Friday, July 16, 2010
1106 Restaurants Open Around Town
Chef Mars--as the proprietor of this teeny but good little restaurant across the street and a block down from Bayona calls himself--always offers a seasonal menu in addition to his regular card. His summer menu is not discounted as far as I could tell, but you'll like it anyway. He's taking a shot at the oil company we've all come to despise. Even though the spurting oil well has now been capped, the anger hasn't begun to abate. I think you'll get a chuckle out of this, all of which is in deadly earnest:
BPQ Shrimp $9
Jumbo gulf shrimp in a black pepper sauce
Boudin Booms $9
Roast boudin sausage links protecting a "beach" from caramelized onion pork glace
Dirty Bird $26
Crisp broiled oil-poached duck leg confit with dirty rice covered by a mysterious dark goo
Pork Barrel with Leeks $24
Braised pork grillades and gravy in an Idaho potato barrel with crispy leeks
"Top Hat" Surf and Turf $34
Pan roasted prime filet mignon topped with crawfish tail scampi on roasted garlic mashed potatoes
Junk Shot Jambalaya $27
Ever-changing mix of Louisiana fish and shellfish with andouille sausage in a Cajun style tomato rice pilaf
Louisiana Bistro. French Quarter: 337 Dauphine. 504-525-3335. Contemporary Creole.
All The Summer Menus So Far
NOMenu has a page listing not only all the summer specials we know about, with the menus, too. I'm adding new ones daily.
That list is now online here.
Thursday, July 8. Eat Club At American Sector. The World War II Museum is among the best non-linear ideas ever to burst forth in New Orleans. The connection between The Big One and our city seems gaseous at first thought. But it solidifies in the light of an important but little-heralded fact: most of the boats in which the D-Day invasion took place were built here in New Orleans, at the Higgins boat works. General Eisenhower himself said that Andrew Higgins had done as much to win the war as anyone. And there was no major museum devoted entirely to the war. There's so much WWII memorabilia out there that, far from having to scramble for artifacts, the museum finds itself turning down excellent helmets, uniforms, medals and guns because it already has seven of those.
The idea of placing a major restaurant inside the Word War II Museum is another leap of ingenuity. The American Sector is no standard museum snack bar, but a full-fledged restaurant, operated by John Besh, no less. The theme is brilliant. The menu is retro to the 1940s, filled with the dishes that were popular back then. The difference is that Besh and his chef Todd Pulsinelli are using first-class ingredients and current cooking techniques to brush up what was really Depression cuisine. But it takes none of the fun out of a bologna sandwich (a popular item on the menu) when the bologna in is made in-house.
John's people wanted me to host an Eat Club dinner at The American Sector. The menu they offered was so attractive in both edibility and price that I didn't hesitate for a second to agree. And then the menu grew unexpectedly. We were originally going to be served a bunch of appetizers, family style, then each pick an entree. What happened was that almost the entire menu came to the tables, encompassing so much food that the quantity alone was an entertainment for the attendees.
And not only were we comprehensively overfed, but the drinks were overserved, too. Each new round of food was accompanied by four or five cocktails, many of them ancient concoctions we haven't even heard about in decades. (When's the last time you had a Pink Squirrel?) A lot of the cocktails were from the Trader Vic's/Bali Ha'i playbook. Tiki drinks galore.
So much food came that I couldn't keep up either photographing or eating it. I don't think any of the sixty people who joined us sampled everything that came out. But these were generally agreed to be the high points:
1. The watermelon sodas, served from old-style seltzer bottles into soda-fountain glasses (photo above).
2. Garlic-glazed fried chicken wings, served with pickled watermelon, zucchini, and okra.
3. Crabmeat pies. Like little empanadas.
4. Beef short rib sloppy joes, served on slider-size buns. (They serve these for seventy-five cents with half-price drinks all afternoon, every day.)
5. Shrimp in a jar. These were boiled shrimp marinating in a pickling liquid with pickled vegetables, and served with remoulade sauce.
6. Lamb ribs. These came out under a glass dome filled with wood smoke. When the bell was lifted, the smoke wafted around the table, smelling delicious. Lamb ribs are a great, little-seen idea.
7. Vietnamese poor boys. Besh's version of banh mi, without the mystery meat (although that might have been both better and true to the 1940s, when megatons of unidentifiable cold cuts were eaten.)
8. The hot dog. It was made in house and alarmingly large. When it landed I got a laugh with, "Aagh! My worst nightmare!" To which one of the women at the table said, "And my most wonderful dream!" Let me put this another way. It was double the size of any hot dog you've ever seen, not only in length but girth, with a proportionally expanded , baked-in-house bun. Otherwise, it was normal, and very good.
