Weekend Dining Report -- Just 1 Disappointment
I'm a realtively new transplant to NOLA (moved about 6 months ago) and am continuing to enjoy all the great dining the city has to offer. I had three girlfriends in town this past weekend and, although this is my first post, did quite a bit of research on these boards to come up with our dining plan. One of my visitors had a lot of dietary restrictions -- she's a vegetarian (although she has started eating fish) and is allergic to onions and citrus. So here's a quick recap:
Upperline (Friday Dinner) -- I've been dying to try this, as it's only a few blocks from my apartment, and I was definitely impressed. It's not exactly groundbreaking cuisine, but it was excellent. My favorite dish was the Fried Green Tomatoes w/ Shrimp Remoloude, which I think was the best rendition of that dish I've ever tasted. I also had fish with a muniere sauce (rich, but good) and creme brulee. My friend had Taste of New Orleans, which was a really good variety of dishes, and enjoyed it. The service was excellent.
La Petite Grocery (Saturday Lunch) -- Another hit. The cheeseburger was excellent, but messy -- the best part was the onion marmalade and the housemade pickles. My friend had a beet salad appetizer and the fried green tomato BLT. Our fries were heavily oversalted, which was about the only negative. Service was good, but it seemed like they were understaffed, as we waited about 20 minutes for a table, even though there were several open.
Mr. B's (Saturday dinner) -- The disappointment, more for the service and ambiance than the food. Three of us had appetizers and soups/salads only. The scallop appetizer was good, but needed a little citrus. The crabcake and the trio of soups was good. Our other guest had fish, which she liked as well. I was really disappointed in our waiter, however -- we got better service and more attention from other servers in our area, especially because my girlfriend had to ask several questions about ingredients and preparation. Also, the restaurant is overcrowded with tables, and I especially was continually bumped into by restaurant staff -- they need bigger aisleways. Desserts were all good -- we tried to bread pudding, molten chocolate cake and pecan pie.
Commanders Palace (Sunday Brunch) -- Service was impeccable. When I had called to make the reservation, I asked if we could order ala carte, rather than just the three-course brunch options, because I was worried that our friend wouldn't be able to find three courses she could eat. I was told that we could, however our server told me they would still charge the full price for the entree?? We liked everything, but the biggest hits were the apple pancakes and my cochon de lait Eggs Benedict. My friend also enjoyed the Sportsman's Breakfast. We did the bread pudding and strawberry shortcake for dessert, both of which were good. I ordered a daiquiri, which was far too strong for my taste, and they were great about remaking it for me.
We also got po boys from Parkway Tavern one night, and had breakfast/lunch at Oak Street Cafe.
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Suzy Wong
Jan 23, 2009 07:16 AM
I am a nola native and I think Mr B's is a glorified Bennigan's in food and decor. It was quite good some time before o5 but not anymore. There are FAR better places...Nice report!
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re: JazzyB
edible complex
Jan 23, 2009 10:03 AM
I did have the best lamb shank there during the holidays. as always, the Ya-Ya was spot on.
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Thanks for the report! You gotta try Mat & Naddie's next time but wait until it gets warm, go on a Monday night and sit on the patio.
Welcome to this wonderful city. I have lived here for two and a half years and am really sad that the job market might mean I am leaving come May. There is no place like it for food. I have been spoiled. I can't imagine not being able to get oysters all the time and for a reasonable price. That is going to be tough!
