Eggs Baton Rouge. Po’ Boy sandwiches. And BEIGNETS! Few Washington, DC transplants may know it but in the heart of Adams Morgan, you can get a great taste of Louisiana. The spicy Cajun gem that I speak of—Bardia’s New Orleans Café—is something special, and what tops off the quaint dining experience is the personal touch of the café owner, Bardia Ferdousi.

Now I’m not a restaurant critic by trade (I’ll leave that to the guys at Zagat), but I do want to talk a bit about Bardia. I’ve dined at his restaurant at least 25 times in the past two years and have found his friendly one-to-one chats as appetizing as the food—we talk about his days studying engineering, the latest rebuilding efforts in New Orleans, and the secrets behind fried okra (delicious with spicy mustard). I love seeing the glow in his eyes when he talks about his son and daughter, and have reciprocated by bringing my friends and family to share in the “hearty” experience.

Bardia’s service is a counterpoint to the mass-produced flash that has come to dominate the information age. His restaurant may be small—and tucked away between the thumping techno clubs and posh bistros—but he’s retained my business because of his commitment to a personalized dining experience.

I wish more organizations would embrace Bardia’s example—for those in retail and nonprofit marketing, the lesson seems obvious. More isn’t always better. If I can’t relate to you or your service offerings personally, I’m sure as heck not gonna tell my friends about you. There’s something to be said about genuinely caring about your customers.

Whether you live inside or outside the Beltway, if you get a chance, I highly recommend a trip down Bardia lane.

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Tags: Bardia New Orleans Cafe, Beltway, cajun food, customer service, DC restaurants, Louisiana, New Orleans, nonprofit marketing, personalized service, retail marketing, zagat

This entry was posted on Friday, January 18th, 2008 at 10:36 am by Sombit. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.