Thanks for Helping Us Eat New Orleans! [Long]

[NancyH]

My husband Bob and I spent July 5-13 in NOLA, eating our way through town. We greatly appreciate all of the help from this board, especially Jason and Rachel Perlow, who were kind enough to make this trip in May and post all of the wonderful information and photos (as well as the link to “Eating New Orleans”, which was an invaluable guide to us), and Brooks “Mayhaw Man” Hamaker, who not only gave us wonderful food recommendations, but also recommended the hotel that we stayed at after our convention ended – Brooks, it was perfect!

So, I would like to share our "results" from a week of eating NOLA. Sadly, 2 places on our “must get to” list – Napoleon House and Upperline – were closed for vacation the entire time we were there (Galatoire’s was closed from July 5-11; fortunately, we got there for lunch on the 12th). Also, we were limited to public transportation, and we neglected to bring a camera, so descriptions will have to suffice.

Tuesday 7/5 – Arrived in NOLA just ahead of Tropical Storm Cindy - Mandina's - Crab Fingers appetizer, Turtle Soup, Trout Almandine, Trout Meuniere, taste of catfish almandine (all YUM); the Fried Softshell Crab eaten by the other person at our table looked positively scrumptious and Mary Ann enjoyed her chicken dish. We were too stuffed to go to Brocato’s; besides, it was raining. We had a couple of late drinks at the Sheraton Bar and watched Cindy blast Canal Street through the large windows. The power failures that resulted included all the trollys and Brigsten’s neighborhood.

Wednesday 7/6 – First meal: Commerce Restaurant. We intended to eat breakfast at about 10:30, but the smells of the lunch foods seduced us. We split one plate of Red Beans & Rice accompanied by BBQ ribs, plus we added 1 link each hot & mild sausage, biscuits (no French bread due to storm Cindy knocking out bakeries’ power the night before), and a small salad that came with it (we didn't have room to actually eat it). We were so stuffed, that we almost passed on the biscuits, when one of our companions, whose entree changed from Shrimp Po-Boy to Ham Omlette due to the lack of bread, said "take the biscuits - you WANT the biscuits". Oh, yes.

Dinner - All American Wine dinner at Bayona - 4 courses using American ingredients and wines. Garlic Cheese Fries with Chanterelles and Pickled Ramps (2002 Brander Sauvignon Blanc, Santa Ynez, CA), Tuna Wrapped with Newsome Country Ham, Cauliflower Puree, Balsamic Olive Oil Drizzle (2003 Cloudline Pinot Noir, Wilamette, OR), Grilled Duck Breast with wilted spinach and Blueberry Corn Cakes (simply amazing!)(2002 McRea Syrah WA) and Crepes stuffed with mascarpone cheese and served with peaches, ice cream and Steen's (Bellini made with Gruet Blanc de Noirs, NM). Susan Spicer was in the kitchen and came out for a well deserved bow before dessert.

Thursday – First meal: Johnny's Po-Boy. Crab Po-Boy and Boudin Po-Boy. We loved our po-boys. Someone from our convention was there and said the shrimp didn't taste fresh, but her tablemate disagreed. Curiously, as we ate, we noticed a purveyor delivering a huge load of frozen Basa fish - whatever do they do with that?

Dinner - Brigtsen's - Shrimp Remoulade w/deviled eggs, Guacamole, & Mirliton Corn Relish (I actually had a "Shrimp Epiphany" - I'm slightly allergic to it and never liked it - until this night, when I could not get enough of this simple boiled shrimp), Crab/Parmesan Crusted Triplefish w/roasted caramelized veggies, whipped potatoes, and Bearnaise; Bob had Roast Duck with Cornbread Dressing & Honey Pecan Gravy; we shared Pecan Pie with Caramel Sauce (our tablemates passed their Double Chocolate Cake to sample). This was the best meal of the trip.

Friday - Commander's Palace Lunch. 25 Cent Martinis were full strength and delicious; I favored Melon, but the Key Lime was also very good. We ate Chicken/Sausage Gumbo (the waiter said it would have shellfish, but there were none), Grilled Redfish (which was only ok - not exquisitely fresh and a few “off” bites); I had a salad course I don’t remember and Bob's 3 tomato salad was absurd - 1 micro-thin slice each of 3 kinds of tomato (and we really wanted to sample Creole Tomatoes, so we felt denied); so-so Turtle Soup, Bread Pudding Souffle (excellent, as Mayhaw Man promised it would be).

Most surprising was that after a waiter spilled a house martini on one of our tablemates, turning her dress blue, all the house did was offer to pay her drycleaning bill. It seemed to me they should have comped her something for having to eat in a wet dress, though they were solicitous about trying to dry it with towels.

