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In The Blue Room; Not A Buffet
Roosevelt Hotel Resumes
Sunday Brunch October 4

The Roosevelt Hotel (formerly the Fairmont, and before that The Fairmont, formerly The Roosevelt) resumes its Sunday brunch this weekend. It will be back where it was most often served from the 1970s onward: in the Blue Room, the dinner-and-dancing club on the University Place end of the grand lobby.

The restored brunch will be a big change from the old one. It's a fixed price, three-course offering, with a glass of Champagne at the outset. To add drama to the room, two "action stations" (that's a new one on me, too) will be set up in the room. Chefs manning these will cook seafood specialties and desserts to order. But you get to remain in your seat.

The food will bear little resemblance to the fare you may remember from the Blue Room's brunches of yore. Here is a sampling of the menu, which clearly indicates that chef Stefan Kauthe is moving in lockstep with the trends, and following the law requiring pork belly and at least one industrial- sounding dish* on all menus claiming to be serious:

Tasting Plates
Marinated Tuna Cru; Caraway Cracker
Chilled Asparagus Soup; White Truffle Oil
Kurobuta Tenderloin; Achiote, Habanero, Pickled Onions
Duck Liver Parfait; Green Tomato Jam
*Compressed Watermelon; Goat Cheese, Arugula
Crawfish Empanadas; Cilantro Cream
Cane Syrup Braised Pork Belly; White Bean and Onion Salad
Grilled Calamari; Gazpacho Cloud, Lemon Oil

Cheese Board
Shropshire, Bittersweet Plantion Triple Cream, Comte, Castelli Provolone Stagionata. Presented with clover honey, fig jam,
dried apricots, grapes and spiced walnuts.

Chilled Seafood Presentation
Oysters on the Half Shell; Roasted Jalapeno Mignonette
Gulf Shrimp Remoulade,
Marinated Crab Claws; Olive Salad, Lemon and Herb Vinaigrette
Yellowtail Ceviche; Navel Orange, Tellicherry Peppercorn Oil

A la Carte Plates
Crab Meat Omelette; Fresh Herbs, Gruyere De Comte
Eggs Sardou; Artichoke, Spinach, Sliced Tomatoes
Seafood Gumbo; Tasso, andouille, okra and popcorn rice [any seafood?]
Abita Amber Marinated Chicken; Asparagus and Oyster Dressing
Crispy Paneed Pork Loin; Caramelized Onion Mash and French Beans
Banana Nut Pancakes; Cinnamon, Walnuts and Honey

Dessert Flights
Bananas Foster, Prepared a la Minute [is there any other way?]

Hmm. Not exactly comfort food, is it? And there's one more uncomfortable aspect. The price is $30. But that's the children's price. You and I will pay $59. Yes, of course, plus tax and tip. So about $80 per adult. It includes free valet parking, and the music of the superb jazz clarinetist (and protege of Pete Fountain) Tim Laughlin.

Wow. This will not be a weekly tradition for a lot of people. Sunday brunch is for relaxing with familiar food, like on Thanksgiving. Not a time for matching wits with a chef who's trying to advance the cuisine. (Gazpacho cloud?) Look for this menu concept to evolve rather drastically in the first year, and cross your fingers that they don't go to a buffet.

Brunch runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Sunday.

Blue Room, Roosevelt Hotel. CBD: 123 Baronne. 504-648-1200.