Brigtsen’s

723 Dante St
New Orleans
504-861-7610 http://www.brigtsens.com/

*photo courtesy of the Brigtsen's website, as we didn't remember to take any!
Overall Ratings (H in orange, C in purple)
Food: A / A
Ambiance: B/ B
Service: B/A
Drinks: B+
Overall Experience: A-/ A-

C says, I had been wanting to go to Brigtsen’s for years, so when H offered to take me anywhere for my birthday, that’s what I picked! Brigtsen’s is in the Riverbend, right across the street from Dante’s Kitchen (another yummy choice, but that’s a different review). I was not disappointed in my choice!

H says, I really thought C was going to ask to go somewhere she knew but she surprised me with this one, and it was quite enjoyable. A nice, small restaurant that has a very uptown feel. It is located in an old house like many restaurants in the uptown area. I enjoyed it quite a lot. Overall, just a very enjoyable experience. If you are in the area, I would suggest giving it a try.

My Top 5 so far:

1) GW Fins
2) Muriel’s
3) Brigtsen’s
4) Adolfo’s
5) Clancy’s (I haven’t taken C there yet)

C says, All of H's top 5 restaurants are really good; I also love Commander's Palace, Galatoire's, Antoine's, and Patois, but he hasn't been to most of those yet!

Overall thoughts from H:

When we first walked in, I felt a little under-dressed as most people were in jackets and slacks, so I would suggest semi-formal dress. Overall the decor was a bit forgettable. It felt like most uptown restaurants, on the older side with some pictures. I am ok with it, but it doesn’t really do anything for me either. [C says, the restaurant is in an old Creole cottage. It's cozy, with dim lighting. It does feel a little like it caters to an older clientele, but there certainly wasn't anything uncomfortable about it.]

Now for the food: My main course was a blackened tuna with an amazing sauce. [C says, It was the Blackened Tuna with Smoked Corn Sauce, Red Bean Salsa, & Roasted Red Pepper Sour Cream.] It was to die for...C may say that I was scared because of the description that they might overcook the tuna, but that’s a lie, I totally believed they could pull it off. [C says, He was completely scared, both that they would overcook the tuna and that he wouldn't like the sauces. But, he loved it! See what being adventurous gets you?] The dessert was, of course, bread pudding. Quite good, but not up to Muriel’s or GW Fins standards. In the end I would give it a Solid A-.

C says, I don't think H or I ordered appetizers, which is kind of unusual for us, but I think we were not overwhelmingly hungry. I do remember my main course, though: Broiled Gulf Fish with Crabmeat Parmesan Crust, Mushrooms, & Lemon Mousselline Sauce. It was completely delicious. The Sauce was basically like a hollandaise, if maybe a little thicker. Really excellent. I also had the Double Chocolate Cake for dessert--after all, it was my birthday! It was a very generous slice of cake. Quite tasty, too, but I couldn't finish all of it. Next time, I am definitely going to try the seafood platter. I think we had eaten a big lunch or something and I just wasn't sure I could eat it all, but next time I am going to give it a shot! 

Red Fish Grill

Red Fish Grill
115 Bourbon Street • New Orleans, LA • 70130
(504) 598-1200 http://www.redfishgrill.com

Overall Ratings (H in orange, C in purple)
Food: B / B+
Ambiance: C / C
Service:  C / A-
Drinks: F (probably a bit harsh)
Overall Experience: C / B

C says, I know a lot of people who are very fond of Red Fish Grill, so we decided to try it out for restaurant week here in NOLA. The location is down on Bourbon, right off Canal, which is not my favorite place to try to go/park, but we got down there with few problems. You’ve got the lovely ambiance of Bourbon to start you off--it’s right behind the Hustler club--and it has a very tourist-y feel as you enter. It’s definitely one of the more casual Brennan’s restaurants. (It’s on the Ralph Brennan side of the family.)

H says, when C says the lovely ambiance of Bourbon St., she means that it smelled worse than--well, I won’t say because it’s inappropriate, but it was awful I wanted to gag. When we first walked in the door, I knew this wasn’t the place for me. Too open, too loud, too bright, and just not what I want in a dinner place. If I was drunk or going out with friends to do some damage I might start the evening here, but most likely I wouldn’t. Personally I don’t plan on ever going again.

