From The New Orleans Menu Daily By Tom Fitzmorris Originally published May 5, 2006 Broussard’s Post-Storm Ratings: A, 4$ French Quarter: 819 Conti 581-3866 Dinner only, Tues.-Sat. Brunch on special Sundays (i.e. Mother's Day) AE DC DS MC V These are rough times for French Quarter restaurants. If you want to get a feel for what a shame that is, go to Broussard's for dinner sometime in the next few months. What you'll find is a classic old-line Creole dining palace. And great food. And many, many tables from which to choose. Like many restaurants in the French Quarter, Broussard's found itself with the visitor clientele as its bread and butter. It didn't use to be that way. Like Galatoire's, Arnaud's, and Antoine's (Broussard's is in that fraternity, both historically and culinarily), it had a good local following. As great restaurants began opening in other parts of the city in the 1970s, and as parking in the French Quarter grew ever more difficult, locals drifted away. It wasn't a problem, because the enhanced convention trade filled the tables where the locals once dined. Except in summer and late December, when the visitors weren't here in significant numbers. It's like summer all the time now, though. And there Broussard's is: beautiful place, quiet and romantic, delicious, but sparsely populated most nights. The restaurant is doing something about that. A new table d'hote dinner menu, pitched for the local palate and price sensibility, offers three courses for $28.50. That's in the vicinity of the former entree prices. And they've largely solved the parking problem, too. A small lot immediately next door has room for the first dozen or so cars to park (free) on a given night. That's not a large number, but its availability is disseminated so carefully that, if you read this publication, you're not likely to find a lot of competition for one of those spaces. I was around to see the reopening of Broussard's after its renovation in 1974, when the Marcello family bought it. They engaged the services of architect Charles Gresham, who'd previously designed Brennan's and Commander's Palace, among other restaurant. But Broussard's was his greatest achievement. The restaurant--which began life in the 1830s as a school and a residence--was completely reconfigured, with the lovely courtyard turned into the focus of all three dining rooms. Each of the three was designed differently. My favorite of them has always been the former stables, just past the bar, with its big windows giving onto the courtyard. Its rustic look contrasts brilliantly with that of the very formal front room, and gives the whole place more visual texture. Broussard's cuisine changed enormously over the years, but it always remained solidly in the category of classic New Orleans cookery. At this time, it is the most modern of the Big Four, with liberties taken with almost everything. For example, if you order the crabmeat-rich oysters Broussard (or Rockefeller) as an appetizer, you find the shells filled with a baked sauce, as usual. But the oyster is not baking underneath the sauce, but fried on top of it. That kind of thing came from the mind of Chef Gunter Preuss, who bought Broussard's in the late 1980s after running two of the most polished, Continental-style restaurants in New Orleans--the Sazerac and the Versailles. He, his wife, and their son still run the place in a hands-on way now, and their mix of perspectives has always given Broussard's a flavor just a bit different from other traditional Creole restaurants. You want to start, this time of year, with the crabmeat ravigote. It comes out in enormous lumps--they really mean it when they say jumbo lump here--coated with a light mayonnaise sauce with a more powerful kick of pepper than usual. I've noticed this in a lot of dishes here lately, and conclude it's the work of chef de cuisine Luis Gomez. It's a good thing, because it's given new excitement to a lot of dishes here. Also worth sampling as a first course is the crabmeat with artichokes, Brie, and Herbsaint-tinged spinach. Or the salad of fresh spinach, bacon, pecans, mushrooms, and a very intense balsamic vinaigrette. The entrees on the special table d'hote menu are only slightly less pedigreed than those on the a la carte page. On my last visit I had beautiful, vividly fresh red snapper, broiled to crusty around the edges, sent out with a brown butter sauce running around some sliced sea scallops and asparagus. They also have a veal osso buco with the classic brown sauce with vegetable brunoise. Not bad at this price. At the moment, only seven entrees appear on the standard menu. All are solid specialties. The best, if the fish is available, is the pompano and scallops with a mustard caper sauce. Pompano is always good here, and they almost always have it. A close second is the Louisiana bouillabaisse. Chef Gunter's classical training forces him to note that this is different from the classic Marseilles version. I think it's actually better. Fish, shrimp, lobster, crabmeat and oysters cook briefly in a great broth with tomatoes and saffron. Chef Gunter was cooking great bouillabaisse at the Versailles when few people in New Orleans had ever tried it, and its as good as ever. Also worth a look is veal Broussard's, unique in being made with thin slices of veal sirloin (veal leg is more common for this kind of dish). They sautee in butter and produce it at the table with a thick, mustard-tinged sauce with crabmeat and dill. They make all the standard flaming desserts, but do the flaming at a dessert station in the foyer. Watch if you like; I've seen it before. The wine list is not yet up to speed. Broussard's remained closed after the storm until February, and lost its old cellar to heat. The service staff is also a bit spotty, but on each return visit they seem to have learned a few more fine points. This is one of those restaurants which is incomparably better, more atmospheric, and (given that tables are easy to get) more convenient than many more crowded restaurants in Metairie. Broussard's is getting by okay--they still get a lot of private parties, so lovely is it. But local customers will be very warmly welcomed, and will find an unexpectedly good, under-appreciated restaurant. Click here to return to today's edition. Click here for an index of all restaurant reviews. © 2006 Tom Fitzmorris. All rights reserved. news@nomenu.com.