NNTP-Posting-Date: 27 Aug 2001 01:28:07 GMT
Xref: usenet.INS.cwru.edu rec.food.restaurants:54188
'Just back from three nights in NO; my reviews:
1) First night: Galatoires. VERY overated. Crab Maison as a starter was fine, basically crab and mayo, nothing tricky there. The GF had Gumbo. So-So. Main courses were Crab Sardou and a Filet/Marchand du Vin sauce. The steak was OK, but not at ALL inspired. The Crab Sardou was a disaster. Two artichoke hearts filled with crab meat and topped with very odd Hollandaise. Very gloppy. In fact, the general texture of this dish was more akin to airline food than a supposedly fine restaurant. Definitely my last trip to the place. In a normal city it would probably be *one* of the better places but in NO there is no reason to settle for food of this level (and it ain't cheap).
2) Next day, lunch at Emerils. Pretty close to perfect. Service was pretty good and the room is, of course, spectacular. Virtually every dish sparkeled with deep layers of taste. Surprisingly, the one thing that I really DIDN'T care for was the famous Bannana Cream Pie, which I found to be very LOW on taste. Maybe I hit them on a bad Pie Day:) I'd rank Emerils a solid 8 1/2, maybe a 9.
We were so stuffed that we cancelled our dinner plans at Arnauds and went to a little cafe next door for a "light" dinner. 'Turned out the cafe ("Remoulade") was owned by Arnauds anyway. I got a Shrimp Bisque to start, which the waiter later told me was the same as the version in Arnauds. If this is true, I'm glad I saved my money. A very thin and characterless bisque. To be honest, I've had better out of a can. Everything else was ok, nothing special. I hope the waiter was wrong about the bisque. I'd hate to think that Arnauds has slipped that much.
3) Brunch at Mothers. I had the famous Po-Boy, while the gf had pancakes, etc. The Po-boy was indeed spectacular. Recommended.
Then, the highlight. Dinner at Brightsens. Rather than describe everything, I'll just tell you that this was by far the best meal of the trip. Just go!New Orleans, LA
New Orleans Restaurant report
>Mikebilt says :whenever I go to NOLA....
Hey! Ever been to Juan's Flying Burrito? It;s pretty damn good, and cheap, too.
And of course, a plug for my place...O'Henry's Food & Spirits in on S. Carrollton Ave, near the corner of St. Charles. We were just voted #2 place for a burger by a Gambit Reader's Poll.
<i>Dennis Melancon<br>Restaurant Manager<br>O'Henry's Food & Spirits<br>New Orleans, Louisiana<br></i><br>http://www.geocities.com/restmgrusNNTP-Posting-Date: Sun, 16 Sep 2001 11:45:12 CDT Xref: usenet.INS.cwru.edu rec.food.restaurants:54360 On 16 Sep 2001 16:39:41 GMT, [email removed] (Dennis Melancon) wrote: >>Mikebilt says :whenever I go to NOLA.... > >Hey! Ever been to Juan's Flying Burrito? It;s pretty damn good, and cheap, too. > >And of course, a plug for my place...O'Henry's Food & Spirits in on S. >Carrollton Ave, near the corner of St. Charles. We were just voted #2 place for >a burger by a Gambit Reader's Poll. Judging by the location, it sounds like it's not far from Cooter Brown's. Since the food at Cooter's is good and reasonably priced, and the selection of beers on tap and in bottles is outstanding, what makes your place so special?
NNTP-Posting-Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2001 09:02:57 PDT Organization: EarthLink Inc. -- http://www.EarthLink.net X-Received-Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2001 08:59:08 PDT (newsmaster1.prod.itd.earthlink.net) Xref: usenet.INS.cwru.edu rec.food.restaurants:54568 We were in NO last week as well. Six dinners, one lunch, each with a ~$100 bottle of wine plus after-dinner drinks, and we survived. We may not eat at all for the next month, but we survived. Saturday: dinner at La Crepe Nanou. Our favorite low-key, no-reservations accepted, neighborhood French bistro kind of place. Superb crepes, terrific whole fish, and fun. We go every time we're in town, and it always lives up to expectations. Sunday: mandatory visit to Cafe du Mond; dinner at Commander's Palace. Excellent service, mostly excellent quality food, but the duck slices on my arugula, pear, and duck salad were medium-well instead of rare, and thus had no flavor whatsoever. The lamb shank was outstanding, but the accompanying "risotto" was a gummy lump of rice bearing no resemblance to actual risotto. Excellent Bananas Foster. Overall, we were disappointed that the food was beneath our expectations, and we will not return. Monday: dinner at Gabrielle. Our first time there, and the gustatory highlight of the trip. Sensational roast rabbit, exciting combinations. We will be back to see if it's consistent, although we've heard from regulars that it is. The couple at the table next to us included Paul Prudhomme's heart surgeon from times past, who really knows NO dining in depth. It was interesting to note that they had reservations at the same restaurants as we did for each remaining night of our stay, so we talked with them four nights in a row! Tuesday: dinner at Christian's. Also our first time, and excellent food and environment. Not as interesting preparation as Gabrielle, but we will be back. Wednesday: lunch at Liborio Cubano on Camp Street. Interesting and authentic, very unpretentious. Like some of the holes-in-the-wall we look for in Key West. Wednesday: dinner at Bayona. Superb as usual, marred only by my fiancee being served duck instead of the lamb she had ordered. She elected to keep the duck, and it was outstanding. I made a major mistake here: we arrived a bit early, and, while waiting a few minutes for our table, instead of champagne or a white, I was intrigued by a Cline Small Berry Mourvedre being offered by the glass. This turned out to be a sensational big wine with gobs of fruit which completely overshadowed the big bucks Bordeaux I ordered with dinner. Sigh. Thursday: lunch at Herbsaint (Susan Spicer's new place in the old Bizzou location). We were impressed with both the food and the wines offered by the glass, and ended up having white, red, and dessert wines with lunch. An absolutely terrific lunch. Thursday: dinner at Brigtsen's. Superb as usual. Even more interesting than usual, because it was raining that evening, and the restaurant lost electrical power for a little over a half-hour. With the oil lamps on the tables, and by using reduced heat in the kitchen to avoid triggering the fire system, the restaurant did not miss a beat. (To reinforce the other reviewer's praise, Frank Brigtsen is the *only* big name chef in town who is in his kitchen every night and handles every entree served in his restaurant. Brigtsen's is not to be missed.) Friday: lunch at Peristyle. Somehow we neglected to reserve for dinner at Peristyle this trip, and regretted it, since Peristyle, Bayona, and Brigtsen's have been our favorites places in NO for years. The Friday lunch, however, is well worth the effort to book in advance. Didn't see Anne Kearny, don't know if she was there that day. Comment: NO is not a cheese city. Those few places offering a cheese course have only run-of-the-mill cheeses, which are generally not carefully ripened. (I can remember a dinner at Mike's on the Avenue a few years ago where the chef offered to assemble a cheese plate for us, and delivered an oval platter heaped with 3/4-inch cubes of cheddar and swiss like you'd see on your office party deli platter, complete with beribboned toothpicks. We barely made it out the door, and then laughed 'til we cried.) Comment: NO is not a bread city. We assume this is because of the humidity. The only truly crusty bread we found all week was the lunch at Herbsaint. Comment: This trip's top-down ranking: Gabrielle, Brigtsen's, Peristyle, Bayona, Christian's, La Crepe Nanou, Herbsaint, Commander's Palace, Liborio Cubano. Burp. -- Larry