Overall thoughts from H:

I was really looking forward to going to the Red Fish Grill. I had heard a lot of great things about it from people at my office. Take a taxi to get here if you can, being located on Bourbon it is a pain to find a place to park. But in all honesty, take a cab, but just keep walking and go to GW Fins instead--but, I digress. Once you arrive, you have the option of waiting in the bar for your table, but from the looks of it you can just eat in the bar as well. The space is large and open, and the floor is concrete and the sound travels extensively. Even the back room where we were seated felt too exposed. Also the lighting was far too bright, I like a nice cozy feeling when I am going out to eat. I don’t like feeling like I am on display. [C says, The lighting didn’t really bother me, and I was glad we were in a smaller room that was a little more secluded, but the atmosphere was definitely not one we prefer--like I said, it felt very touristy.]

I ordered a glass of their red wine and when it was brought out, it just didn’t taste right. I thought it might have been something to do with the food interacting badly so I just tried to sip it throughout the meal. This was my mistake. It was simply an awful glass of wine. I told them to take it away. I thought they might offer a discount or something on it but no, nada, nothing. Simply put that in my mind is unacceptable. If you bring me a glass of wine and it is just plain bad I shouldn’t have to pay for it. [C says, the mistake H made was that he didn’t complain until our meal was basically done and he had drunk at least half of the glass. He also made the complaint to the “lesser” of the two waiters who were serving our table. I think if he had complained right away and/or to the head waiter, the outcome may have been different.]  As for the other parts of the meal, I ordered an appetizer of crab cakes, which were very good. I thought they were light, fluffy, and tasted great. Unfortunately, it went downhill from here. It took a VERY short amount of time for our food to come out; we had barely finished our appetizer when the main course came out. I enjoy good service but in this case it felt more like they were trying to rush us through the meal so they could get us in and out. My main meal was a sesame seed tuna with salad, which was good but the tuna was cold all the way through even though it had been cooked on the outside and the salad was massive. It was ok, but honestly felt more like a salad you would get at Outback. It was ok, but not worth the price I payed for it. Dessert was a chocolate bread pudding with both white and chocolate sauce poured out. It was quite good but the experience as a whole was so off-putting I would never go there again.

C says, I had the shrimp and corn bisque, which came out in an adorable miniature pot. It was good, but nothing spectacular. I think I could find something comparable in almost any restaurant in town. H’s crabcake was definitely better. For dinner, I had the Tagliatelle pasta with Louisiana blue crab, wild mushrooms, asparagus, and tasso. It was good, but seemed like there should have been more pasta, especially since H’s salad looked so abundant. However, the portion was satisfying, and I probably wouldn’t have had room for dessert if it was more generous. Again, it was good, but nothing special. As for H’s salad, I will say that the dressing was quite tasty and the fact that he ate any salad at all means it must’ve been pretty good. Both the appetizer and the entrees came out REALLY quickly, and H is right, it felt a little rushed. I had the blackberry cobbler with creole cream cheese ice cream for dessert, which was good, but not nearly as good as H’s chocolate bread pudding, which was insane. If you do go, I’d reccommend that dessert hands-down.

Overall, the food was not bad at all, and some things were really good. It just doesn’t have the atmosphere or the location we prefer, and there are so many other good restaurants in town that we won’t rush back to this one.

Muriel's

Muriel’s
801 Chartres Street New Orleans, LA 70116 (on the corner of Jackson Square)
(504) 568-1885 http://www.muriels.com/

Overall Ratings (H in orange, C in purple)
Food: B+ / A
Ambiance: A / A
Service: B+ / A-
Drinks: B+
Overall Experience: B+ / A

H says, I really enjoyed Muriel’s. It has a classic New-Orleans-type feel. The location is perfect as well, situated on Jackson Square. I would recommend an early reservation as it is a popular establishment and I think the wait time on the food may be longer the later into the evening you get. If you are in New Orleans for more than a few days, you need to try this place out. Very New Orleans, and very delicious.

C says, I was eager to try Muriel’s, since I had had their food at festivals but never in the restaurant itself. I thought the atmosphere was really lovely and the staff was attentive (we had an early reservation, which helped, because it is less crowded). We went last month, when the COOLinary specials were still going on (http://www.coolinaryneworleans.com/), and it was a great deal. I would definitely go back.

