The Restaurants We Can't Live Without By Tom Fitzmorris. . . Revised June 2009 #108 Red Maple Steak. Creole. Gretna: 1036 Lafayette. 504-367-0935. Map. Lunch Monday-Friday. Dinner seven nights. Nice Casual AE DC MC V www.theredmaple.com   WHY IT'S ESSENTIAL   For about fifteen years and until very recently, the Red Maple was the only restaurant on the West Bank with anything like a white-tablecloth, formal, traditional style. During that same time, a renovation and the hiring of a series of excellent chefs improved the offerings enough to make it worth a trip across the river. For those who work around the Jefferson parish Courthouse, it's almost indispensable. The restaurant runs several low-price dinner promotions during the week, but these are of less interest than the main menu.   WHY IT'S GOOD   The steaks on which the Red Maple founded its cuisine are still good, and include the entire canon of steak cuts and cookery. But their seafood and other dishes are every bit as good, with some particularly outstanding work in the appetizer section. They do a particularly good job with oysters. The style is a shade dated by East Bank standards, but that doesn't lessen its appeal.   BACKSTORY   The Red Maple opened in 1963, taking over the old family home of the owners, the Trauth family. Until the 1990s, it was primarily a steakhouse, but when Chef Randy Barlow began a stint in the kitchen, the restaurant diversified into all corners of Creole cooking. Expansion and renovation in the late 1990s also improved the restaurant greatly.   DINING ROOM   The main dining room, with its low ceilings, exposed beams, and hundred of hanging beer steins, looks decidedly Germanic. (It seems perfect for the holidays.) A newer, larger dining area, built from a former courtyard, is brighter and more spacious. A few smaller, less appealing dining rooms are scattered around the floor plan.   ESSENTIAL DISHES   Eggplant with crabmeat meuniere. Crabmeat Remick (a small casserole with bacon and a mayonnaise-based sauce). Crabmeat au gratin. Raw oysters on the half shell. Oysters Maple (fried, with spinach, bacon, and Brie). Fried calamari. Corn and crab bisque. Shrimp remoulade. Turtle Soup. Bronzed drumfish. Redfish Pontchartrain (sherry cream sauce with crabmeat and mushrooms). Pepper-glazed pork porterhouse. Fried seafood platters. Filet mignon. New York strip. Ribeye steak. Bread pudding. Bourbon pecan pie.   FOR BEST RESULTS   The lobster night and other such promotions sound like a good deal, but the food on the regular menu is much better. And the restaurant fills up for such deals. Coming here at lunch at noon might get you caught in a crowd.   OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT   It's hard to figure out where the hostess stand is, and when you find it, the greeting (if you get one) could be a lot more welcoming. An overwhelming number of entrees are overloaded with rich sauces.   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 Service Value +2 Attitude +1 Wine and Bar Hipness -1 Local Color +2   SPECIAL ATTRIBUTES    Outdoor dining Romantic Windows with a view Good for business meetings Private dining room (fewer than 25) Private dining room (more than 25) Open Sunday Open Monday Open all afternoon Historic Oyster bar Unusually large servings Good for children Easy, nearby parking Reservations accepted Reservations honored promptly Click here for an index to all 200 Essential Restaurant reviews. © 2009 Tom Fitzmorris. All rights reserved. news@nomenu.com