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Cajun cuisine gives way to Texas BBQ Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell photo The Louisiana Grill will reopen soon as the San Antonio Star Steak House and Saloon. Co-owner Dean Hunt talks with day manager Laurie Berg in the remodeled, neon-lighted bar By GREG STILES The Louisiana Grill is a thing of the past and its successor remains weeks away. Owner Michael Desimone pulled the plug on the two-year-old Cajun and Creole-style approach last month, closed the restaurant for remodeling and will re-open in early March. Louisiana Grill's spicy perception didn't adequately reflect Desimone's palate or his vision for a family restaurant, he said. What will emerge from the flurry of activity at 17 W. Fourth St. is the San Antonio Star Steak House and Saloon. "I'm real passionate about this Texas thing; I think Texas is the second-best state in the country," said Desimone, whose considerable success in the trucking industry preceded his venture into the culinary world. Desimone, 42, travels to Texas three or four times a year and discusses Lone Star State barbecue like most folks talk about sports. Desimone makes no bones about his admiration for the Texas PitStop Bar-B-Que on East Main Street in Medford and the Back Porch BBQ in Jacksonville. "I've got a book that shows everybody that does barbecue in Texas and my goal is for my wife and I to try every one of them before we die," Desimone said. "A town the size of Central Point in Texas would have three barbecues." A new state law forced Desimone's hand after the first of the year. He had to decide whether most of his clients were smokers or families. Smoking is still permitted in bars and other areas where minors are prohibited, but lighting up in dining rooms is illegal. Desimone, who long ago concluded that everybody who smokes eats - but not all eaters smoke - opted for a smokeless establishment. "I wanted a nice clean place that smelled good and was a healthy place to eat," Desimone said. Dean Hunt, 53, Desimone's partner at Cross Creek Trucking, has supervised the remodel. He said that when a system was installed a couple of years ago to keep smoke from the dining room, it didn't work. "It sucked the heat out in the winter and in the summer, it took out the cool air," Hunt said. Desimone said the primary change patrons will see is the elimination of a couple of hot dishes from the menu. "It's one of the biggest mistakes we made," said Desimone, who opened Louisiana Grill with Marlan Wallace in 1999. "We called it Cajun cuisine and everybody thought it was hot and spicy. We were getting a bad rap; even my mom thought it was too hot to go there." Wallace has left the restaurant business to pursue a career as a personal trainer, but there still will be catfish and crawfish to go along with the steak. Hunt said the all-you-can-eat catfish on Wednesday nights will be joined by all-you-can-eat ribs on Thursdays. A dollar-taco Tuesday might be in the offing as well. But steaks, which had provided 80 to 90 percent of the business in recent months, will be the main attraction. The primary physical change has been in the kitchen, where the old wood floor has been replaced with tile. The decor will reflect the Texan theme. Desimone hopes the re-opening won't match the original opening when locals swarmed the place and taxed its ability to perform. "You can't put 10 pounds of stuff in a 5-pound bag," he said. "We thought if we did everything right, we'd be doing $20,000 of business a week. We were doing $40,000. People flock to the new thing here and they were parking cars clear over to West Main." The thought of 200 people showing up at a 100-seat eatery bothers him, and he's reticent about creating too much demand. But he likes the next-to-the-railroad-tracks location and the fact he's serving a local clientele. "You're not going to find too many people coming here off the freeway," he said. He said it wasn't easy laying off his staff for several weeks, but this was the right time of year to redo the floor. Hunt said several people have been kept on to help in the remodel. Floor manager Sabrina Sanchez will continue overseeing a 20-person staff and chef Storme Findlay remains. Desimone said he has no long-range plans to open another restaurant. "One's enough for me," he said. "It's a hobby and a way to express yourself. Food is the common denominator with all people. It's like having someone over to your house. There's more bragging rights if you can have some good food to offer." Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 776-4463 or e-mail [email protected]. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.