Steaks. Contemporary Creole.
Metairie: 111 Veterans Blvd.. 504-218-8967. Map.
Lunch Monday-Friday. Dinner Tuesday-Saturday.
Nice Casual
AE DC DS MC V
Website
WHY IT'S NOTEWORTHY
Despite its name, Chops is not quite what I'd call a steakhouse. The menu reads more like that of a contemporary Creole bistro, full of grilled fish, crabmeat, dark roux gumbos, and pannee veal. The steaks are all but hidden on the menu. They're good enough, filling the gap between the inexpensive and the deluxe steakhouses at prices to match.
WHY IT'S GOOD
The restaurant has an engaging, casual feel and a good bar. As the name implies, the kitchen specializes in red meats. Steaks are not billed as prime but of more than decent pedigree. Lamb chops and pork chops are also handled well. The rest of the menu reminds us of the food served at the old Charley G's, which was here three restaurants ago.
BACKSTORY
The restaurant space off the second-floor lobby of the Heritage Plaza office building has seen many eateries come and go over the years. The best remembered of them was Charley G's, which built the place more or less as it stands now. Chops opened just before the hurricane and returned not long after it--at a newly dramatic location. The canal you see outside the windows is the one whose levee break (on the other side) did the most damage to the city.
DINING ROOM
The split-level main dining room is dominated by two rows of booths that are slightly too small for parties of four. Windows on three sides and a stretch of space in front of the open kitchen give an expansive quality.
ESSENTIAL DISHES
Crab cakes
Dueling oysters (two ways--Buffalo style and poached and pickled with aioli)
Blackened tuna nachos
Sweet and spicy fried calamari
Fried eggplant with marinara and crabmeat-avocado salsa
Angry shrimp and grits (spicy)
Fried green tomatoes and shrimp remoulade
Crabmeat and lobster au gratin
Roasted corn and crab bisque
Duck and andouille gumbo
Creole caesar salad with fried capers
Iceberg wedge salad with blue cheese, bacon, and tomatoes
Speckled trout with crabmeat
Grilled yellowfin tuna
Grouper with lobster risotto
Potato-crusted flounder
Shrimp and tasso pasta
Roasted breast ofchicken
Steaks: filet mignon, ribeye, cowboy ribeye New York strip, porterhouse
Dueling filet medallions (with hollandaise on one and blue cheese demi-glace on the other)
Double cut pork chop
Rack of lamb (New Zealand)
Creme brulee
White chocolate and macadamia bread pudding
FOR BEST RESULTS
Every night the restaurant runs a three-course, $29 dinner with several choices throughout, with optional wine pairings. The grilled entrees are significantly better than the fried. The restaurant gets very busy at lunchtime with all the people in that office building.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT
Tables in the lower part of the split-level dining room are to be avoided (but they don't use them much). The booths are a little too small. Wine list is a bit weak.
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 +1
- Consistency +1
- Service +1
- Value
- Attitude +1
- Wine and Bar
- Hipness
- Local Color +1
SPECIAL ATTRIBUTES
- Outdoor tables, drinks only
- Romantic
- Good view
- Good for business meetings
- Medium private room
- Open Monday lunch
- Open all afternoon
- Good for children
- Easy, nearby parking
- Reservations accepted
This review was updated with new information on 6/18/2010.
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