Overall thoughts from H:
We arrived a bit late due to the first Saints preseason game being the same night...don’t try getting a taxi on a game day. Just doesn’t happen. But after a long walk and a bit of bitching on my end about how freaking hot it is here in the summer, we arrived. [C says, At least it didn’t start raining on us! It did start raining right after we arrived.] Upon entering my mood improved dramatically; the lighting is dim but nice and the A/C was heavenly. We were seated by a window surrounded by older pictures. [C says, Our table was tucked in a corner and I thought it was very cozy. We could also look out at the people milling around Jackson Square.] We had 2 waiters: 1 for food and 1 for drinks. I had a glass of the house Cabernet Sauvignon and when I say house wine I mean they have their own version bottled for them with their own label by a winery. It is fantastic. 

Goat Cheese Crepes

For my appetizer, I had the pan-seared redfish cake; it was fantastic. Although C had her crepes, I was more than happy to keep my redfish cake for myself...though I did give her a bite. [C says, When you go to Muriel’s, you have to get the goat cheese crepes as an appetizer. They are served with a crawfish or shrimp sauce depending on the season, and Muriel’s is known for them. H’s app was very tasty, but he is forgetting how good my crepes were--he was coveting them a bit and I had to give him several bites!] 

Double-cut Pork Chop

The main course was a pork chop that was HUGE. I was not a big fan of the sauce and sides as I thought it was too much apple and didn’t let the smokiness or flavor of the meat come through. [C says, the chop was a monster. The glaze and sides (sweet potatoes and greens) had a very autumnal feel. I lhought H’s sides were quite good, but you have to like sweet potatoes and southern greens (not sure if they were collards or a combination). H got a couple of meals out of the chop even though he didn’t love the sides.] It was perfectly done, though, and I can’t blame them for my disliking it too much. Now onto the dessert: in one word--Fantastic. Bread pudding, of course! Although they didn’t serve it with vanilla ice cream (my favorite), it did in fact have caramelized nuts on top. There was a lot of it and a great taste, but if I had to choose I would still take GW Fin’s over it, but just barely. [C says, it was really tasty. The top tasted bruleed, and the candied pecans and rum sauce were awesome. It was a very generous portion, too. I also give GW the edge on their bread pudding, but only because I love chocolate!]

Bread Pudding

I also decided to get a glass of the bananas foster drink that was on the dessert menu. I thought it would be well just a well-type drink or shot or something...what I ended up with was a whitish martini...not what I really wanted, but it was pretty good. I think next time I will stick with a nice glass of Amaretto, though.

Butterscotch Pudding

C says, As mentioned above, I had the crepes first--phenomenal. For my entree, I had Pan Crusted Puppy Drum, served with oven-roasted pecan and jumbo lump crabmeat relish, with a lemon butter sauce. It was incredibly delicious. For dessert, I had the Black Bottom Butterscotch Pudding. It’s served in a little teacup--butterscotch pudding on top, and as you dig down, you get the chocolate syrup at the bottom. On top is a tiny homemade oreo with praline filling. It was so delicious, and a good size--not too large, thankfully, as I was stuffed from the meal (and a few bites of H’s bread pudding!). H also made me get a drink because he thinks it is boring that I always order water, so they made me a virgin mojito, which was quite tasty. Overall, I thought it was a great experience. They also have wrapped butter mints as you leave--in Saints wrappers. Excellent touch. :)

New England Ice Cream

H says, First off, I love ice cream. If I could, I would eat nothing but it. This is a short list of ice cream eateries that we tried while on vacation. I might be biased but trust me, the ratings are accurate. C says, I love ice cream, too--who doesn’t? But Henry is crazy for the stuff. He didn’t want to go a single day without it while we were on vacay.
Emack & Bolio's
http://www.emackandbolios.com/
C and I arrived on Cape Cod late in the evening and I decided that I would introduce her to the amazing market up the street that had its own ice cream place. It used to be a Ben and Jerry’s but had changed to Emack and Bolio’s. One word for it: Horrendous. Absolutely the worst ice cream I have ever had. Not creamy, not tasty. It wasn’t even that sweet. I honestly don’t understand how they could make ice cream so bland and tasteless. I even tried a milkshake much later in the trip and even it was not very good. My dad went there a couple of nights ago and he asked for a sundae with hot fudge...at 8pm on a weekend on Cape Cod...they said they were out. Seriously!? How is that even possible? The next night he tried again and they were still out. Take my advice and avoid  this ice cream chain like the plague, just awful. C says, I had seen an outlet of E&B’s in Boston, so I was interested to try it. It really wasn’t very good--not completely inedible, but not enjoyable. Don’t waste the calories.

