We were there for lunch today, Tuesday, 5 September 2006, our first trip since the new management. Tuesday lunch is not a busy time, but I got the feeling no one was paying attention in the kitchen. The only first-rate thing we had was the deep-fried boudin balls with a cane syrup dip--delightfully hot and crispy exterior. We had a seafood gumbo/catfish sandwich combo and red beans and rice. The gumbo was fine, but not rich or complex enough. The catfish was tasty but a bit limp -- not crispy [and we knew they could do crispy from the boudin]. The red beans and rice were pretty boring, with not enough andouille. We had to add Tabasco, and we weren't seeking heat, just more flavor. Bread was not heated, but was OK. They were out of bread pudding [at 12:30, when they were not very busy?] so we had creme brulee, which had clearly been made ahead through the sugar topping, then refrigerated and reheated. The sugar was not crisp -- it was rather alarmingly rubbery, but the dish had been in the oven long enough to warm the cream half-way down, so you got a weird mix from cold to warm, with sticky, rubbery sugar, in every bite. The flavors were good, but it would have taken no longer to torch the sugar after the dish was ordered [though it would have taken someone in the kitchen available to do it]. Sigh. Another good place bites the dust. I'm glad we tried it before we drove all the way out there to take friends.
