I would venture to say that quality, rather than superstition, explains everything: There is a talented chef who is actually in the kitchen, a staff of fabulous servers who are sensitive to your moods and whims, and a bartender who makes an outstanding martini ($4). No voodoo about it.

Hot honey rolls began a recent dinner. While savoring them, we dealt with the menu, which is a torment for the indecisive and easily tempted.

Ordering a hearty plate of spicy andouille sausage chunks served with a creole mustard ($4.75) was a foregone conclusion. After that, we left ourselves in the knowledgeable server's hands and sampled the peppery crawfish tails ($6.25), breaded and fried. They were so fresh and sweet they needed no enhancement, but if you must choose between the cocktail sauce or the lemon, squirt rather than dip.

It's wise to know your main course before going full-sail into appetizers, since the entrees come with a salad course. Be sure to try the thick, homemade blue cheese dressing. Likewise, be sure to avoid the tedious coleslaw - it was the only culinary flaw I've noticed in several visits.

Ah, but the seafood! Don't miss the platter of fresh oysters ($9.95), creamy beneath a crunchy fried crust, arranged under a maypole of potato wedges that built the plate to a cone.

Also a winner was the shrimp étouffée ($10.95). The spicy sauce, made rich and red by a butter and flour roux, served as a palette for the shellfish, which ringed a timbale of steamed rice sprinkled with chopped parsley.

Incidentally, the wine list is intelligent and fairly priced. For example, such reliable sauvignon blancs as Simi and Clos du Bois are available by the glass ($3.50).

If, after such indulgence, you fancy dessert, ask the kitchen to send 'round a basket of beignets ($3). The deep-fried puffy doughnut dough, with a heavy dusting of powdered sugar, will seem like a gentle kiss after all those seasonings.

Selected recommendations from past visits include the jambalaya, the gumbo and the fried shrimp (Louisiana natives swear they're just like dishes from home).

Seems as if the hex on Ashland-and-Main restaurants has been lifted.

Dinner for two, including drinks but excluding tip, was about $56.

Note: Article originally published in The Lexington Herald-Leader on Friday, October 25, 1996 on page 21 of the Weekender Section.

Originally By: Wendy Miller, Contributing Restaurant Critic
The Lexington Herald-Leader