A Cajun Life, Portland

Founded by a husband-and-wife team from Louisiana, A Cajun Life emulates the state's piquant cuisine within two conveniently-located locations. Specialty meats, such as tasso ham and Cajun sausage, are flown in from the South to lend an authentic flavor to dishes such as slow-cooked gumbo and saucy crawfish etouffee. The straightforward menu also includes more unusual flavors, such as cheesy crawfish pistolettes and the "Bayou Boogie," which mingles a gravy of chicken, sausage, and ham with rice for a more blissful food union than peanut butter and jelly's recent marriage.