If Abel Gonzales Jr., with his deep-fried butter at the State Fair of Texas, is the king of frying, let’s just say Kate Bellinger, from Kate’s Southern Comfort, on Barton Springs Road, is the, um, duchess. She boasts a fine-looking menu, centered around traditional Louisiana-style Cajun fried pies with clever names like the Nak-i-Dish Classic (which, for the uninitiated like me, is how you pronounce “Natchitoches”). I was expecting the velvety comfort of a doughnut or turnover paired with the savory flavors of New Orleans. Unfortunately, these little torpedoes were deep-fried and crispy beyond recognition. Once you got past the crust, though, the fillings were downright royal. The thick, rich étoufée in the Crawfish Pie swam with fat crawfish chunks, and the sweet potato and greens in the Humble Pie gave me my blast of superfoods for the day. I wish I had a similar story about the Bleudin Pie, a creative twist on traditional boudin sausage. But the requisite pork was nowhere to be found, which left only boring rice and liquid-hot blue cheese inside an oily empanada crust. Besides the pies, we tried the special, a pulled pork sandwich. The shredded meat was a tad dry, but paired with the sharp tomato sauce and crunchy homemade slaw, it was a messy treat fit for a king. Too bad Abel’s not around to give these a try: He’s busy frying coke, peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches, and lettuce. Not together, silly. That would be gross. Posted by Megan Giller