Late Afternoon Snack: Angelo Brocatos Praline Gelato and Chocolate Gelato. Left us too stuffed to eat again that day.

Saturday - Palace Café Jazz Brunch. We heard mixed reviews about the Palace from our convention-mates, but had brunch with 3 ladies who had eaten dinner there the night before and raved about it. Our experience was generally positive. We started with Milk Punches (very tasty). I had the Crab Cheesecake - outstanding. Bob's Creole-Tomato Soup, however, was thin - the ladies had urged it on him as wonderful last night; they agreed it wasn't the same soup today (obviously, stretched leftovers) - it was still tasty, however. I had Potato Crusted Redfish w/poached eggs and hollandaise - as at CP the day before, the fish was good but not exquisite (might have been the farmed stuff; though there were no “bad” bites as at CP – it just didn’t sing), and a tasty Bread pudding. Bob had a Hash Skillet - eggs, pecan cured bacon (worth the cost of admission by itself), sausage and potatoes, and finished with a heavenly Praline Cheesecake. The staff was fun and enjoyed our Red Hats (our companions made me and Bob honorary members for the day) and the jazz trio was terrific.

Late Night Saturday - Remoulade (Arnaud's casual arm). The Catfish Po-Boy and Cajun hot sausage Po-Boy hit the spot after a few hours on Bourbon Street - hot, fresh and delicious. Extra points for the veteran waiter who matter-of-factly took out a water bug across the room while a young couple cringed in horror. It was Bourbon Street, in July, at midnight – I can’t say I was shocked to see a bug.

Sunday - Ralphs On The Park Jazz Brunch

We all had Corn and Crab Soup, which was outstanding. I had a trio plate of Brioche French toast, Sausage stuffed apple (deliciously caramelized), and Andouille strips (yum!), Bob had a delightful Shrimp Salad with afresh fava bean vinaigrette and, finally, a bountiful serving of Creole Tomatoes, garnished with fried Vadalia onions which were heavenly. Our companion had the Salmon & Crab Hash, which I was leery of because I am a very fussy salmon eater. It was simply amazing and delicious. No problems with food or service at Ralph’s, I’d recommend it highly.

Sunday, we moved from the Sheraton to the Hotel Monteleone as the town battened down for Hurricane Dennis, which fortunately missed us. I assume the impending storm was the reason that the service at Mr Bs seemed so amateur at dinner - that and the place was packed but only with tourists, which really changed the atmosphere from when I stuck my head in earlier in the day (what part of "dressy casual" don't people on vacation understand? There was even a woman in jeans and a tank top at Galatoire’s Tuesday, but I digress . . . ).

Is there any reason why any restaurant with a computerized point of sale system can't offer split checks? And who teaches their servers to treat Lambic beer only as wine and to not offer it when asked about the beer selection? Oh well - food was not delivered hot, and you could see the staff juggling it, not sure what to bring to who (and making several mistakes, but not making any adjustments to the affected people’s checks). The food was ok - the Fried Green Tomatoes w/crab appetizer was outstanding, in fact, but the Redfish En Papilotte was ho-hum - it wasn't until after this dinner that I consulted "Eating New Orleans", which cautioned against farmed redfish, which may have explained the three servings of it I’d sampled thus far. Bob's Gumbo Ya-Ya and BBQ Shrimp were very tasty, but not served very hot. The others in our group were generally pleased, but because the service wasn't very good, the food suffered. It took forever to get my Sazerac and glass of seltzer refilled; Bob was almost done eating by the time his second Abita Amber showed up. It then took over 30 minutes for us to divide our check among 8 people (which included returning it thrice for the servers to correct mistakes on it), and the place was packed and could have used that table sooner.

After, we had drinks at the Carousel Bar at the Hotel Monteleone (which also mixes a nice Milk Punch). What a cool place – with an old carousel motif, and the seats actually revolve around the bar! Too bad it was so smoky . . .

Monday - my birthday - we got up very late and decided to nibble through town. We started with the obvious at Café Dumond. Then, down Decatur Street to Samarai Sushi. Our conventionmates had discovered this place - local ingredients (softshell and lump crab and local finfish) rolled with cajun spices (and avocado on one) on wonderful sushi rice. They were about to close post-lunch when we walked in; we begged them to let us sit at the sushi bar for a couple of sushi rolls and beers - and they relented - it was so good! We watched them prep a beautiful whole salmon, and huge tuna sections; if we weren’t so full, we might have spent the whole afternoon there!

After a break, we decided to try to brave the smoke at Coops - we got them right between lunch and afternoon crowds so it was bearable to smoke-o-phobe me - and well worth it for the cup of rabbit-sausage jambalaya we shared. The Abita Turbodog was pulled at just the right drinking temperature, too.

