Eureka Springs has two transplants from the French Quarter in New Orleans who moved to Eureka Springs and opened the Creole Girls Café, 14 Center St., just north of the Flatiron building.
Talk about authentic! Samantha Owen spent decades working in Creole restaurants in the French Quarter and is using family recipes.
“I’ve been cooking with my grandmother since I could get up on a stepstool,” Owen said. “It was just one of those family traditions. It is something my grandmother did with me for bonding that I’m able to utilize. I took what my grandma taught me and turned it into something really cool.”
Owen met her partner, Nancy Brooks, about a year and a half ago. They visited Eureka Springs for their one-year anniversary.
“It’s similar to the French Quarter without all the stuff going on since Katrina with increased crime,” she said. “I was also a tour guide down there, and it got to be an increasingly difficult environment. We were looking for somewhere to be more comfortable. We fell in love with Eureka and the community. If not for the community, we would not have been able to do what we did as quickly. People here welcomed us with open arms and have done nothing but help us along the way. A lot of people who work downtown eat here and have recommended us to their customers.”
The couple enjoys the taste of home with the addition of beautiful mountains not found in south Louisiana. They moved here May 3, opened June 18, and have been very busy, particularly with takeouts. They attribute that warm reception in part to offering something different from other restaurants in the area.
Creole Girls Café is tidy and spacious with more-than-required distancing between tables. The most popular item on the menu is a Taste of N’awlins, which comes with gumbo, etouffee, jambalaya, red beans and rice, and bread. Recently their special has been sautéed shrimp po-boys.
“Those have been flying out the door,” Owen said. “People love them. We may have to put that on the regular menu. They like that the shrimp is sautéed, not fried. We don’t have a fryer at all. We have air fried okra, which is actually very, very good.”
Open late. (479) 981-3306