2.5 STARS
the first…read moretime i visited howard gumbo was for a yelp event, and i enjoyed it so much that i had to visit again. since then, i've visited a few times, and the food has been hit or miss. when it's good, it's really good; otherwise it's mediocre. it can be hard to find, especially in the dark, but there's a small flashing open sign on the tent. there's a small parking lot - maybe 3 parking spots. howard gumbo is mostly set up for takeout, but there are also a few tables inside the tent to stand and eat at. service is very friendly; i can tell that it's family-owned. usually the wait isn't long either, but it depends on how many other orders they're working on.
- napoleons 2pc cat (3.5/5): i loved the catfish that i tried at the yelp event. the catfish was breaded with cornmeal, which made it less oily, and it stayed crispy longer. i thought the breading was the same as the first time i tried it, but it was a lot saltier. it also came with a packet of tartar sauce at the event, but i didn't receive any the subsequent times i visited. it was actually so salty that i didn't need it anyway
- napoleons 2pc red snapper (1/5): this was so overcooked that it was rubbery, chewy, and dry, which made it hard to swallow. the pieces of red snapper were big, but because they were so dry, i had to dip them in gumbo to finish them. the cornmeal breading also started falling off of one piece, but what was left had good flavor. the other piece retained its breading, but it was so salty
- 5$ holla seafood gumbo (3.5/5): when i tried this the first time, i thought it was one of the best gumbos i've ever had, even better than the gumbos i've tried in louisiana. the subsequent times i've been, i thought it was even more on the thinner side, so it was more like a really thin soup. i still really enjoyed the savory and smoky flavor, but it was more watered down. they were generous with the amount of sausage, and it came with two shrimp
- milo's gumbo fries (2/5): they gave us all of the components separately (a separate container each of white rice, gumbo, and fries), so i felt like $25 was kinda expensive for what we got. it looked like i could've gotten the $5 gumbo and a side of fries and put it together myself, although it did come with a small piece of catfish on top. it was smaller than the catfish napoleons, but it was also less salty. the fries weren't seasoned, so they definitely needed the gumbo. i didn't think the portion was worth it
- fries (1.5/5): i thought the fries i had at the yelp event were a bit overcooked, but they were crispy and salted well. the fries i've gotten afterward have been less fried but also really bland. they were still a bit crispy on the outside but got soggy fast. i guess they balanced out the salty fish well, but they weren't as good to eat on their own. they switched between regular fries and crinkle fries each time i went
i was a bit disappointed in the food at howard gumbo after having such a great initial experience at the yelp event, but perhaps the quality issues could be attributed to growing pains. i still do think that the $5 gumbo is worth it, but i'm not sure about the rest of the menu. kathy's combo could be a good deal if you want to try a bit of everything, since it comes with the 5$ holla gumbo and catfish. i do hope they work the kinks out and wish them the best!