Prior to dinner, as a livelong Bugs Bunny fan, I wanted to indulge a long-held fantasy to go into Antoine’s (if you’ve been reading the EG thread on cartoons and food references, you know why), however, all of our advisors (and Eating New Orleans) counseled against eating there – so I figured just a drink. Imagine my disappointment to enter the stately place and learn they had no bar! Especially since 4 people were heading to meet us. Fortunately, thanks to the cell phone, the birthday pre-dinner drink moved across the street, to Alex Patout’s, though apparently the bar is called “Gennifer Flower’s Kelsto Club”. There we encountered Gennifer Flowers’s husband, Finis D. Shelnutt, tending bar and concocting some wonderful drinks using local flavors (loved what he did with the Praline Liquor). The space was just amazing – we tried to return later that night for another drink, but it was closed.

For my birthday dinner, we got Food Bar table overlooking the open kitchen at NOLA. All six of us decided to get the Chef's Tasting Menu with wine flights. It turned into an interesting experience.

The gemuse of marinated mozzerella was intriguing and tasty. First course of Blue Crab Bisque with caviar and creme fraiche was exquisite, though a little cool by the time it was actually served to us. Second course of bronzed sea scallops (with a marvelous glaze), Lardon Bacon, Fingerling Potatoes, Tuffled Leeks and Smoked Tomato Cream Sauce was heavenly. Then came the entrée – pan fried Filet Mignon with “Emeril’s Jumbo Gulf Shrimp”, Risotto, Baby Artichokes and Crispy Parsnips. Everything on the plate was wonderful – except the only local seafood item on the menu (other than the crab in the bisque): the shrimp! To say they were ammoniated would be kind. I told the young line cook at the station in front of us, and she couldn’t believe it. She asked one of the more experienced line cooks, who was at my left elbow, to taste it. I offered him a pristine one – he sniffed, then 86’d it hard without a taste. I then insisted that the young lady in front of us smell another whole one (for educational reasons, since she didn’t know what the word “ammoniated” meant), – she also pitched it without a taste, making a face that summed it up!

Amazingly, they’d been serving that shrimp all night to a crowded house. I was told that I was the first to complain about it. Heck, 4 of the 6 in our group ate their shrimp and didn’t realize how bad it was. So when the manager came over to respond to my complaint (after the plates had been removed), he respectfully asked if we had shown any of the bad shrimp to any of the staff – the two cooks who had smelled them agreed that they were bad. Satisfied that the shrimp was indeed bad, the house then did the following: 1. My entire dinner, including my wine flights, came off of our check 2. They gave a round of Lemondrop shots to our party. 3. They allowed us to choose any desserts from the menu (Guava-Lime Cream Pie on Banana Crust with fresh berries and Coco-rum sauce came with the chef’s table). I chose the bread pudding with ice cream, and wound up bringing half of the pudding back to the hotel. So, even though I was terribly disappointed that the local product bombed – (would Emeril be embarrassed that a product served with his name on it on the menu -- “Emeril’s Jumbo Gulf Shrimp” - could be so foul) – the meal overall was very good and we walked out stuffed and satisfied that the restaurant had done what it could to make a bad situation better.

Tuesday - - Galatoire's - lunch was delicious and entertaining. Yes, this place is everything that everyone says it is, both the servers and the patrons, and most important, the great food. We shared an appetizer of puffed potatoes & fried eggplant strips with remoulade, and we each ordered the same entrée (it just sounded too good!): Lemonfish w/crab, shrimp, and butter sauce on the side. Truthfully, these shrimp could have been fresher, but there was so much delectable fish and crabmeat on the plate that this was of no genuine consequence.

We waddled to the trolley and the D-Day museum; walking helped. Then, we took the streetcar to the Garden District and had drinks at Igor's Garlic House - which looked too interesting to pass up. We still had no room for food, but the garlic-infused menu looked pretty darn cool. Again, though, the smoke drove us outward and onward.

On the trolley back to Canal Street, I realized that we hadn't yet had any pralines or Hubig's pies, and we were leaving in the morning! We headed to the French Quarter fearing we were too late (it was almost 7pm). Fortunately, Southern Candy Makers’ (recommended by “Eating New Orleans”) store by the French Market is open until 8pm, so we got our candy fix (and it was yummy). They also pointed us to a liquor store selling Hubig's.

Finally - our last restaurant meal - The Bon Ton Cafe. This place was heavily praised by some, and spoken well of in Eating New Orleans, so we wanted to try it. As hard as we rushed after obtaining our pralines, though, we didn't get there until about 9:10pm (they list their closing time as 9:30). Still, there were others eating there, and we were cheerfully seated. Our server, Pat, was a sweetheart. We decided to do the multi-course option for our meals. I started with Gumbo (shrimp& sausage) - the shrimps were delicious (no going back after an epiphany, I guess, if the product is good). Bob had Turtle Soup - it was the best of the trip. We each enjoyed a nice salad.

