Mike's On The Avenue
Eclectic.
CBD: 628 St. Charles Ave. 504-523-7600. Map.
Lunch Monday-Friday. Dinner Monday-Saturday.
Nice Casual.
AE DC MC V
Website
WHY IT'S NOTEWORTHY
When Mike's on the Avenue made its first run in the 1990s, it was the first real fusion restaurant in town. Asian, Italian, French, New American, and Nouvelle Creole flavors and ingredients formed hybrid dishes nobody ever heard of. Now, a decade after that restaurant closed, its two presiding geniuses are back in the same location, with a different menu but the same spirit. That's a good plan, because it was ahead of its time twenty years ago. It's a bit more Asian than in the old days (there's a sushi bar, for example). The passage of time lowered the hipness quotient of Chef Mike's creativity. But it also seems to have made the cooking more reliably delicious.
WHY IT'S GOOD
A scan of the menu may not push any of your taste buttons. You have to take a leap of faith here that redfish pate, blackened tuna Napoleon, a crab cake on top of noodles with an andouille sauce, or a ceviche of sushi-style tuna and marinated catfish will turn out better than they sound. Indeed, they do. After eating about a dozen dishes here, I haven't found one I didn't love.
BACKSTORY
Vicky Bayley left her management position at the Fair Grounds to opening Mike's in 1990, inspired by meeting Santa Fe-based chef/artist Mike Fennelly when he was here on a visit. It was the hippest restaurant in town for the eight years it ran. Vicky embarked upon a string of other restaurant projects, all of them unusual. Artesia (with John Besh in his last chef job before going on his own) was the best of them; 7 On Fulton was the most recent. Mike moved around the country, spending enough time in Hawaii to pick up some influences. Vicky and Mike returned to where they started in January 2010 with another new concept called Mike's East/West. After nobody could figure out what it was for months, the name and menu reverted to those of the original restaurant, although bit more casual and Asian than in the 1990s.
Between the first and second Mike's eras, the restaurant space saw Mike Ditka's, Rasputin, and Anatole come and go. Before Mike's, many more restaurants occupied that address, giving it one of the longest roll calls of deceased restaurants of any address in New Orleans. It seems like a great location, but parking has always been a problem.
DINING ROOM
The dining room of the Lafayette Hotel has always been one of the handsomest in town, with large windows gazing out to Gallier Hall, the newly-illuminated Lafayette Square, and even the restaurant row across the street that starts with Herbsaint. The new Mike's embraces the vogue for casualness in ambitious restaurants. No tablecloths. But Mike's own part and some unusual lighting fixtures give the place a swell vibe. The New Age background music makes me itch, but maybe you like it.
ESSENTIAL MENU [*=Recommended]
Starters
Sushi and sashimi from the bar
Shrimp and spinach dumplings, tahini sauce
Crawfish spring rolls, chile-lime sauce
Blackened tuna napoleon
Louisiana barbecue oysters, crispy pancetta
Crispy box sushi
Redfish paté, red onion confit
Edamame, grey sea salt
Romaine hearts, creamy citrus-soy vinaigrette, manchego cheese House salad (greens, beets, vegetables, Vidalia onions, tomato-ginger vinaigrette
Entrees
Grilled pork chop, mashed potatoes,
Crab cakes on tagliatelle pasta wit spicy andouille sauce
Crispy duck, brown rice, shiitakes, tasso, andouille
Sake-soy seared tuna
New York strip
Noodle pillows, teriyaki glaze, vegetables, peanuts, chicken
Sandwiches (lunch only)
Oyster burrito, tomatillo salsa
Brisket panini french dip
Cuban sandwich
Flank steak and cheddar quesadilla, chipotle and watermelon salsa
Chicken salad sandwich
Sides
Szechwan pepper-salt fries, Creole aioli
Mashed potatoes
Stir fry green beans and tasso
Sesame broccoli
Desserts
Deconstructed banana cream pie (in a martini glass)
Lilikoi (passionfruit) cheesecake
Chocolate panna cotta with strawberries
FOR BEST RESULTS
Make sure mashed potatoes show up somewhere on the table. They're unusally good. Park with the valet at night. The neighborhood, even with the new lighting, is spookily quiet late (and I used to live a block away from here).
OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT
The menu seems two or three dishes short of a full load. There is no bread served automatically. They need to fill the dining room more reliably at night.
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
- Value +1
- Attitude
- Wine and Bar +1
- Hipness +2
- Local Color +2
SPECIAL ATTRIBUTES
- Sidewalk tables
- Romantic
- Good view
- Good for business meetings
- Many private rooms
- Open Monday lunch and dinner
- Pay valet parking
- Reservations accepted
This review was updated with new information on 9/9/2010.
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