After Saturday morning chores and errands, SCVFoodie hit the road to Santa Paula. What the heck is in Santa Paula, you ask? Beignets at Rablais Bistro. Hot. Fresh. Doughy. And covered with a ton of powdered sugar.
About a 40-minute drive on the 126 from Valencia, we usually pass the Santa Paula exits en route to the beaches in Ventura and Santa Barbara. But quite a few people were raving about the Cajun-New Orleans-style restaurant on the Santa Clarita Foodies Facebook group.
Since dining indoors these days is a no-go, we picked up our piping hot beignets for takeout and ate them in the car. They might be bigger than the world-famous Cafe du Monde’s in New Orleans (from what we can remember), but they’re topped with the same amount of powdered sugar (a mound on each). Rablais’ beignets should be eaten right away—because any beignet worth its salt doesn’t have a great shelf life.
For those who’ve never had one, the beignet is the French version of a fritter or doughnut. Traditionally made with a few ingredients including flour, water, butter/lard and eggs, the beignet is hollow in the middle with a touch of crispness on the outside.
Rablais’ version is certainly worth the drive on a Saturday morning—especially when there’s nothing else to do. But when it’s safe to dine-in again, we’ll definitely be back. There are a few things we want to try that look better eaten at the restaurant (Croque Madame, Pulled-Pork Benedict, jambalaya, shrimp and grits and their po’ boys).
Of course, we’d have to start or finish that meal with those beignets and a chickory au lait.
Rablais Bistro’s beignets are three for $7, six for $12 or a dozen for $20.
Rablais Bistro
861 E. Main St., Santa Paula
805-525-2109
SCVFoodie: Eats in and around Santa Clarita, Calif. 