Katie's Ice Cream
http://www.katiesicecreamcapecod.com/

To  be fair, this location is owned by my aunt, but it is by far the best ice cream you will ever have. It is made on site every day and is amazing. Smooth, creamy and delicious best describe the ice cream here. The Cape Cod Sand is their special recipe they don’t tell anyone what is in it. (C says, they won’t even describe it--they just offer you a taste if you ask about it.) I highly recommend it. My favorite is normally the cookie dough, but this year they had a cake batter ice cream that was to die for. Just the best, I had it in sundaes, milkshakes and as a quart I bought and brought home to eat. C says, Henry is definitely biased, but the ice cream is honestly superb. I tried at least 10 different flavors, and they were all good. I’d especially recommend the Cape Cod Mud, Cape Cod Sand, and Harminty.

Smitty’s Homemade Ice Cream
https://www.facebook.com/smittysic

There was another place on the Mashpee rotary that we tried, it was ok but nothing to write home about. My suggestion is if you are ever on Cape Cod drive out to Katies and have a scoop, or 5. You will not be disappointed. C says, I thought this place was pretty good. H didn’t like it as much because they didn’t have rainbow sprinkles. But I had a scoop of the coffee oreo flavor and it was creamy and delicious, and H had soft serve which was also good. So if you are stopping at the seafood shop next door to get some lobsters, you might as well grab some ice cream, too.

Sea Swirl
http://www.seaswirlofmystic.com/

The good news was that back in Connecticut my favorite place for soft serve had not changed at all. Sea Swirl is located in Mystic, CT, right near the coast and a small stream. It is a lovely place to get some fried seafood and have soft serve. I got chocolate and vanilla with rainbow sprinkles in a large waffle cone--the perfect way to have soft serve. So if you are ever in or driving by Mystic stop over at Sea Swirl and give it a go. It is wonderful. C says, The soft serve at Sea Swirl was quite yummy. The corn fritters were ok, too, but much more fritter than corn.

Just an FYI for people not from New England, all of these ice cream stores are closed in the off season.

Boston Eats

C says, I have been fortunate enough to be in Boston for a few days, unfortunately without H. So, I am diverting from our usual format to give a short run-down of where I’ve eaten. H says, not that she stopped telling me about all the delicious food she was eating while I was at work. It’s like water torture for me. I love Boston.

Legal seafoods: http://www.legalseafoods.com/ (various locations) 

You can’t throw a rock in Boston without hitting Legal Seafoods, but this is an iconic, quality chain. It was my first stop in Boston. I had a cup of clam chowder and the mussels, and on the subsequent visit, the lobster bisque. The bisque was divine--it edges out the chowder for yumminess--but is extremely rich. The mussels were nothing short of AMAZING. Nicely spicy, perfectly sauced, and some nice, crusty rolls to go with. The appetizer portion is quite generous, and the combo of that and the chowder had me stuffed. I was tempted to try the lobster roll, but when lobster is  $3-$5/lb up here, the cheapest in years, your “market price” of $23.95 does not seem like a good deal! That price was not completely out of line with other places, though you can even get a lobster roll at chains like Panera and Au Bon Pain up here. H says, much like a BMW, you are paying a bit of a premium to eat at Legal Seafood, but there is no denying the quality.

Boston Chowda Co: http://www.bostonchowda.com/

Voted the best clam chowda in Boston, so I had to try  them out. The chowder was absolutely delish, very affordable, and narrowly edges out Legal for tastiness. I got the lobster roll combo, which was a lobster roll, chowder, and a drink for $16.95. The lobster roll is the mayo-style lobster salad on a traditional top-split bun that has been grilled. Tasty, but again, very rich.

