Taste of Las Cruces: Get sandwiches, smoothies and sushi at Lou...

Odd name for a place, but the prices sound perfect considering the economy; not to mention such healthful and refreshing selections for hot summer days.

Sounds like it's worth checking out. Any vegetarian options?

califorina rolls are meatless.

I have eaten at this place almost three times a week for lunch since it opened. Great prices, and the shrimp sushi roll is def the way to go. But I've tasted everything else and kudos to Louie!

We ate there and found the food to be VERY good. We had a little bit of everything and split everything. They are a bit understaffed and they know it, so please be patient when you go and understand that it might take a little while to get your food. If you are in a rush, then call your order ahead maybe? I'm going to try that next time. Can't beat the prices for the quality of the food. I really liked the portion size of the sushi order.

Anyone know what happened to the original article? It had some useful information.

this is without a doubt my favorite place to eat. hands down best sushi i've ever had, smoothies are to die for (all cut-to-order fresh fruit), not to mention wings, sandwiches, teriyaki bowls of sorts. service is very polite, perfect for an inexpensive date. oldies music all the time, i eat here several times a week as well and it never gets old. gotta try everything once! tell your friends

Based on this restaurant review and the comments left here I finally got around to checking this place out. Mostly I went simply because I wanted to eat at a place called "Louie's House of Munch".

I first cruised by last Saturday, it was nearly noon and they were closed. Like the article said, it really is located in a "low-key" part of town. I've lived here for over 2 years and never had any reason to travel along East Madrid because it's a dead end. I didn't even know there was a string of businesses there.

I returned on Sunday, just after noon and pulled into the parking lot right as the closed sign was being flipped to open. Me and my dining companion: first customers of the day. We were barely greeted by Louie as we entered.

The interior is small and spartanly furnished with 4 or 5 tables, though clean. I noticed on one wall was some promotional poster for work boots or something just taped on - why? The radio on the counter was playing the oldies station, kind of annoying but sure beats some cr@p rap station or something. Coincidentally, a few minutes after I arrived the famous "Louie Louie" song from the 60s came on.

A partial menu is displayed up on the wall and a more detailed paper menu is available to look at on the front counter. The paper menu is tacky - it looked like a faded photocopy, rife with typos, and several items & prices scribbled out with new prices handwritten in with pencil. It's been my experience that the small, dinky mom & pop restaurants always have the best food and service, so I had hope.

Offered are a variety of sushi dishes, sandwich wraps, and fruit smoothies. My first reaction was that everything on the menu was just priced way too cheap - later seconded by my companion. The sushi items were priced from around $2-4, the sandwich wraps all under $2.50, and the smoothies around $2.50. I'm always up for a good bargain, but when it comes to food I'm pretty leery when something seems too cheap.

CONTINUED:

rockNrollNsHaKe wrote:

califorina rolls are meatless.

My companion and I both decided to order vegetarian items (a challenge we undertake around Las Cruces because it's...a challenge) and when I asked if the California roll was vegetarian, Louie said no and pointed to the veggie roll ($1.99) on the menu. I am not a sushi connoisseur and assumed the "veggie roll" would be a 3 or 4 inch roll of rice & veggies wrapped in seaweed, so for the two of us we ordered 3 of them. I also ordered a mango smoothie, but Louie was out of mangoes so I went for pineapple. He said the smoothies are blended with fruit, sugar, and ice.

Moments after ordering and paying, Louie came out and said he only had enough ingredients to make ONE veggie roll and proceeded to refund my money. That was weird, but it gets better. Shortly after a couple of teenage boys came in and each ordered a frozen lemonade. They paid for their order, sat and waited - I heard Louie back in the kitchen mixing my pineapple smoothie - then he came out and told the boys he was out of ice! So they got their money back and left.

Our food arrived and the portion was surprisingly large. Good thing I didn't actually get 3 orders of the veggie rolls. Six or seven large bite-size pieces composed of a center of small slivers of carrots, cucumber, and avocado wrapped in seaweed and surrounded by a layer of sushi rice, sprinkled with black sesame seeds. It came on a nice little tray with a blob of wasabe, soy sauce, and chopsticks. I was impressed and it tasted pretty good. My pineapple smoothie was also good and all together made for a light, inexpensive lunch.

My companion was still hungry and decided to order the turkey wrap - without the turkey. The $2.29 price was still alarmingly cheap, especially when that price included the omitted meat. As we waited a family came in and Louie told them he was out of RICE and ICE (!), so they ordered alternate items. Then a man came in, talking to his girlfriend on his cell phone and describing the different sushis on the menu. He seemed disappointed when he ordered some and Louie told him he couldn't make those items - he left empty handed.

The veggie wrap arrived quickly. For $2.29 it's a deal but really nothing to write home about. Just a few random vegetables (mostly lettuce) wrapped up in a cold tortilla, no sauce or anything extra.

I admire someone trying to make a go of a new restaurant venture, and it looks like Louie's is practically a one-man operation. But to be honest, there was nothing really spectacular or interesting about the food or the environment. My feeling is that it's not the kind of place that the owner truly cares about and puts 100% effort into - the sloppy scribbled menu and lack of preparation shows that. While the service wasn't bad or rude, it wasn't memorable or friendly. Would I go again? Yeah, probably, if I was in the area. Not great, but not bad either - for my first visit I give it a 6/10 score. I wish you luck, Louie.

(Topix screwed this up - here's Part 1 of my spewing review.)

Based on this restaurant review and the comments left here I finally got around to checking this place out. Mostly I went simply because I wanted to eat at a place called "Louie's House of Munch".

I first cruised by last Saturday, it was nearly noon and they were closed. Like the article said, it really is located in a "low-key" part of town. I've lived here for over 2 years and never had any reason to travel along East Madrid because it's a dead end. I didn't even know there was a string of businesses there.

I returned on Sunday, just after noon and pulled into the parking lot right as the closed sign was being flipped to open. Me and my dining companion: first customers of the day. We were barely greeted by Louie as we entered.

The interior is small and spartanly furnished with 4 or 5 tables, though clean. I noticed on one wall was some promotional poster for work boots or something just taped on - why? The radio on the counter was playing the oldies station, kind of annoying but sure beats some cr@p rap station or something. Coincidentally, a few minutes after I arrived the famous "Louie Louie" song from the 60s came on.

A partial menu is displayed up on the wall and a more detailed paper menu is available to look at on the front counter. The paper menu is tacky - it looked like a faded photocopy, rife with typos, and several items & prices scribbled out with new prices handwritten in with pencil. It's been my experience that the small, dinky mom & pop restaurants always have the best food and service, so I had hope.

Offered are a variety of sushi dishes, sandwich wraps, and fruit smoothies. My first reaction was that everything on the menu was just priced way too cheap - later seconded by my companion. The sushi items were priced from around $2-4, the sandwich wraps all under $2.50, and the smoothies around $2.50. I'm always up for a good bargain, but when it comes to food I'm pretty leery when something seems too cheap.

Effin' Topix can't handle diarrhea-of-the-mouth writers.

Louie's is my favorite "hole in the wall" in town. The sushi's definitely good for the price, and the wraps are tasty. Louie's wing sauce is delicious! And the smoothies - can't get a better quality smoothie in town for the price. Eat there every day!