9. Pork cheeks with blackeye peas. Tender and wonderful.
10. Blueberry milk shake, an amazing shade of purple, absolutely delicious. (That's what chef Todd is drinking in the first photo above.)
And: Fresh-cut fries and potato chips. An ultra-thick hamburger on a slider bun (not so good). Heirloom tomato soup (served from a tin can). Trout with potato chip crust (just what it sounds like). And on and on. In the sixteen years of Eat Club dinners, I've never seen such a sophisticated crowd get so excited over a dinner, or have more fun that we had this night.
The wines were good, too: Cambria's Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, both of which I find consistently excellent over the years.
My favorite moment came during the radio show. A lady called up to ask a question about the restaurant to which I didn't know the answer. But longtime public relations person and friend Clem Goldberger was standing by, and did. The lady on the phone said, "Oh, good, I was hoping that's how it was."
"Wonderful," I said.
"Marvelous," Clem said.
"You should care for me," I sang, picking up the lyrics of the Gershwin song "S'Wonderful."
"S' awful nice, s' paradise," sang Clem, a sho-biz girl from way back. We sang a few more verses of the song as a duet.
The next day, one of the radio sales people said, "You really had your straw hat and cane yesterday!" Yes, I did. I love shows where stuff like that happens, even when I know ninety-eight percent of the audience doesn't get it.
American Sector. Warehouse District: 945 Magazine. 504-528-1940.
Friday, July 9. The Old Italian House. The Marys returned from Washington in the middle of the radio show. I was astonished to learn that they'd split the trip into two days. "You were right," Mary Ann said, flabbergasting me further. "Going all the way in one day was a disaster, even with three drivers. It was horrible. I'll never do that again." I'll remind her of that the next time she proposes such a plan.
Our family reunion dinner was at a new restaurant, the Old Italian House in Covington. They took over the strip-mall space originally built out as the first-ever location of Semolina, a long time ago. The space has had a couple of short-lived if good restaurants since then. The location has a problem: although it's a very busy intersection, the restaurant can't easily be seen from the street unless you happen to be looking in exactly the rieght direction.
But we ordered with gusto and high hopes. First course: pizza. Pepperoni, to make Mary Leigh happy. With all the pepperoni on one half of the pie, to satisfy my likes. The sauce and cheese were decent, but the crust was underbaked and flaccid.
I overheard the chef-owner saying that he was an alumnus of Copeland's, and that he was thinking of opening other locations of the Old Italian House. That explained a lot about the menu, which is a bit gimmicky. The very first item on the card: Italian eggrolls. Which, the menu predicts, will "put us on the map." Well, yes, I do recall even after thirty years a restaurant that was half Chinese and half Italian (the Marco Polo, where Kim Son is now). But it didn't last long.
Here were standard fried eggroll wrappers stuffed with Italian sausage and mozzarella, served with red sauce. In a wax-paper-lined basket--a table presentation that's spreading rapidly, despite the fact that nobody I've ever spoken with likes it. (I sure don't.) Okay, a good bar snack. But that's about it.
Another original idea here is placing things like chicken parmigiana atop a pile of macaroni and cheese. "Chicken Cheezy," they call it. Shades of Rocky and Carlo's! Even the same long, skinny macaroni they use down in Da Parish! The waitress persuaded Mary Ann that this was a great dish. But that's MA's kind of food. "Lots of people like dishes like this!" she protested, thinking that she was reading my mind.
My entree was terribly disappointing. It was a quartet of manicotti, made with pasta crepes and a ricotta cheese filling of absolutely no distinction whatsoever. The red sauce was too thick, cooked too long, and had the texture and color (if not the flavor) of ketchup. It reminded me once again why I greatly prefer tomato sauces made from whole tomatoes, cooked briefly with herbs and olive oil. To get a second opinion, I had our Red Sauce Editor (Mary Leigh) try it. She felt the same way I did. This stuff must be somebody's family recipe. I didn't have the advantage of growing up with it. The only thing I liked about this was the puffy breadstick that stretched across the plate, looking like a smile.
Mary Leigh--eating lightly as always--contented herself with the pepperoni side of the pizza and half of my salad. It was a big Italian job with artichokes and tomatoes, and good enough.
The dish of the night was the dessert, an off-menu special of which the chef is justifiably proud. It combined bananas, beignets, and a sweet red sauce made with reduced Cabernet Sauvignon wine. I thought this was as good as it looked, and that was very.
The prices are low, and the staff is engaging. But this place is still in its new-restaurant phase, and needs to age a bit and refine its recipes. The Italian restaurant community on the North Shore is getting competitive--many more good ones than just five years ago. Clever menu copy is not going to work long-term.
Old Italian House. Covington: 100 Tyler Square. 985-892-5300. Italian.
French.
French Quarter: 942 N. Rampart. 504-569-9979. Map.
