’ll make y’all hum,” he said as he handed it over.
And with one bite, it did. Hmmmm. The taste was perfection. The entire experience was perfect. The food, the people, the atmosphere, even the waiters yelling at the line cooks was perfect – the way it was meant to be and the way it was before.
Marvin insists that they’ll be back to their normal late-night hours soon. They also accept credit cards now, which is easier for us all.
But the icing on the cake was what Marvin kept saying: “My prayers have been answered.”
And they have. Camellia Grill is back and better than ever. Word.
Nicole Wroten can be reached at [email protected].
