Now serving New Orleans’ greatest hits

If you’re hankering for a taste of the Big Easy, a new restaurant is here to provide your fix. Cravorites, an eatery focused on Cajun and Creole comfort food, opened Sept. 1 on Callaghan Road near Interstate 10.

Owner Jason Collins said the business was born out of his struggle to find food that reminded him of his mother’s cooking growing up in New Orleans. To keep things as true to that spirit as possible, Collins pulled his mother, Toni Aucoin, a restaurant industry veteran, out of retirement and moved her from Louisiana to San Antonio to help operate the new venture.

The menu at Cravorites reads like a New Orleans’ greatest hits list with crawfish étouffée, gumbo, red beans and rice, jambalaya, fried fish platters, New Orleans snowballs and, of course, seafood boils.

Collins said his offerings differ from other New Orleans-inspired restaurants in town by focusing

on deep, rich flavors derived from quality ingredients and intense seasoning, with less of an emphasis on the fiery spice often associated with the food of his hometown.

Cravorites initially launched as a food truck and trailer, which

closed when Collins’ son, who was helping operate the truck and trailer, was deployed to Kuwait and Jordan. His son is still deployed, but Collins picked the project back up when he encountered an ideal brick-and-mortar location for a full restaurant.

The new restaurant can seat 73 people inside with room for 50 more on the outdoor patio. Jazz and blues musicians play at the spot Saturday nights. Cravorites is currently BYOB, but Collins said he hopes to have a full liquor license before the end of the year.

Cravorites, 5739 Callaghan Road, Suite 100, 210-405-9988, mycravorites.com, Facebook: @Cravorites. Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday

Cravorites’ owner says he focuses on rich seasonings and quality ingredients for fried seafood, left, the crawfish boil and other dishes.

Cravorites photos