Sweet Cupcakes: http://www.sweetcupcakes.com/

I stopped in for a small cupcake (about $1.75). I got the chocolate with chocolate frosting. The frosting was not overly sweet, but there was so much of it--probably as much frosting as cake, which is  not my ideal ratio. Not bad, but n ot mind-blowing. Sucre at home in  NOLA is my benchmark for cupcakes, and they didn‘t make the grade. An affordable sweet treat, though. i ,will say that the cupcake I had at a conference function at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel was better.

Towne: http://towneboston.com/

I went to Towne for a conference-related function, so I didn’t order off of the menu, but the food they catered for the event was delicious (mostly antipasto, and a really tasty Israeli cous cous and calamari salad, thin crust Margherita pizza, etc.)

Teuscher Chocolates: http://www.teuscherboston.com/

Two pieces cost me almost $4. I had the caramel truffle and some sort of nougat concoction. They were tasty, but did not live up to the 3 pieces I picked up from the Lindt store, which were  also cheaper. It was an  interesting little shop, but I’d recommend heading to Lindt instead!

Skipjack’s: https://www.skipjacks.com/
I had the cioppino, which was delish! Shrimp,calamari, mussels, and scallops in a lobster-tomato broth with a piece of garlic toast. I would have liked more bread, but it was very good. My friend had the seafood Cobb salad, which was huge, with shrimp, smoked salmon, and lobster salad on it. He said it was great. H says, Oh, god why aren’t I in Boston too :(...most fantastic city on the East Coast.

House of Siam: http://houseofsiamboston.com/

I was excited to go eat some Thai because I love it and H never wants to go with me. I stumbled upon this place, so I decided to go in, since they were prominently advertising multiple awards for being the best Thai in Boston. The restaurant was cute and each table had a vase with 3 fresh roses, which was a sweet touch. I got the pad thai, because I usually like to test out a Thai place on that basic, popular dish. It was a big portion, came quickly,and was pretty tasty.Not the best I’ve ever had, but I was satisfied. However, shortly after leaving the restaurant I broke out in hives all over my face and shoulders! I don’t have any food allergies that I know of, so it was very strange. I have to assume it was the food , though because I don’t think I encountered anything else in  the meantime. So, I don’t think I’d go back, just to be safe.  H says, ok might leave that off my list...

Adolfo's

611 Frenchmen Street  New Orleans, LA 70116
(504) 948-3800    No website!
(Sorry again for the lack of photos--we'll update the next time we eat here.) 


Overall Ratings (H in orange, C in purple) 
Food: B+/A-
Ambiance: A/A-
Service: B-/B
Drinks: B
Overall Experience: B+/A-

H says, Adolfo’s is my favorite place for a night out when friends are in town. It is not too expensive but the food is great and the decor is cozy, just the way I like it. It is a bit hot in the summer but not too bad as you can wear a t-shirt and shorts and be fine. The best part is it is located on Frenchmen St, which means you can leave dinner and go catch some live music and drinks after without having to drive or take a cab. So if you have friends in town that have never been to New Orleans, go here your first night, just make sure you show up by 6 or there won’t be any tables left. Cash only, but don’t worry, they have an ATM in the restaurant. 


C says, This is another restaurant that I had heard a lot about but never tried til I went with H. It's located above the Apple Barrel on Frenchmen, and it is tiny. No reservations, cash only. The food is good and the prices are reasonable. (Entrees range from $13.25-$25.50, with most under $20.) The food is Creole Italian/Seafood, and I'd recommend the fish. They change what is available depending upon what's fresh, and then you just pick your sauce. Yum! 
Overall thoughts from H: 
First thing's first, make sure you go to Adolfo’s and not the Apple Barrel. The restaurant is above the bar and accessed by the small staircase on the side. Don’t get spooked; just walk up the stairs and through the door. It is a very small place with a tiny kitchen. The floor is crooked and everything looks like it is from the 80’s or 90’s but I just love it. [C says, I'd say the decor's older-looking than that, but it may just be that the building is so old.] Reminds me of the great family restaurants in Boston.