Dinner Tuesday-Saturday. Sunday brunch.
Nice Casual.
AE DC DS MC V
Website
WHY IT'S NOTEWORTHY
Someday the Rampart Street edge of the French Quarter will catch up with the rest of the storied zone, and be lined with chic restaurants like this one. For the nonce, Meauxbar is a gem in the otherwise rough setting. It's the preserve of Quarterites and the other clued-in people, of which there are enough to keep the dining room nearly full most of the time. Its menu of French bistro food is as good as its low-profile allure.
WHY IT'S GOOD
The menu is an assemblage of classic French bistro dishes, interspersed here and there with French-tinged essays from the bayou country. Although the menus seems familiar, a longer reading of it reveals many more ingredients than is typical for a restaurant this small. That, and the equally wide range of the kitchen's methodology makes for very stimulating dining. And there's an imaginative, fresh list of specials on top of all that.
BACKSTORY
Chef Matthew Guidry (whose family roots go back to the town of Meaux in Cajun country) and partner James Conte opened Meauxbar in 2003, after running a French restaurant in Sag Harbor, New York for a few years.
DINING ROOM
The exterior of the building is rather stark, which creates a pleasant surprise when you step through the door. The dining room's clean lines, careful lighting, and walls full of fascinating photographs make it completely charming. The antique-style bar and the colorful fabrics draped from the ceiling--contrasting with the earth tones everywhere else--complete the visual comforts.
ESSENTIAL DISHES
Onion soup gratinée
Roasted beet salad with pear, pecans, goat cheese
Salad Lyonnaise (frisée, bacon, poached egg, warm bacon vinaigrette)
Steak tartare
Oyster salad, creamy Pernod dressing
Mussels and fries with red curry broth
Caramelized onion tart with goat cheese
Ginger crawfish dumplings
Flounder en papillote
Trout Grenobloise (lemon caper beurre noisette)
Bouillabaisse
Cornmeal crusted catfish and chips rémoulade
Crab cakes rémoulade with hearts of palm
Pan-fried frog legs Provençal
Duck confit
Chicken grand-mère
New York strip with fries and tarragon butter
Double-cut pork chop au poivre
Sliced steak salad
Hamburger and fries
Spaghetti bolognese
Beet ricotta ravioli, ginger-sage beurre noisette
Creme brulee.
FOR BEST RESULTS
The service staff gives reliable recommendations, tinged with their personal taste: refer to that. Parking is not easy in that part of the Quarter when anything is going on at the Mahalia Jackson Theatre.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT
The dining room would feel a little better if the tables were set on the diagonal instead of square. The suggestion in the name that this is more bar than restaurant is misleading.
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 +2
- Value +1
- Attitude +1
- Wine and Bar +1
- Hipness +1
- Local Color +2
SPECIAL ATTRIBUTES
- Romantic
- Vegetarian dishes
- Easy, nearby parking (unless an event is at Mahalia Jackson Theatre).
- Reservations recommended
ANECDOTES AND ANALYSIS
The funny thing about clubby restaurants is that in most cases the service staff figures that if you know about the place at all, then you must be a regular. So they treat you that way. This is a much more welcoming restaurant than you will expect on your first visit. The waiters are unambiguously opinionated about the food they serve, and since the menu is as large as it is, one would do well to follow their advice.
Someday New Orleans will have too many French bistros.
We don't seem to have arrived at that point yet. But if we ever do, this place will be one of the survivors, serving as it does some of the most interesting variations on that style, with just enough Louisiana flavors to make it distinctive. If you know anyone who lives in the French Quarter, there's a very strong possibility that you will encounter him dining here.
Crabmeat Imperial
Crabmeat Imperial is an old local favorite that has fallen on hard times. It's as good as ever--about the only way one could dislike it would be to dislike crabmeat--but few restaurants serve it. I like the very simple way it's prepared at the Bon Ton Cafe, the city's oldest Cajun restaurant. The crabby flavor fairly explodes in your mouth. This is my variation on their recipe.
- 1 pound jumbo lump crabmeat
- 6 Tbs. butter
- 1/2 cup chopped green onions--bulbs and tops
- 1/4 roasted red bell pepper, chopped
- 1/4 cup sliced mushrooms
- 1/4 cup dry sherry
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
- Pinch cayenne
1. Sauté onions and mushrooms in half the butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat, until onions have become limp but not brown.
2. Add crabmeat, pimiento, and sherry and turn heat up a bit. Cook while agitating pan (don't stir), until the sherry is boiled away.
3. Melt the remaining butter into the mixture, and pile onto rounds of toasted French bread in ovenproof dishes. Run the plates under the broiler, about five inches from the heat, until the crabmeat sizzles. Sprinkle with parsley.
Serves two to four.
