Atchafalaya
Contemporary Creole.
Uptown: 901 Louisiana Ave.. 504-891-9626. Map.
Lunch Tuesday-Sunday. Dinner seven nights. Satturday and Sunday Brunch.
Nice Casual.
AE DC DS MC V
Website
WHY IT'S NOTEWORTHY
Near the foot of Louisiana Avenue--neither in the Garden District nor what most people think of as Uptown--this brilliant new restaurant has snuck its way onto the scene. Atchafalaya is only slightly a misnomer: it's not Cajun, but it is very much a Louisiana place, with a menu that at first glance seems familiar enough. Every dish is made with enough innovation and good ingredients to pop out the place emphatically. The service style, the wine list, and even the bar are unexpectedly sophisticated. (At least if you ever dined there in the past.)
WHY IT'S GOOD
Let's start with the shrimp and grits. Who doesn't serve that these days? But I've never had better. Sauce, shrimp, and even the grits make a big statement. Same goes for fried green tomatoes with crab remoulade, stuffed quail, the not-so-basic filet mignon, the seafood entrees--pretty much the entire menu. Even the salads and desserts are more like those from a more auspicious and expensive restaurants.
BACKSTORY
The building has served as an Uptown neighborhood restaurant since the 1920s, most of that time as Petrossi's, a casual seafood house. It became a contemporary Creole bistro called Cafe Atchafalaya in the early 1990s, but had a string of owners, none of whom kept the style of his predecessor. A particularly good period was presided over by the late Iler Pope, who added Southern country cooking to the mix. The present Atchafalaya (the "Cafe" part has been dropped) is owned by Tony Tocco and Rachael Jaffe, both of whom have worked in other Uptown gourmet bistros. They took over in mid-2009.
DINING ROOM
The restaurant's long history has bequeathed rare premises. A lofty ceiling, tile floors, an antique bar, and a short flight up steps to the building next door (an add-on somewhere along the way) create most of the look. Hanging fabric on the ceiling and a see-through wall connecting the two main rooms add further distinctiveness.
ESSENTIAL DISHES
Crab cakes.
Crabmeat remoulade atop fried green tomatoes.
Shrimp remoulade.
Chicken-andouille gumbo.
Pear and blue cheese salad.
Shrimp and grits.
Crawfish Atchafalaya with fettuccine and cream sauce.
Grilled redfish with crabmeat and lemon beurre blanc.
Crawfish stuffed flounder.
Pan-roasted chicken with mushrooms and Cognac cream sauce.
Quail stuffed with boudin and wrapped with bacon.
Filet mignon with red wine demi-glace and truffled mashed potatoes.
Pork chop with apricot glaze.
Nightly entree specials.
Bread pudding.
FOR BEST RESULTS
Do not fail to take advantage of the drink-making abilities of bartender Matt Palumbo, who makes brilliant original cocktails. Don't hesitate to order hyper-normal dishes like the filet.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT
If there's a problem here, it's that the management success seems to have taken it a bit by surprise.
FACTORS OTHER THAN FOOD
Up to three points, positive or negative, for these characteristics. Absence of points denotes average performance in the matter.
- Dining Environment +2
- Consistency +1
- Service +1
- Value +1
- Attitude +2
- Wine and Bar +2
- Hipness +2
- Local Color +2
SPECIAL ATTRIBUTES
- Romantic
- Medium private room
- Open Sunday lunch and dinner
- Historic
- Easy, nearby parking
- Reservations accepted
ANECDOTES AND ANALYSIS
New examples of the Uptown gourmet Creole bistro--invented thirty years ago by the likes of Clancy's, Gautreau's, and the Upperline--keep opening. They are the city's most popular kind of fine-dining restaurant, enough so that one wonders why so few of them are found in any other part of town. The newest addition to the category is Atchafalaya. Flying under the radar buzz-free for most of its current edition's first year, it's still so popular that it's hard to get a table there even on a weeknight.
The handful of readers who remember the column I wrote on this place a mere year and a half ago should note that this is a very different, much better restaurant than the one I reported on then.
This review was updated with new information on 1/18/2010.