Dominican Republic-born Gustav Garden is paying respect to his culinary roots while serving up something that’s uniquely Gustav Garden and created with Southwest Louisiana’s palette in mind. It is, so far, the only restaurant of its kind here.

Garden is owner, chef and “everything in between,” at Area 337. (He wears more than a chef’s toque.)

“I’m always at the restaurant,” he said.

Area 337 is the unassuming-looking eatery at 2500 Kirkman St. in Lake Charles where diners can order multiple Latin and Caribbean cuisines under one roof.

One of the newest menu items is served up in an authentic Mexican Molcajete, a bowl made of volcanic rock. Molcajete is the Spanish word for mortar and pestle. The word originates from the Aztec words seasoning and bowl.

“We just put it on the menu in January and it’s been a total success,” he said.

Imagine perusing the appetizer menu and getting all your favorites on one plate. This taste-bud pleasing bite of paradise is an assortment of grilled cactus, steak, chicken, shrimp, fried cheese with banana peppers, avocado, jalapenos, Mexican green onions and fried cheese arranged in a large lava bowl and served with tortillas, rice and salsa.

Garden cut his teeth in fast food, worked his way up to a full-service, sit-down restaurant and from there, he moved to fine dining, all the while traveling and learning.

“You can learn a lot when you open your mind to try different cuisines and ways of doing things,” he said. “I’m not a formally trained chef. I have learned  by watching and doing.”

One of the people he learned from – and butted heads with while doing it – was Frederick Salgado, Garden said.

“I didn’t appreciate his personality. What I learned from him was the way he took pride in, and respected  the cuisine,” he said.

Garden said he knows some folks open restaurants to make money. He realizes the importance of the bottom line, but his priority is serving totally fresh food and taking a totally hands-on approach.

“I take this personally, very personally,” he said. “I’m representing the entire culture that came before me. If you order a dish with avocado, I’m going to peel and slice one just for your dish. We make our stews fresh twice a day. The cilantro is gathered fresh. I take pride in what I do.”

He said the two most popular dishes on the menu at this time are the chicken stew, the Cuban sandwich and the pork rib eye.

“Basically we take the cut from a pork loin with a little fat on it. We butterfly and grill it – it’s grilled not fried and you get this juicy and flavorful piece of pork. It’s mouthwatering,” he said.