Your favorite dish....

[EllenH]

Husband & I will be dining next week at each of the above mentioned places. What one or two things should we order that are the most unique/delicious on the menu?

Thanks!

[Mayhaw Man]

Jacques Imo's

Chicken Liver and Toast Points

Godzilla and Green Tomatoes

Herbsaint-

Shrimp Stuffed Deviled Eggs with Baby Spinach and Bacon Vinaigrette

Pan Roasted Gulf Shrimp with Romesco

and Toasted Almonds

Brigsten's

Rabbit Tenderloin on an Andouille Parmesan Grits Cake with Spinach & Creole Mustard Sauce

Grilled Prime Beef Tournedos with Tasso Marchand du Vin Sauce & Bleu Cheese

I am nothing if not a creature of habit. Those tournedos are awesome at Brigstens. But then again, I would probably say the same thing about a used tire if it had enough of that sauce on it.

Ya'll have fun. Sounds like a great list of evenings! THe weather is great right now. Our brief window before the steady rain and yuck that we call winter.

[Gifted Gourmet]

What no tributes on the menu selections to your beloved okra at these places??

[Mayhaw Man]

Come to think of it, I usually get okra when Jacques has it on the veg. menu (you get three choices out of about ten permanent and a few rotators on the side menu-I wish that more people did that), but there is, Melissa, a time and a place for everything and sometimes I just go with the flow and deal with the menus at these places, flawed as they often are.

ALso, at J's, just go ahead and tell them to bring you extra cornbread as soon as the muffins hit the table. Trust me, you will want more. On a recent trip, Varmint, in between bites of cornbread, mumbled that it might have been the best that he ever had (I think that's what he said, anyway. He had been in the Maple Leaf, next door, for about an hour and he was pretty incoherent by the time we sat down-it was all very sad ). The cornbread is, in fact, really good.

[davebr]

I like to eat late and everytime I have been to Brightsens they are sold out of the Duck entree. So it must be good.

Herbsaint has a rediculous brown butter tart with fluer du sel iced cream for dessert.

[jessice]

I had the duck at Brigtsen's last week and it is indeed wonderful. Crispy skin, set on cornbread dressing. However, the seafood platter at Brigtsen's is a comprehensive overview of new orleans seafood cooking, with the exception of deep fried stuff-- what I mean to say is, the Brigtsen's platter has nothing fried, usually a few different oyster preparations, some crawfish gratin, a piece of gulf fish, etc. It's fantastic.

At J-I, I think the blackened redfish is very good, everyone I've ever seen try it has liked it. I like the redfish roulade, stuffed with chorizo, and the carpetbagger steak, stuffed with oysters. I also recently had the eggplant pirogue (seafood in an eggplant boat) and it was unexpectedly great.

Haven't been to Herbsaint in a very long time, but I'm anxious to get back there, I'm sure you won't be disappointed. It's the first place I ate lamb in this city, and it was such a good experience, I almost always order it when I see it on a menu.

[Varmint]

One warning: don't get the stuffed pork chop at J-I unless you're very, very hungry, drunk, stupid, or all of the above. It's 3-4 pounds of food, with the double cut chop stuffed with ground meat and shrimp, all covered by an ultra-heavy mushroom gravy. It overwhelmed me, physically.

[chezcherie]

the glazed pork belly at herbsaint changed my life.....there still isn't enough pork belly in it, tho. (my life, not the dish.)

Edited October 23, 2004 by chezcherie (log)

[annsyp]

This might sound simple, but I went to Jacques-Imo's for the first time a few weeks ago (I live in DC), and I think that you must order the Shrimp and Alligator Sausage Cheesecake.

I also had the fried chicken, and while it was good, I was already too stuffed to enjoy it!

[bleachboy]

The duck confit at Herbsaint is off the hook. You might also consider going during lunch. The charcuterie platter is a real treat, as is the spicy shrimp with black bean cake (I think that's what it is).

[EllenH]

We just got back from our blowout vacation in New Orleans (also known as, "How Much Money Can You Spend in 4 Days")! Thanks everyone for the suggestions. Unfortunately, in the hectic last-minute running around, I forgot to print them all out

Anyway, here is a recap:

Jacque-Imo's - we arrive before 6pm and are lucky to get the very last table! The atmosphere is so much fun, and every bite of our meal is amazing.

Starters: fried green tomatoes w/ shrimp (me), duck & andouille gumbo (husband).

Mains: chicken pontalba (husband), crab cakes with crawfish cream sauce (me).

My tomatoes were incredible, I had to force myself not to finish every last bite so I'd have room for the entrees! Husband's gumbo was also delish, served in a bread bowl as big as your head. Husband's chicken entree was pretty tasty, but MAN oh man my crabcakes. Wow. My only regret of the evening was, no room for dessert.

Brigsten's - I was a little surprised by the ambiance...a bit more dumpy/eclectic than I'd imagined. However this was more than offset by the fact that the food was the best we ate all trip!

Starters: duck gumbo for me, sweetbreads for husband.

Mains: panfried drumfish with crab (me), rabbit (husband).

Dessert: trio of sorbet -- coconut, strawberry, and something else I can't remember.

I think the star here was the sweetbreads! This is something that I would probably never order on my own, but DH made me a try a bite and it was well worth it. My fish was divine, every bite just made me want to lie down on the floor and scream. Don't worry, I didn't.

Herbsaint - another stellar meal! By this point, I was thinking that it would be impossible to have 3 incredible dinners in a row, but New Orleans really hit it out of the park.

Starters: mixed greens w/ walnuts, figs, bleu cheese (me); gnocchi w/ wild mushrooms (husband).

Mains: rabbit w/ homemade pasta, mushrooms & artichokes (me); muscovy duck w/ dirty rice & green beans (husband).

Dessert: banana brown butter tart (me), homemade mint chocolate chip ice cream (husband).

The gnocchi and duck were the standouts, however everything was great -- every last bit of my rabbit was devoured before I let the waiter repossess the plate. Also that banana tart truly is Sinful.

Anyway, had a great time, ate some amazing food, and really appreciate the pre-trip advice. Thanks everybody & Mayhaw especially!

[Mayhaw Man]

Glad that you had a great trip and found some good eats!

Sorry about the weather, it's usually one of the few times a year with temperate weather.. It's the hottest October on record here. We were in the nineties today.