The drinks list is not extensive but their wine is good and they usually have a discount on the red wine at the tables, which is normally a Chianti. The menu is long but the jist of it is this: skip the pasta dishes, all the fish dishes come with a side salad or pasta. Order the fish. First they will tell you which fish they have in stock for the day, then figure out which sauce you want. Make sure you order the mussels appetizer and ASK for the white wine sauce. It is not on the menu but if you ask they will make it and it is amazing. [C says, We love the mussels here, and whenever we eat mussels elsewhere, we see how they measure up. Sorry, Tempt, not even in the ballpark!] They also sometimes have a rack of lamb which is amazing. It depends on what you feel.

Now there if there is one bad thing you can say about Adolfo’s, it is the service. The waiter knows me by face but has still gotten my pasta order wrong every time I order. I am not sure at this point if he is playing with me or what, but at this point it is just something C and I laugh about every time I order. [C says, The pasta that comes with the fish is served on the side and comes with red sauce, but H always requests alfredo instead, and the waiter always brings him the red anyway. We did have a different, younger waiter last time and had no such problem. Otherwise the service is good, and any little quirks just seem fitting with the atmosphere and worth a giggle.]

For my meal, I went with the Grouper with the shrimp and crawfish sauce. It is a large portion. Very delicious but very big. The desserts are not great, but most of the time you won’t have any room anyways. [C says, H thinks any place that puts raisins in bread pudding does not have good desserts, even though that is traditional! Take this warning with a grain of salt.] My suggestion would be to skip dessert and walk down to any of the local bars to grab a drink and listen to some music. It’s a great way to finish a great meal.


C says, H always gets the pasta with his fish, but I always opt for the salad. If you like salad, I'd urge you in that direction--you're going to have more than enough food and their house dressing is a creamy creole-mustard concoction--it's really yummy. I've had drum and grouper here, as well as one of the pasta dishes, and the fish is the way to go in my opinion. I especially like the crabmeat sauce (Fish Cruz), but you can get the fish with ocean sauce: they cover half the fish with the crabmeat sauce and half with the shrimp and crawfish sauce. That way you can try H's fave and my fave at once! I have never had room for dessert here, so I can't even tell you what they serve or if it is any good. If you get the mussels first, followed by the fish, you won't have room for dessert either and may even take some food home.

G.W. Fins

808 Bienville St, New Orleans, LA 70112
504-581-FINS   http://gwfins.com
 
(I promise we'll work on getting photos of the food, but we haven't been to GW since before we got the idea for this blog! the photos featured here are from the restaurant's Facebook page.)

Overall Ratings (H in orange, C in purple)
Food: A+/A
Ambiance: A+/A
Service: A/A
Drinks: A+
Overall Experience: A+/A

H says, Much like our Olympic athletes, GW gives it 110%! This wonderful restaurant is by far my favorite in New Orleans so far. The prices are a bit higher, but again, the service, the food, and the wine are all top-notch. If you want to go out for the evening and have an amazing meal in a great atmosphere, go here. If you don’t, go anyway--you will love it.

C says, H introduced me to GW Fins. Though I had heard about it (and had eaten their lobster po-boy at the Po-boy Festival: OMG), I had never been to the restaurant. It is a great place to go for a nice night out. Entrees range from $21-$38, with the majority just under $30, which is certainly not cheap, but not exorbitant for a special occasion by any means. The thing I like best is that they change their menu every day based on what is fresh, so you know you're getting the best fish. (There are a couple non-seafood entrees on the menu, but when you're at what has been dubbed the best seafood restaurant in New Orleans, get the fish!)
Overall thoughts from H:
First step, make a reservation. If you plan on eating in the dinning room anytime after 7pm, make a reservation and when you do, ask for a booth in the back. The back booths are perfectly lit and allow you to look out over the rest of the dinning room. It is, in one word, perfect. Dress is business casual. The first time I went, I wore a jacket and did not feel out of place, but just a collared shirt and slacks will work just as well. [C says, The back booths are really nice and cozy, and you'd probably be comfortable in anything from a sundress to a cocktail dress, depending on your mood!]

