Filled with tequila sunrise orange walls, glass Murano-style chandeliers, enough beads to entice all of Randolph street to get topless, and plenty of kitschy posters (including a vintage Liberace concert bill) this spot looks like it was designed by a gaggle of Mardi Gras-reveling interior designers. It may be familiar to displaced Hoosiers, as the original Yats has been serving up specials in Indianapolis for years.
The food, like the decor, is cheap and festive. If you've got a few bucks burning a hole in your pocket (all plates are $5.50, or a buck more to mix and match two specials) and you don't want to wait hours for a slow cooked Creole feast, Yats, which has plenty of N'awlins eats simmering away in slow cookers, is your spot. There's chili cheese crawfish etouffee, kind of a Cajun version of Frito pie, sausage and chicken studded jambalaya, and oozy red beans and rice, all served with canoe-sized rounds of orange garlic oil-spattered French bread.
If you'd rather take your comforting sustenance Latino style, there's also heaping bowls of Mexican corn pozole and tangy, fiery ropa vieja, a Cuban dish filled with shreds of tender chicken and plenty of fiery spices. Best of all, if you want to mix up your own hurricanes and hand-grenades to accompany your feast, Yats is BYOB.
Centerstage Reviewer: Michael Nagrant