Are You Ready for a Food Coma?
Grace Phillips
Ashland Beacon
Tucked behind a black and white log cabin along US 60 near Summit, KY is the area’s newest food establishment and best kept secret around. The bright colored signs along the fence in the front immediately caught my eye the day they went up. Shrimp, fish, oysters, etc, had my attention and curiosity. When you drive on the back of the lot, there sits a simple food truck but that’s where “simple” ends. Food Coma features authentic Cajun seafood served fresh every day. The official ribbon cutting ceremony was held on April 14th, but the restaurant had opened a few weeks earlier.
I was able to sit down with owner, Michael Duley, while he took a short break between the lunch and dinner times to get details of the new business. Michael, who actually owns his own computer forensic and litigation support company, says he has always been a “foodie.” “When I go out of town for business and travel, I always look for the newest restaurant or the food I haven’t had anywhere else. It has always been a bucket list item to do a food truck or restaurant somewhere. I’m 62 years old and started thinking… if I’m ever going to do this…. now might be the time. I have a grandson who has developed the love of food from me, and I wanted to do something that he could also be a part of and one day turn over to him.”
Michael said he began kidding with his wife, “Don’t be surprised if I come home with a food truck one day.” A few days later the opportunity fell in his lap and within a week or so he pulled the food truck in the drive and said, “Come see what I have!”
How did you decide on what type of food to sell? Michael told me, “I had worked at a Cajun restaurant, Hidden Cove in Lexington, many years ago working his way through school and loved the food.” He went on to say, “Up here, people haven’t had a lot of Cajun, actually anywhere in KY. There is seafood here and there but not Cajun.” Michael was able to reconnect with the owner of the Hidden Cove and he shared some of the Cajun recipes from that restaurant that he is using now.
Why a food truck? “I thought a food truck would be the easiest, fastest, and most economical way and see how people here reacted. I thought it would do really good, but you never know. However, I never dreamed it would be the success we have seen to this point.” Food Coma was to be open 11-3 & 5-8 the first day of soft opening but had to cancel the evening hours because they ran out of food.
I had heard of Cajun food for years but to be honest had never tasted any. Michael explained that Cajun style food comes from the Creole people who settled in the bayous of Louisiana. It features a combination of French and Southern cuisine and the spices of the Creole people. The people who settled in the bayous of Louisiana were very poor, and they used everything they had when cooking. They needed food that would feed large families for pennies. That’s where the wonderful shrimp creoles, gumbo, jambalaya and other foods came from.
What makes Food Coma unique? The fact that every item is made fresh every day. “Nothing is frozen or canned. Every pot of gumbo or jambalaya is made fresh here every day. We slice every onion, green pepper, and tomato every day. The red beans take hours to cook. We fry the fish and shrimp to order…nothing sits under a heat lamp, nothing comes from a can and just heated up. There may be a short wait for the orders to be ready, but that’s the same for every restaurant you eat at.”
This writer was extremely excited about the crab leg boil featured on the weekends only. The portion was generous and featured crab legs, red potatoes, shrimp, andouille sausage, and corn on the cob. The crab legs were perfectly cooked and amazingly good….to be honest I could have eaten a bucket full of them. A single order is $21 or a double $30. I can say this WILL NOT be the last time I enjoy this meal. Other menu items featured at Food Coma Are Po’boys, fried shrimp, fried fish, Cajun skewers and a variety of sides.
After being open for a month, there are a few changes on the way for the Food Coma beginning Tuesday, May 2nd. The most notable change will be seating. At this point, there were picnic tables outside or a small seating area attached to the back of the building. Beginning with lunch on Tuesday, there will be seating available inside the main log cabin as well.
Food Coma will also feature new hours: Tuesday –Saturday 11 a.m.-2 p.m. and 4 p.m.–8 p.m. with added hours on Sunday from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. “I think hitting the lunch crowd after church will be good for us. We have had several ask about Sundays.” Michael continued, “We will be adjusting our menu as well. A few things worked really well and others not so well. We will be taking away a few things and adding new ones as well as adding specials in the coming weeks. One final change beginning Tuesday will be local deliveries. There will be a $40 minimum order required for delivery, and food will be delivered by our staff to ensure it arrives quickly and fresh.”
Food Coma is located at 8262 Midland Trail, Ashland, KY. Food Coma also has a Facebook page you can follow for new menu items and specials. For delivery orders call 606.465.1499.