Parish Taceaux opens adjacent to artspace

Saints preserve us; another good restaurant has opened in downtown Shreveport. Parish Taceaux, adjacent to artspace at 708 Texas and almost just across the street from the Robinson Film Center, puts a Louisiana twist on Tex-Mex. In addition to salmon, beef, pork and chicken, Chef Zach Schmidt uses catfish, duck, shrimp and oysters in unconventional and delicious tacos, quesadillas and salads.

The menu is influenced by Mexican standards as well as Korean barbecue and Southern fried food, served with several salsas and innovative slaws and sauces. The tacos are of the Mexican street tradition, individually priced and served in a small, structured tray so the packed ingredients reach the table held upright and ready to grab.

The offerings are innovative, fresh and use local sources. The delicious chunky oven-roasted tomato salsa and green tomatillo salsa are heavy on vegetables and versatile enough to stand alone or spoon over another dish.

The appetizers include grilled pork belly, avocado fries and blackened shrimp. A blackened salmon with fried green tomato salad is topped with guacamole and salsa; a taco salad uses shredded brisket instead of ground beef. Grilled vegetable or Caesarinspired salads can be topped with chicken or shrimp.

Quesadillas feature duck, chorizo, shrimp or fire-roasted vegetables, but the emphasis is definitely on tacos. Eight different tacos are featured on the menu including short rib with grilled pineapple salsa, catfish nuggets with chow chow and chicken chimichurri with lemon aioli.

Cuban black beans over rice is a featured dish. Several desserts, including sponge cake with lemon sorbet and Louisiana strawberries, complete the well-rounded menu.

Schmidt previously worked at Wine Country Bistro, another of the Jason Brady Restaurant Group’s four food businesses (the others are Southern Fork Catering, Zocolo and Parish Taceaux). He had been catering from the Parish Taceaux kitchen when it was decided that a lunch and dinner restaurant would work well at that location.

Open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Parish Taceaux has a full bar and lots of half-price specials for happy hour.

– Kathleen Ward