Duke’s Canoe Club brings cajun-style cuisine to area

Source: Portland Review
PORTLAND - Portland residents who are looking for a casual dining experience have another option in the downtown area.

Duke’s Canoe Club has been open for business since February and offers area diners a taste of the South. The restaurant specializes in cajun cuisine as well as blues and jazz entertainment. The inspiration for the establishment came straight from the bayous of Louisiana.

“I had been down to New Orleans a few times and really enjoyed the food as well as the music,” says Dale Nurenberg, co-owner of Duke’s. “The cajun cuisine and blues and jazz went very well together and I thought it would go over well up here.”

Nurenberg and brother-in-law Andy Schrauben purchased Ernie’s Root Cellar in December and began renovating the inside of the building to provide a blues/jazz atmosphere. Among the improvements was space inside the restaurant to bring in live musicians each week.

As for the menu, Duke’s went with a cajun/creole style that one would find on a trip to New Orleans.

“Our cajun and creole items are not as hot as you would find down South, but we are making some authentic items,” says Joshua Cross, executive chef and manager of Duke’s. “Our menu includes authentic cajun items such as alligator, gumbo, and jambalaya. Everything we use is fresh.”

Cross completed a two-year culinary arts program through Grand Rapids Community College and worked at a couple of sites before coming to Duke’s.

“That was an extensive program that took up seven hours a day, five days a week,” says Cross. “We studied under chefs from around the world, including Scotland and France, and studied various cooking styles including cajun. It was a great program and I’m glad to be able to come back home and use my skills.”

Diners will find a variety of cajun items on the menu as well as other dining delights.

“I like to run specials that are not part of the menu,” says Cross. “I like to try different things just to see how they go over. We had a pecan grouper as a special not too long ago and it was so well received that we are going to put it on the regular menu. I would like to change the menu every six months just to bring different dishes on that are popular and take off anything that is not selling well.”

Along with the dining experience, Duke’s also holds a happy hour every night and also brings in live music on Thursday evenings.

“Jazz and blues music just goes well with cajun cooking,” says Cross. “We have music playing in the dining area and we also have brought in some local bands to play live music for us on Thursday nights as other attraction.”

While Duke’s plans on continuing to increase the number of diners inside, it also would like to add some growth to the outside.

“In the future, we would like to add some form of outdoor seating,” says Nurenberg. “We would like to put in something where people could come in, sit along the river, and relax to some nice music. But that will be a couple of years down the road. Right now, we want to continue to bring in more customers and I think we are doing that.”

Duke’s Canoe Club is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday and from 11 a.m. to midnight Thursday through Saturday. The restaurant is closed on Mondays.
Source: Portland Review