Seither's Seafood
279 Hickory Ave, New Orleans, LA 70123, USA
Harahan
The fact that the parking lot is surfaced with oyster shells should tell you something. It's the first of many impressions that this is an old-style, close-to-the-water combination seafood market and cafe. It's like the joints and the people you see after driving a hundred miles into the Louisiana wetlands, except that it's in Harahan, which is only slightly remote from the city. All the freshness and sense of place that this implies are indeed borne out in the cooking.
Anecdotes & Analysis
The fact that the parking lot is surfaced with oyster shells should tell you something. It's the first of many impressions that this is an old-style, close-to-the-water combination seafood market and cafe. It's like the joints and the people you see after driving a hundred miles into the Louisiana wetlands, except that it's in Harahan, which is only slightly remote from the city. All the freshness and sense of place that this implies are indeed borne out in the cooking. <img src="http://nomenu.com/wp-content/uploads/Seithers-Ext.jpg" alt="Seithers-Ext" width="470" height="313" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-33472" />
Backstory
The building has been a seafood market for many decades. (I wish it had been this good when my parents live across the street in the 1980s.) Jason Seither took over the place in 2004, and began a steady expansion of the menu, such that every visit showed a great new item or two since the time before. <img src="http://nomenu.com/wp-content/uploads/Seithers-DR.jpg" alt="Seithers-DR" width="171" height="256" class="alignright size-full wp-image-33474" />
Dining Room
About three dozen seats, a little crowded, with the decor you expect from a neighborhood cafe. No two corners of the place look the same. Service can bog down when the place gets busy, but even that fits in with the bayou atmosphere.
Why It's Essential
Wherever you find a seafood market, there's a good chance there's a restaurant connected with the operation. One side helps the other: the restaurant gets a better-than-average supply of local fish and shellfish, and the market has a place to sell out any surplus it may have. Seither's is like that. The dining room isn't much to look at, and for the most part the menu is simple. But the food is everything it promises to be.
Why It's Good
One of the advantages little restaurants have is that they prepare everything to order. That's the story behind the fried seafood platters and poor boys here. But even the boiled seafood--a major specialty--is usually hot right out of the boiling pot. The biggest surprise is an appetizer called eggplant Harahan: panneed eggplant slices, topped with a seafood stuffing and a crawfish cream sauce. They sling a lot of cream sauce around seafood here; get only one per table. Another fine resource: freshly-shucked oysters. <img src="http://nomenu.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Seithers-SoftShell.jpg" alt="Seithers-SoftShell" width="470" height="313" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-38776" />
Most Interesting Dishes
<em><strong>Starters</strong></em> Raw oysters on the half shell Seither’s boiled seafood platter Asian seared tuna Crab cakes Stuffed artichokes Eggplant log cabin (a house built of fried eggplant sticks) Barbecue shrimp Blackened or fried shrimp salad Asian seared tuna salad Fried oyster, bacon and egg salad Chicken and andouille gumbo Shrimp and corn bisque <em><strong>Poor Boy Sandwiches</strong></em> Fried, grilled or blackened shrimp chicken or fish Fried oyster Hamburger Soft shell crab Roast beef Fried green tomatoes with shrimp remoulade Barbecue shrimp Blackened shrimp and avocado Spicy tuna <em><strong>Entrees</strong></em> Eggplant Harahan (panneed eggplant, seafood stuffing, crawfish cream sauce) Fried shrimp, oyster, thin catfish, or combo platter Blackened shrimp platter Grilled tuna platter Blackened catfish platter Fried soft-shell crab platter Chicken or eggplant parmesan, pasta Crab cakes and shrimp pasta Oysters Rockefeller pasta Lemon garlic shrimp, linguini pasta
Deficiencies
Some further research on the fried dishes to lighten them up is what I'd do next.
For Best Results
Seither's is better at boiling and grilling than it is at frying, which is a bit heavy. The seasoning blends and the skills required for good blackened dishes is far better than in most other restaurants. The seafood cream sauces are also good, but all taste about the same. No problem: just get one.
Bonus Ratings
1
Attitude
1
Hipness
1
Local Color
2
Value