Cajun cooking takes a delicious turn at Chef C’s in Carson

There’s a sense of finding a diamond in a box of long-forgotten family relics at Chef C’s Smhokin Pot.

Tales of discoveries like that are properly apocryphal — at the bottom of a cardboard carton full of late Uncle Sid’s cufflinks and bowties, there’s a jewel box in which there’s a sparkler. In the case of Chef C’s, the setting is a South Bay mini-mall like any number of other South Bay mini-malls, where the other tenants are a 7-Eleven, a Big Burger and Pacific Cash Advance.

Certainly, Chef’s C’s has a brighter sign, graphically intense, with the image of a bubbling pot over a blazing flame. There are flames in the window as well. And then there’s the motto of the place: “Cajun Cuisine with a Southern Twist.” Though really, the twist belongs to Chef C, who cooks Cajun/Southern food like no one else.

This is a reflection of one man’s vision, and one man’s taste. In a world of copycat eateries, it’s a treat to come upon a takeout joint where there are dishes that make sense within the context of Chef C’s World. And taste darned good too.

Consider, for instance, the mac and cheese. For most of us, mac and cheese is just a culinary afterthought — small elbow macaroni, tossed with a cheese sauce (more often Kraft, but also Velveeta). Filling, cheap, and not very sophisticated. But in the case of Chef C’s mac and cheese, what we have is an impressive seven cheeses, the only one of which I’m sure is cheddar, mixed with a choice of langoustine lobster, garlic shrimp, Cajun chicken or smoked steak. It allows you to turn filler into an entrée of considerable heft, and flavor.

And like all the entrees, the mac and cheese is served with a choice of nachos or fries topped with cheese. Because, as you know, if your entrée is totally cheese, the side dish should be too. Or at least, in the world of Chef C it should be. More is more — for $10 to $15 for a small order.

Chef C is a great fan of langoustines, which are also known as “Norway lobsters.” They’re orange in color, and are closer in size to scampi shrimp than the monsters we grow up in Maine. Along with regular lobster, they’re found all over the menu; if the chef could find a way to put them in his Southern-style sweet tea, he probably would.

Thus, langoustines are an option in the “Lobstastaya” — which is just what it sounds like, jambalaya topped with langoustines. They’re in the grilled cheese platter as well. And lobster is at the heart of the garlic lobster; joined by shrimp and smoked steak on Chef C’s Way; along with garlic shrimp on the Half and Half; in the seafood gumbo; in the lobster bisque. But not, to my surprise, in any of the wildly over-the-top fries — the whiskey cheese fries, the garlic cheese fries, and the bisque cheese fries. Not in the grits, either. Which, like the sweet tea, are an essential of any restaurant calling itself “Southern.” (And, of course, since we’re in California, there’s kale slaw. And nachos. Ain’t fusion fun?)

Even if you opt for any of the five vegan alternatives — the vegan pasta, the vegan mac and cheese, the vegan gumbo, the vegan gumbalaya and the vegan jambalaya — there’s nothing understated about Chef C’s cooking. This is not diet food. The kale slaw is the closest the dishes comes to a salad. Which means the Smhokin Pot is a place to go when you’re ready to dig in, to eat till you’re full, and maybe well after that. And to be ready to find leftovers in the fridge that should carry you through the next day.

Gumbo for breakfast? Why not? Especially when it’s made with turkey, beef, smoked chicken, andouille sausage, Cajun chicken and shrimp. Not a choice of, but all of them.

The choice is what the gumbo is served over — fries, nachos, rice or grits. The fries and the nachos would get soggy, so I’d opt for the rice or the grits. And since rice is pretty much standard issue, grits it is.

As I was told years ago, when I stopped for breakfast at a roadside, good ol’ boy joint in the Carolinas, asked for ham and eggs, grits are the essence. They were so committed, they wouldn’t serve their ham and eggs without them. They may be just cornmeal porridge to we Northerners. But to the Old South, they’re God’s gift. They are blessed food.

Merrill Shindler is a Los Angeles-based freelance dining critic. Email mreats@aol.com.

Chef C’s Smhokin Pot

• Rating: 2.5 stars
• Address: 17944 S. Avalon Blvd., Carson
• Information: 310-817-4380, www.smhokinpot.com
• Cuisine: Quirky Cajun/Southern Cooking
• When: Lunch and dinner, Tuesday through Sunday
• Details: Soft drinks; takeout only — unless you want to eat in your car
• Atmosphere: A uniquely tasty destination in a mini-mall across from Cal State Dominguez Hills, serving Cajun-Southern cuisine with a twist thanks to the chef’s unusual take on how these dishes should taste. Lobstalaya anyone?
• Prices: About $20 per person
• Suggested dishes: Garlic Wings ($8/$13), Garlic Lobster ($13/$20), Garlic Shrimp ($10/$15), Cajun Chicken ($8/$12), Smoked Steak ($10/$15), Chef C’s Way ($25/$30), Gumbo ($15/$20), Lobster Mac and Cheese ($15/$20), Smhokin Hot Platter ($25/$30), Lobstalaya ($20/$25), Jambalaya ($15/$20), Gumbalaya ($20/$25), Ultimate Bisque ($20), 5 Vegan Options ($8-$20)
• Credit cards: MC, V
• What the stars mean: 4 (World class! Worth a trip from anywhere!), 3 (Most excellent, even exceptional. Worth a trip from anywhere in Southern California.), 2 (A good place to go for a meal. Worth a trip from anywhere in the neighborhood.) 1 (If you’re hungry, and it’s nearby, but don’t get stuck in traffic going.) 0 (Honestly, not worth writing about.)