Sassagoula Floatworks has recently been "refurbished". I should remember the date (or at least the month) because I remember attending the grand reopening ceremony. It was really early in the morning. Too early for me to remember anything. I distinctly remember being completely underwhelmed by how bland the new interior was, and how much powdered sugar there was everywhere. (Because you see, everyone gets Beignets in the morning, and the place was packed.)

So it's been a few months now, and I figured right in-between lunch and dinner (around 3:30pm-ish) French Quarter's only counter service location would be about as deserted as it ever would be.

My feelings about the decor haven't really changed much. It's a pretty bland looking, office warehouse-like, space with a few colored bottles hanging from the rafters and mardi gras masks tossed in here and there. It's not exactly immersive themed dining, but it was a lot cleaner than it was at 7:00am. There wasn't a sign of powdered sugar anywhere!

Sassagoula basically has the same menu for lunch and dinner so I selected a Louisiana classic, the Shrimp and Grits. This entree was off the hook delicious. Batting way above it's pay grade… practically a table service restaurant entree… I wouldn't be disappointed if I had ordered and received this dish at Boatwright's at twice the price.

Even though the restaurant was practically empty, the dish was made-to-order and took about 10 minutes to fix up… so I'm not sure what happens when the place gets busy, but if this Shrimp and Grits is made right there, hot and fresh… it's amazing!

There were around 20 small shrimp in the melamine bowl, at least two kinds of sausage, red and green pepper, onions, a fabulous cream sauce, some shredded cheese and of course… the grits were hiding under all of that! It was a large portion, and there's really nothing I would have changed or altered. A perfect 10 Shrimp and Grits.

It may feel like you're dining in the middle of an OfficeMax, but the food has been great so far! The current version of Sassagoula Floatworks gets two thumbs up from me!