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Restaurant Ratings

The ratings are based mostly on the degree to which the food excites us, and a little on environment, service, and other considerations. I rate restaurants relative to all other restaurants in the New Orleans area. Here's what the stars mean to me:

starstarstarstarstar
Among the best locally.

starstarstarstar
Excellent and ambitious.

starstarstar
Worth crossing town for.

starstar
Recommended.

*
Acceptable.

No star
Unacceptable.

Cost Ratings
Each dollar sign indicates a ten-dollar range, including a normal meal for the restaurant (dinner, if they serve other meals), not including drinks, or tips. So, for example. . .

1$--$5-15
2$--$15-25
3$--$25-35

. . . and so on, with no upper limit. While this scheme may suggest mathematical precision, know that perception of price varies from diner to diner as much as the star ratings do. So consider this an estimate.

All reviews are based entirely on meals I have personally taken at the restaurant and paid for from my own pocket. I don't take free review meals, nor am I reimbursed by anybody for my restaurant expenditures.

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pricebar

Port of Call

Hamburgers.
French Quarter: 838 Esplanade. 504-523-0120. Map.
Lunch and dinner continuously, seven days.
Very Casual
AE MC V
Website

WHY IT'S ESSENTIAL
The archetype of a common New Orleans institution: a bar with a superior hamburger. To this day, most of the city's great hamburgers will be found in bars. The Port of Call set the standard and still does.

WHY IT'S GOOD
The hamburgers are made from fresh two-way chuck (the two best parts of that beef cut, with a minimum of junk) ground daily in the restaurant's commissary. They grill them thick and fat over a hot open fire and serve them with grated cheddar cheese on a normal-size bun, making the ratio of meat to bread very agreeable. The burgers are served with baked potatoes instead of fries. The steaks are only pretty good. The drinks--especially the tiki-style rum drinks--are generous and well made.

BACKSTORY
The Port of Call opened in 1963. I got there when I was a junior in high school and was blown away. Returning infrequently now, I'm always surprised by how little the place has changed over the years, in both decor and flavor. There are few similar time warps. Since Hurricane Katrina, the business here seems to have risen tremendously. Be prepared for a long wait to be seated.

DINING ROOM
The front room is unambiguously a bar, surrounded by tables. The ropes hung across the ceiling appear to be part of the original decor. I've often thought that I would not want to see this room in bright light. The main dining room is more like a restaurant. The service is not what you could call attentive, but they get the job done sooner or later.

ESSENTIAL DISHES
Hamburger.
Filet mignon.
Strip sirloin.

FOR BEST RESULTS
Understand that the Port of Call's reputation as having the best hamburger in New Orleans may lift your expectations unreasonably high. Remember: a hamburger can only go so high up the ladder of culinary accomplishment.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT
One wonders what would come of a satellite restaurant serving exactly this food in a more accessible, larger location.

FACTORS OTHER THAN FOOD
Up to three points, positive or negative, for these characteristics. Absence of points denotes average performance in the matter.

SPECIAL ATTRIBUTES

This review was updated with new information on 9/28/2009.  

 

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