Photo by Emilie Lutostanski

Cajun-style restaurant changes serving hours

Mouton's Southern Bistro opened in Leander in March 2012, serving Cajun and traditional Southern fare including jambalaya, burgers, chicken-fried steak and pasta.

Since then, owner Ben Mouton said the restaurant has changed its hours to offer lunch and dinner from 11 a.m.–9 p.m. and brunch on weekends only from 8 a.m.–3 p.m.

Mouton studied culinary arts in New Orleans before moving back to Texas in 2000. He spent the next several years waiting tables and managing restaurants in the Austin area, accumulating a total of more than 20 years of restaurant industry experience.

"I grew up in Texas, but I spent the holidays in New Orleans," Mouton said. "Both of my parents were born and raised in New Orleans. I come from a long line of family cooks."

Many of the eatery's plates are inspired by and named after family and friends. One such breakfast dish named after Mouton's wife, the Eggs Rachel, is served with two homemade crabcakes topped with grilled asparagus, tomatoes, poached eggs and hollandaise sauce and comes with hash browns. In 2014, the restaurant aims to begin serving mimosas to accompany Eggs Rachel and other breakfast items such as omelets, French toast and corned beef hash.

For weekday lunches, diners can choose from five sandwiches on the $6.99 lunch special menu. In addition, Mouton said weekly specials such as the Panko-breaded crab cakes are being tested to see if they are popular enough to make it onto an updated menu.

"We are working on getting a new menu out," he said. "Every six months, we look at the top 10 and bottom 10 movers on the menu. If it doesn't sell, it's not staying on the menu."

The eatery continues to offer live music on Friday and Saturday nights as well as weekday happy hours with $1 off draft and domestic beer and wine from 2–6 p.m. Wine-down Wednesdays feature half-priced bottles of wine.

Mouton said with a combination of consistently good food and entertainment, he hopes to get more customers in the door in 2014.

"The concept is sound, and people who come in love it," Mouton said. "We have a lot of regulars, and we definitely appreciate those regulars, but there aren't enough people eating out in Leander."

Mouton's Southern Bistro, 309 N. US 183, Leander, 512-260-6300, www.moutonsbistro.com, Hours: Mon.–Fri. 11 a.m.–9 p.m., Sat.–Sun. 8 a.m.–9 p.m.