Bonefish Grill
4848 Veterans Blvd Suite B, Metairie, LA 70006, USA
Metairie 3: Houma Blvd To Kenner Line
Backstory
The first Bonefish Grill opened in 2000 in St. Petersburg, Florida. The developers were Tim Curci and Chris Parker, both of whom had come from other restaurant chains. It grew rapidly, preceded everywhere it went by a glowing reputation spread by customers who'd encountered it elsewhere. A few years ago Bonefish merged with the Outback Steakhouse group. Bonefish has continued to spread rapidly throughout the country, and has over 150 locations in 29 states. A Bonefish opened in Covington in 2009. It closed in 2012, when the Metairie Bonefish opened.
Dining Room
The dining room and bar are more comfortable and handsomer than many more expensive restaurants. The only noticeable sign that this is a chain is the large percentage of booth tables. (Booths allow for tighter packing of customers than standard tables do, which is why chains love them.) In its eagerness to please and personality, the service staff ranks with the best. But that's something else chains know: service is more important than food to most people. (Not me.)
Why It's Essential
Bonefish Grill is one of the best large national restaurant chains, and one of the few that specializes in seafood. Aside from a few signature dishes, however, it's not the food that makes the best impressions. The extraordinarily well-trained service staff will make you believe you're in for the time of your life. Enough that a lot of people don't think to question the provenance of the actual seafood. Which is, by New Orleans standards, distinctly secondary.
Why It's Good
Bonefish buys seafood as fresh as it claims. The kitchen uses that to create dishes that go for the weak spots of the typical American palate. A large number of dishes are decidedly sweet, for example. This slips by because you don't expect it. Quite a few of their dishes are also aggressively spicy, too--most notably the unarguably delicious bang-bang shrimp. Those are fried shrimp tossed in a zippy aioli and served in a pile big enough to share--something the servers (who wear chef's jackets, suggesting that they're going to cook personally for you) encourage. Once you get into the shank of the meal, however, you find dishes made of less-expensive versions of the kind of seafood we're accustomed to eating in New Orleans. Some of it is disguised: "Imperial longfin" is, near as I can tell, tilapia. Orange roughy comes from around Australia. They've emphasized pompano lately, the best of our local fish. But ask them where it comes from, and get ready for a surprise. Ask what local seafood is available, and you'll get a hedging kind of answer.
Most Interesting Dishes
<em><strong>Starters</strong></em><br /> Wagyu beef and ginger dumplings<br /> Bang bang shrimp<br /> Edamame<br /> Fried calamari, peppers and sweet spicy Asian sauce <br /> Seared, sesame crusted tuna<br /> Mussels Josephine (tomatoes, garlic, basil, lemon wine sauce) <br /> Maryland crab cakes, red remoulade <br /> Bacon wrapped sea scallops, chutney, mango salsa<br /> Thai coconut shrimp<br /> Shrimp, lime tomato garlic sauce, kalamata olives, feta<br /> Fish and chips <br /> <em><strong>Soups And Salads</strong></em><br /> Corn and crab chowder<br /> Wedge salad, tomatoes, blue cheese<br /> Caesar salad<br /> House salad (hearts of palm, kalamata olives, tomatoes, citrus-herb vinaigrette<br /> Grilled salmon and asparagus salad, goat cheese, fennel<br /> Cobb salad<br /> <em><strong>Sandwiches</strong></em><br /> Kobe beef burger<br /> Bang bang shrimp tacos<br /> Baja fish tacos<br /> Fillet of fish burger<br /> <em><strong>Entrees</strong></em><br /> Grilled chicken, goat cheese, spinach, artichoke hearts<br /> Grilled boneless pork chop, fontina cheese, prosciutto, marsala sauce <br /> Grilled chicken marsala<br /> Filet mignon<br /> Sirloin and crab cake dinner<br /> Pecan parmesan crusted rainbow trout, artichokes, lemon butter <br /> Tilapia stuffed with shrimp, scallops, crabmeat; lemon caper butter <br /> Diablo shrimp fettuccine, tomatoes, capers, spinach fettuccine, garlic cream sauce<br /> Grilled swordfish<br /> Chilean sea bass<br /> Atlantic salmon<br /> Sea scallops and shrimp <br /> Rainbow trout <br /> Tilapia <br /> Cold water lobster tails <br /> Ahi tuna with asian vegetables, jasmine rice<br /> <em><strong>Desserts</strong></em><br /> Jamaican coconut pie<br /> Macadamia nut brownie<br /> Key lime pie, pecan crust <br /> Creme brulee, berries<br /> Peanut butter ice cream
Deficiencies
I find it offensive that any upscale seafood restaurant operating in New Orleans has little or no local seafood. Corporate buyers shouldn't force what they have to buy for Des Moines on us.
For Best Results
Almost all the best dishes are in the appetizer section. Start with the bang-bang shrimp (everybody else does), and ask for local fish. (Sometimes they do have it.) If there's a fish here you've never heard of, ask probing question, and have an alternate entree order ready.
Bonus Ratings
3
Attitude
1
Environment
3
Service
3
Value
1
Wine