Bacon, Eggs, And Ships

When I read that tall ships were coming to New Orleans as the first stop on a national tour to celebrate the 250th birthday of our nation, I knew just where I’d see them. The 5th floor balcony of The Four Season’s Hotel is my favorite of Donald Link’s many restaurants. Chemin à la Mer is where I take anyone who wants to dine alfresco by the river. (The newer favorite, John Besh’s new place Delacroix, is better, but not open at 8am) when the ships were slated to arrive.

But when I sat down, the server told me it had moved till tomorrow, maybe because of all the rain? I was deciding if I was going to stay, but while we were talking, I caught sight of the first ship coming into the city from downriver in Chalmette. Breakfast at Chemin à la Mer is always a treat, but it is complicated and expensive to go there. I was surprised at how small the menu was, at least of the traditional things I’d get. There were pancakes and a yogurt bowl, berries and a pastry basket, but the egg dishes lacked imagination: two eggs any style, an omelette, and a breakfast casserole,  plus the now-requisite avocado toast.

I was intrigued by a specific omelette, but decided to just build my own, getting vegetables and housemade andouille with Cheddar cheese and Poblano peppers. This came with a frisee salad and a biscuit. I got grits and potatoes as sides, and ultimately wound up with a side of bacon too. The omelette was enormous, and it was served with a frisee salad tossed in a light vinaigrette. The biscuit that came with this was toasted, which always surprises me. The potatoes and grits were also different from what I was expecting. 

When I see breakfast potatoes on a menu, I think they will be irregular cubes of deep-fried potatoes. This was a small ramekin of little red potatoes boiled with a dash of salt and a tinge of butter. Fine, but pretty ordinary. They were nicely done for what they were, but I was surprised at the lack of imagination.

The grits were luscious, stone ground grits, but were runny. I loved the heat and the extras ampping up the flavor, but I preferred these after they had cooled and congealed a bit.

The biscuit was toasted, which I considered a thrill. I run into a lot of baked goods, but they are never toasted. So much better when they are.

The omelette was large, and full of things. I asked for mushrooms and spinach as well as peppers and onions. There were Poblano peppers in the mix and Cheddar cheese, as well as housemade andouille sausage. I was a little worried about getting housemade sausage from Donald Link. I thought it might taste too “real,” like in Europe.

It really didn’t have a lot of flavor at all, but the grind was too small and the texture too tight. I didn’t care for this at all, which made me order a side of bacon, which I loved. The bacon was thick and smoky and cooked beautifully. I finished it all with the toasted biscuit.

It took quite a long time for the tall ship to get moored alongside the river, and I didn’t see any others behind it. When I had finished my breakfast, I left. But it was well worth doing, even at $78 with the tip. The experience was great, but I didn’t like the food nearly enough for that. And that was the first time I ever had that thought leaving Chemin à la Mer.