Toups' Meatery
845 N Carrollton Ave, New Orleans, LA 70119, USA
Mid-City
Anecdotes & Analysis
My wife keeps telling me that I have to stop eating carbohydrates completely, and that I should scale up the proportions of proteins in my eating, especially in the evening. I am losing weight at a steady enough pace that I think it's probably okay for some of my food to metabolize into sugars. And I've never ignored the meat kingdom, eating enough of it to break many of the old rules. In this I have a lot of company. The meat that was once bad for us is now good, say the dietitians. This puts Chef Isaac Toups into a nice position. Some five years ago, he opened his first restaurant as chef-proprietor, with a menu intensive with meats. In this he followed the pleasures of his Cajun ancestors (he's a native of Rayne, down on the bayou where the frogs live). As well-known as Cajun chefs are for their crawfish and other seafood, Acadiana is full of great little butcher shops where their owners make sausages, smoke and cure meats of all kinds. It may be the most brilliant and unique part of Cajun cuisine--a fact that has lately transformed a lot of restaurant menus in New Orleans.
Backstory
Toups's Meatery opened in early 2012, after Chef Isaac's tours of duty at Emeril's and the extinct Cuvee. His wife Amanda runs the dining room and the wine cellar. Pre-Eatery, she managed the Wine Institute of New Orleans. For their restaurant te Toupses took over the dreary old Mediterranean Restaurant, a few blocks away from City Park, making this a good restaurant neighborhood. This is clearly not a spiffy bistro making an architectural statement. The floor and odd corners are a little beat up. None of that is less than a draw for the regular clientele, which fills the restaurant most evenings. I doesn't look like a reservations kind of place, but you are well advices to get your name on the book--particularly if you plan to dine late.
Why It's Good
Toups Meatery was in the vanguard in all this. While quite a few of the top-end New Orleans restaurants had been making their own charcuterie for a decade or more, those dishes were confined mostly to the appetizer section. At Toups Meatery, the butcher's work is found all over the place. The chef likes variety meats (i.e. tripe) as well as he does mainstream items. In an interesting switcheroo, seafood is confined mostly to lunchtime and the appetizer section. Interestingly, the best food I've had here is in fact seafood.) Most dishes are designed to be passed around and shared. It's all very trendy.
Most Interesting Dishes
Small Plates Cheese Board 16 selection of three cheeses, condiments Foie Gras Torchon 16 seasonal jam, spiced pecans Veal Sweetbread Poutine 18 cheddar cheese curds, potatoes, green onion gravy Roasted Gulf Shrimp 11 local eggplant, tomato, olives, Sherry vinaigrette Organic Arugula Salad 10 pickled peppers, sunflower seeds, parmesan, lemon vinaigrette Louisiana Crab Claws 14 Thai chilis, tomatoes, pickled pineapple Smoked Trout Deviled Eggs 7 trout roe, pickled jalapeno Covey Rise Vegetables 10 bacon vinaigrette Pork Breast Lettuce Wraps 11 mushroom, cucumber, cilantro, lime Pickle Plate 9 assortment of house made pickles Large Plates BBQ Goat 23 citrus slaw, cornbread, pickled peppers Grilled Georgia Quail 22 Covey Rise seasonal vegetables, saba Lamb Neck 30 black eye pea ragout, fennel Double Cut Pork Chop 32 dirty rice, cane syrup gastrique Confit Chicken Thighs 18 ham braised greens, dijon cream, lardons Wagyu Terres Major 29 garlic potato puree, corn chow chow, ancho demi glacé Gulf Seafood Couvillion 26 Louisiana Gulf fish, shrimp, crab fat rice Venison 34 caramelized onion barley, horseradish creme fraiche, seasonal jam A La Carte Boudin Balls 6 Cracklins 8 Daily Sausage 6 Rillons 7 Daily Terrine 7 Hog Head Cheese 6 Chicken Liver Mousse 7 Dirty Rice 7 Cornbread 5 Chips 4 Cucumber Salad 4 Sliced Cured Meat 7 dessert DOBERGE SALTED CARAMEL, PEANUT BUTTER, BACON 7 CAYENNE, CANE SYRUP, CHOCOLATE MOUSSE BLOOD ORANGE, CANDIED ALMONDS, MINT 10 WARM BOURBON CORNBREAD PUDDING SEASONAL FRUIT, BROWN BUTTER PECAN, RILLON FUDGE SAUCE 10 CHEESE BOARD SELECTION OF THREE CHEESES & SEASONAL JAMS 16
Deficiencies
As is usually the case when a mania peaks, you find a few overboard items and some expensive gourmet statement (with foie gras, for example).
For Best Results
Even the appetizers are big here. It's a good place to dine with two to six friends, and sharing plates.
Bonus Ratings
1
Attitude
2
Hipness
2
Local Color
2
Service
1
Value
1
Wine