El Gato Negro
Mexican.
French Quarter: 81 French Market Place. 504-525-9752. Map.
Breakfast Saturday-Sunday.Lunch and dinner seven days.
Casual.
AE DS MC V
Website
WHY IT'S NOTEWORTHY
In the center of the new restaurant row next to the French Market, El Gato Negro serves the kind of Mexican food people who have never been to Mexico call "authentic." (What they mean is "not Tex-Mex.") The menu has a broader range than in the restaurants where variations on ground beef, chicken, tortillas, melted cheese, rice and beans define almost all the platters. This is the only restaurant I know of that currently keeps a dish with mole sauce on the menu. When it's good, it's very good, but that's not a consistent thing across the menu.
WHY IT'S GOOD
The hallmarks of the current crop of Mexican restaurants are all here. It's not slick like the chains, but unless you're just starting out in eating Mexican food, there's not much here that will be new to you. There is more of an emphasis on grilled meats than usual, with not only steaks but also pork chops and lamb chops, each with offbeat sauces and widespread chorizo. Quite a bit of seafood, too. `
BACKSTORY
We first met Juan Contreras when he and another Juan opened the spectacular Madrid restaurant in Kenner. That was a Spanish restaurant, but Contreras has Mexican roots, and after the hurricane he opened El Gato Negro with a full-fledged Mexican menu. In those days, everyone was talking about taco truck and taquerias, and that's the direction this place took.
DINING ROOM
It's one large room in a very old building with thick brick walls and neon signs everywhere. The kitchen is only barely separated from the dining area. Banquette seating along one wall is the most comfortable. The sidewalk tables are very popular and, in good weather, a better place to dine than inside.
ESSENTIAL DISHES
Guacamole.
Queso fundido with chorizo.
Shrimp and scallop ceviche.
Grilled chorizo with tomatillo salsa.
Mexican tacos.
Burrito.
Chicken enchiladas.
Pulled pork tamales (big ones).
Carne asada (grilled beef ribeye) with mushroom chilpotle peper salsa.
Lamb chops with red mole.
Grilled chicken with mole poblano.
Red snapper with garlic and shrimp.
Bronzed redfish with scallops and shrimp.
Fajitas.
Flan.
Weekend breakfast only:
Huevos rancheros (eggs with Mexican tomato salsa).
Huevos con chorizo or con papas (eggs with hiot sausage or potatoes).
Burrito loco (stuffed with scrambled eggs, chorizo, cheese, beans, and potoatoes).
FOR BEST RESULTS
Choose the entree from the list of chef's specialties at the bottom of the menu; that's where the unusual food is. They serve an excellent Mexican breakfast on Saturdays and Sundays.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT
I would have to see the chips frying to believe they didn't come out of the bag. I'd also like to watch them make the mole, which is a little too perfect in texture. If you order more than one course, tell them not to bring the second one until you say so, or you'll have the whole meal on the table at once. Beware the tilapia.
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
- Consistency
- Service
- Value +1
- Attitude
- Wine and Bar
- Hipness +1
- Local Color +2
SPECIAL ATTRIBUTES
- Sidewalk tables
- Open Sunday lunch and dinner
- Open Monday lunch and dinner
- Open all afternoon
- Unusually large servings
- Easy, nearby parking
This review was updated with new information on 10/13/2009.