Alligator tastes like ... chicken

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I stopped by the Gumbo Pot at the Farmers Market at 3rd and Fairfax the other day, thinking I’d just have a cup of chicory cafe au lait and some beignets. While I was waiting, I scanned the chalkboard menu and saw not just the usual Cajun suspects (jambalaya, po’ boys) but alligator. And how can you not order alligator when you see it on the menu? Here’s what the enormous plate looked like: The alligator ‘fillet,’ coated with coarse cornmeal and fried, is served with spicy tartar sauce, a corn muffin, red beans and rice and collard greens.

It was surprisingly good, kind of like a cross between chicken and a mild white fish, and the cornmeal coating was fantastic. The alligator, which is always on the menu, is farm-raised in Texas. The guy in line behind me laughed out loud when I asked my server about sourcing. ‘Orange County,’ I heard him mutter under his breath. The guy in line, that is, not the server. Yeah, OK; no Reggie jokes either, please.

The Gumbo Pot, 6333 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles; 323-933-0358.

-- Amy Scattergood