Once seated, you are presented with a menu which changes daily based on what fresh fish and foods they got in that day. They tend to stick to a few dishes, all of which are amazing but you will almost always see something new when you go. The wine list is amazing--a great selection by the glass and by the bottle. If you are unsure of what to get, ask the waiter when you order. I tend to stick with red wine regardless, but my Dad had a number of white wines which he enjoyed. [C says, Their signature dish is the "scalibut": halibut topped with sliced scallops and served with lobster risotto. Delish, if just a touch salty. But, everything I have had there has been good--you can't go wrong.]

Now, once you have ordered food and wine, they start bringing out biscuits. Warm and delicious with butter, if you finish these, they bring more, and more and more, until you stop eating them. Be careful or you will fill up on these and not want dessert. Trust me, wait, it will be worth it.

The last time I went, I had my favorite, Yellowfin Tuna served rare with light vegetables and sticky rice. This meal is to die for. The fish is perfect and the sides absolutely enhance the dish. If they have it on the menu and you enjoy tuna, get it. The servers will continually check on you throughout the meal to make sure you have everything you need. It is not overbearing and every time I was about to complain about something they would solve it before I said a word. The only reason I gave them an A instead of an A+ is that they don’t grovel over you the way they do at Commander's. Which is fine, but an A+ is for perfection, as as much as I love G.W. Fins, the restaurant isn’t really set up this way.

For dessert, I would recommend the bread pudding, as it is fantastic. Also, I believe all bread pudding should come with vanilla ice cream and they were happy to add this to my desert; making it absolutely perfect. Any of the other desserts are great as well, but the bread pudding is fantastic. [C says, the bread pudding is white chocolate bread pudding with dark chocolate chunks and caramel. It really is delicious.] Did it come through that I really enjoyed my experience at G.W. Fins? I absolutely plan on being back time and time again. Right now, actually they have a great summer special where you can get a 3 course meal for $35. That is well worth it as well, but if you want the full experience, I would go with it, it may be a bit more expensive but definitely worth it.

C says, The summer special is a great deal (my three courses were cheaper than H's wine!). It is only Sunday-Thursday, and the menu changes daily. Last time I had the crispy lobster appetizer, which is basically the lobster from the po-boy they make at the Po-Boy festival--yum!, then the flounder, and finally the chocolate cherry cake with butter pecan ice cream. The ice cream was splendid. I also have to give a shout out to the sizzling smoked oysters that are often available as an appetizer (H's dad would be so upset if we didn't mention them!)--they are really delicious, though they don't top Drago's charbroiled oysters for me. This is definitely H's favorite, and I love it, too. I'm happy to go whenever he wants!

Tempt

931 Canal St., New Orleans, LA (in The Saint hotel)
http://www.thesainthotelneworleans.com/tempt.html
(Sorry for the lack of photos on this one--we didn't think to snap a couple, and the website/Facebook for the restaurant has no photos worth using)

Overall Ratings (H in orange, C in purple)
Food: B-/C
Ambiance: C-/B-
Drinks: C
Overall Experience: C/C


Quick Thoughts:

H says: The only time I would go back would be if I was staying at the Saint and didn’t want to bother walking the 150 feet to McDonald's. It was that bad. Both of our main courses were undercooked. The mussels appetizer was full of sand and grit and the wine was terribly young. For a place that has only a few options, the food was far from adequate.
C says: The restaurant is still young (they've just re-vamped it) and I had high hopes for the food because the chef formerly worked at a restaurant I really enjoy, but it just wasn't up to par. We had an appetizer, main courses, and a dessert, and I left hungry and dissatisfied. 



Full Run-Down from H:

We were very much looking forward to having dinner at Tempt. C had informed me that its head chef was from one of her more favorite restaurants, Patois. My first warning sign should have been the fact that she had obtained a daily deal. [Note from C: It was a pretty unbelievable deal, so I should have had an inkling the restaurant might not be good, but the Patois cred of the chef gave me hope. Plus, they just re-branded the restaurant because the original was a flop, so I figured they were just trying to lure folks back in.] In my experience, the restaurants that give these out are not worth the money that you would pay for a regular meal. They are trying to get you in the door so you will buy some of their expensive drinks. Basically if it has good food, they don’t bother trying to get people in the door that way. Regardless, we were here and I was determined to enjoy myself. Unfortunately things didn’t get much better.


