Natchez

[jeunefilleparis]

Last night Princess Y ( aka Bond Girl) and I had dinner at Natchez.

It is basically part of the old Patio dining space. You enter through Patio bar and theres a nice loungy area. They do not take reservations, but we only waited for about 15 minutes.

The space is very cozy, if not a bit tight, at least where we were seated. The servers could not have been nicer. They were so friendly and accomodating.

Here's the menu:

Appetizers

Baby romaine w. chive buttermilk dressing and paneed oysters ( paneed for people who didnt know that word like me, means pan seared)

Mixed field greens with candied pecans and sherry mustard vinaigrette

Duck and Andouillle GUmbo with Louisiana popcorn rice

Grilled Shrimp Remoulade

Crabcake with Louisiana paddlefish caviar , sweet corn butter

Braised short ribs raviolo w. truffle herbed salad

ENTREES

Filet Mignon with hickory smoked mashed potatoes and red wine braised oxtail

blackened red fish with lump crabmeat and tomato chili marmalade

pork tenderloin "au poivre"

with bourbon mashed potatoes and smoked bacon brussel spouts

Morocacan spice chicken breast with saffron cous cous and smokd chili butter

Shrimp or oyster po'boy with home made potato chips

Desserts:

Banana bread pudding wiht pecan bourbon ice cream

peanut butter chocolate pie with carmelized praline sauce

Ok now the details

We ordered the crabcakes and the grilled shrimp. both had excellent flavor. the crabcakes were so wonderful, the sweet corn butter was so smoothy and creamy and went very well with the crabcakes. the crab cakes were very nice and moist and had a slight spicy kick to them. The paddlefish caviar ( i ve never even heard of that fish) offered a nice salty bite to them.

The shrimp were very fresh and full of flavor( i didnt have any of the remoulade) and again were just slightly spicy, the perfect amount for me, though Ya Roo poured on the Tabasco,,,,,,

I didnt try Ya roo's red fish though she said it was excellent ( though she poured more tabasco on it too) my filet was to die for. I had it cooked med. rare though more on the rare side. it was juicy and accompanied with the red wine sauce and mushrooms it was a perfect combination. The oxtail was very tender too. I switched from the hickory smoked mashed potatoes to the bourbon sweet pot. and they were so smooth and seemed to have been whipped a million times. It was the perfect comfort food.

We shared both desserts and the banana pudding was one of the best bread puddings i ve ever had. It wasnt too big and overbearing as many are, the pecan bourbon icecream was a nice touch too. THe choc. peanut butter pie was very rich and i only had a bite or two but it was great.

I asked to try the smoked chili butter, which was too spicy for me but interesting nonetheless, Blue Smoke has a mint julep butter that I loved!

All in all the prices are reasonable, the service was fabulous, the food delicious, i would go back in a heartbeat, just not on a weekend, bc they dont take reservations, oh and its cash only too!

[dumpling]

Lauren that sounds great!

Reasonable you say? Looks like a wonderful menu.

[jeunefilleparis]

sorry, i was too lazy to include prices,,,, aps went up to $12, entrees up to $24, desserts were $6

[jeunefilleparis]

FROM CITY SEARCH

I guess that I was right about the chef being the Emeril to the North,,,,,,,, since he used to work with him!

An Emeril alum brings affordable, "Bam!"-worthy Creole-Cajun cooking to the East Village.

The Scene

The old tile floors, long, white tablecloths and dark wood paneling evoke the French Quarter's easy elegance. One server works the room, while chef-partner Shawn Knight, surrounded by old cookbooks and copper pots, whips up imaginative Cajun-Creole fare in the open kitchen.

The Food

You'd expect Emeril Lagasse's former sous chef to impress with bold, Big Easy flavor pairings and careful technique, but not at these low prices. Classics starters, like gorgeously-seasoned duck-andouille gumbo, and plump, anise-scented baked oysters, are as winning as more inventive ones, like not-too-sweet coconut shrimp with mango-curry remoulade. Entrees are mini masterpieces: A light roasted-tomato emulsion complements potato-crusted redfish with sweet crab, and bacon-flecked Brussels sprouts with bourbon yams are rich foils for soy-cane syrup lacquered pork. Crunchy homemade potato chips (served with the po' boy) and banana bread pudding alone warrant many happy returns.

[Pan]

Thanks a lot for the report, Lauren. I wonder whether they'd make stuff hotter if asked, and Ya-Roo, I hope you have a chance to post your reactions.

[Bond Girl]

I think Lauren covered most if the basic facts on the meal. For my part, I though the food in general were good but lacked distinction. The somewhat over cooked grilled shrimp had some spice on it, but was overall wimpy in flavor. Therefore, I dumped a lot of tabasco on it, even though I would have preferred a much less tart spice sauce. The red fish was done better than the grilled shrimp, but again I was expecting something bolder, more explosive. (By the way, I had asked that the kitchen to make the red fish spicier, though what ended on my plate was hardly spicy at all) The bourbon sweet potato was truly wonderful, not the dense version that you expect, but the light mousse like consistency that went well with the food. As for dessert, I wasn't wild about what I had only because I don't like bananas and peanut butter and chocolate much less.

A word of warning is that while Lauren and I found the portions to be perfect, many others would have complained about the portion size. As for the service, Natzche won me over on that respect. I would go back but only if I can bring my own hot sauce.

[jeunefilleparis]

Yes, I suppose there is small trend in my eating habits lately, sometimes i just crave red meat:) and any type of creamy potato-y substance, well, thats a no brainer for me:) i had quite a different meal at WD 50 last night which i will post next:)

[Pan]

Thanks, Ya-Roo. Sure, Lauren may have posted the same facts, but from a different point of view, and it's good to have yours, too.