Then, the wheels sort of came off - my Black Drum grilled with cajun spices, and topped with Onion Rings (with Cream Cauliflower on the side) was so tasty - but the main plate was at a warm-tepid temp and the cauliflower ice cold. Bob's Filet Mignon was ordered medium rare, but came out well done; his side of roasted potatoes was like my cauliflower. The owner/manager apologized and offered us a drink while the sides and steak were remade (Pat offered to reheat my fish - but it was so perfectly cooked, more heat would have ruined it - I did enjoy it; and I really didn’t need another order of Onion Rings, though these were intriguing and probably would have been outstanding had they been hot). We finished, after eating the re-done items, with Bread Pudding and Praline Ice Cream. The hot cauliflower was worth waiting for, since the sauce complimented the fish perfectly.

After dessert, Pat told us that the manager/owner had comped our check. He stopped by and again apologized; explaining that the kitchen had started to close up a little early and he would not abide it. We appreciated what he did – but what are the odds that two meals in a row at two great NOLA restaurants could go wrong? Hey, it happens. We would certainly go back to Bon Ton when we are next in town.

Wednesday - We checked out of the hotel and munched the leftover NOLA bread pudding and a Hubig's Pie in the lobby.

At the Airport, we struggled between trying the Acme outlet or Legend's. When I read a sign that said Legend's is owned by Pampy's, and that it cooks to order, we decided to try it. I got a Jambalaya pasta, which had tasty sausage and tangy sauce, but the shrimp was inedible (oy, such a critic I’ve become on that which I used to not even eat). Bob's Mufellata was pretty good, and half of it wound up coming home.

What a wonderful trip - thanks again to those of you who counseled us. We thought Mothers was just too touristy when we peeked in - maybe on another trip we can catch it "off hours" and sample their food. I’m glad we did Commander’s for the experience (and we got to walk through the kitchen twice – cool!) , but I wouldn’t rush to it or Mr. Bs again; there are too many better choices. Definitely, Brigsten’s, Bayona and Ralph’s were standouts.

We can’t wait to visit again!

[little ms foodie]

Thank you so much for an outstanding trip report! friends and I are going in Sept. and your comments will come in handy.

Did you like the Monteleone? we have booked that also.

Was it hard to get the kitchen counter at NOLA? Do you book that in advance? We have the Sommeliers table booked at Commanders Palace but are still looking for a chef's table of sort.

[maggiethecat]

Thanks for your review of Bon Ton. It's been praised over the moon to me by a client, but in my two visits to NO in the last year or two I haven't made it. It's good to have a balanced review of the place -- still want to give it a try.

And Bayonna will definitely be on my list. Thanks for the great post. And think of it: you still have Upperline to look forward to!

[NancyH]

Did you like the Monteleone? we have booked that also.

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We loved it! Mayhaw Man recommended it and it was perfect and reasonably priced. The only caveat is that the rooms are pretty small, and since it is an old hotel, there are steps in some places you might not expect them - make sure you address that in advance if you have any mobility issues.

Was it hard to get the kitchen counter at NOLA? Do you book that in advance? We have the Sommeliers table booked at Commanders Palace but are still looking for a chef's table of sort.

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No problem with NOLA - I requested the table about a month in advance - but it was a Monday night in July; it might take a more advance reservation for a more premium night/time of year.

One couple at our convention did the "inside the kitchen" table at Commanders and loved it, but I think you need to request that about a year in advance.

[NancyH]

Thanks for your review of Bon Ton. It's been praised over the moon to me by a client, but in my two visits to NO in the last year or two I haven't made it.  It's good to have a balanced review of the place -- still want to give it a try.

And Bayonna will definitely be on my list. Thanks for the great post. And think of it: you still have Upperline to look forward to!

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I would definitely give Bon Ton a try; try to get there further away from closing if you can! Also - one caveat - it is a single-room restaurant and smoking is permitted. Ironically, the night we were there, none of the patrons were smoking, but we could smell it coming from the back of the house (after 9:30). Be sure to try their Turtle Soup.

I believe that Bayona does a wine tasting dinner every Wednesday (though Susan Spicer does not usually cook it - it is her night off); check out their website.

[Chowhound]

Last time I was in New Orleans I ate twice at Masparo's Cafe and Mike Andersons on Bourbon.

Fried Oysters at Masparos and fried shrip at Mike Andersons. They were some ot the best I have ever had. Very reasonable! Entrees were under 13.