The decor is post-modern in style, and entirely too white for my tastes. I also prefer a more dimly lit cozy spot to have a dinner with C. Tempt had too much light, too much white and not enough pop. [Note from C: I prefer a little more light than H, so it didn't really bother me. The stark black-and-white is not quite my taste, nor does it fit the feeling of the city, in my opinion, but I could see what they were trying for, and I thought it was ok. However, they need more signage--the restaurant is small and right at the front of the hotel as you walk in the lobby, so I wasn't sure if we were in the right place.] Plus when we were shown to our seats, we were given a booth made out of a rubber-like material that when I sat down and/or moved at all made a loud sound like I was rubbing my face against a balloon. However amusing this was at the time, I don’t want my seat to make noise everytime I move. [Note from C: The booths are shiny and white--almost like a patent-leather shoe. I really don't think the material was chosen for the comic relief (though I was laughing every time H moved), so I have to give them a FAIL on that one.]


Can’t get any worse, right? Well, the next part was something out of a bad movie. Our waitress came out and took our order and then less than 20 seconds later another waiter came out, gave us the same spiel and tried to take our order. Now, if this was in an Outback, I can understand, but there were only 2 other tables occupied in the whole place. How hard can it be to keep each table straight? But, I digress. [Note from C: I'd rather have over-service than under-service, and they're definitely still working the kinks out, so to me this was more comic relief rather than a major strike against them.]  The first portion of our meal to arrive was the mussels appetizer and wine. First off, I understand serving a inexpensive bottle of wine as a special, but if you are trying to attract a customer base, handing me a young, not very great-tasting wine is a pretty quick way to have me write you off. Needless to say, I was not impressed. The mussels themselves were from Maine, which I heartily approve of; the problem was that the sauce had not properly infused itself with the mussels and there wasn’t much sauce in the bowl to dip them in. Also the mussels were sandy/gritty in some cases. [Note from C: Agreed. The sauce was pretty tasty, but the mussels on top had almost no flavor from the sauce, and the grittiness of some was not pleasant.]


For my main entree, I had ordered a pork chop with a strawberry glaze with sausage and corn mixed in as a side. The corn and sausage was great, but the pork chop wasn’t anything special and portions of it were undercooked. At this point, I lost interest. Nothing was impressing and there are plenty of other places to spend my money on food in the Big Easy. No more daily deals; that's my recommendation.


C says, I had the gulf fish for an entree, which was served with a lemon-butter sauce, eggplant puree (very little of that, mainly just smeared on the plate for looks, which is not a great idea because although I love eggplant, it's not particularly attractive on a plate), and greens (collards, probably), cooked with bacon. The puree was good, but there was very little of it, and the greens were ok, but if you are going to serve greens in the South, they'd better be awesome! I made the mistake of not asking what the fish was. I think it was wahoo or something similar--it was a very meaty fish, which is not my preference (I much prefer trout, redfish, drum, grouper--something along those lines; a fillet, not a steak). I'm not sure if it was over-cooked or undercooked, or if it was just filleted improperly, but the texture was off. It was rare in the middle, and though some fish can be served that way, it's not my preference. But the well-done parts had an odd, meaty texture, too. I should have inquired about the type of fish before ordering, but usually in NOLA, you just can't go wrong! It failed to impress, and I didn't even finish it, although I was hungry. For dessert, we shared the s'mores eclair (2 in a serving), which were tasty, but nothing to write home about--kind of a yawn to end the meal. 


Although we had high hopes for Tempt, it's unlikely we'll ever go back. 

Welcome!

Hi, and welcome to our blog! We’ll get to the restaurant reviews shortly, but we thought we should introduce ourselves and the blog first, so you have an idea of what this is all about.

Caitlin is a born-and-raised NOLA girl, and Henry is a Yankee new to the area. Since we live in such a great city for food, we love to eat out, and with over 1300 restaurants in the metro area, there are plenty of places to try! So, we thought we’d share our thoughts here, so you’ll know where to go for a great meal and which places to skip.

Most of our reviews will be restaurants in the New Orleans area, but as we travel around, you might get a taste from restaurants outside of the area, too.

So, get ready for a virtual tour of New Orleans eats. Agree? Disagree? Leave some comments and let us know what YOU think of the restaurants we review.