Diary 3|13, 14|2015: Redemption. Cupcakes.

Written by Tom Fitzmorris March 23, 2015 12:01 in

DiningDiarySquare-150x150 [title type="h5"]Friday, March 13, 2015. Watching Redemption Grow.[/title] No critic with decent ability to discriminate between the good and the not-so-good can claim to be without prejudice. Certain works of art will fail to appeal to even a thoroughly fair critic, just because he or she doesn't have a taste for that category. I read a few years ago about Robert Parker, the most accomplished wine critic in the history of that endeavor. He admitted that after many years spent covering all kinds of wine from everywhere in the world, he gave up tasting sweet white wines. Even the best of them (and those can be wonderful and very expensive) didn't interest to his palate anymore. So he turned over that category to other writers. This works in the other direction, too. Some restaurants have a stronger appeal to me than they do to other people, even when the people have critical abilities as good as or better than my own. The most obvious of these is Antoine's, which makes me happier than it does many other customers. I always append to my reviews of the place that it isn't for all palates. RedemptionDR6A similar thing is going on with me and Redemption right now. The promise of having a new restaurant in the space that once was the wonderful Christian's was cause for gladness. And Redemption was on economically sound ground. But the first attempts at launching it were unconvincing, and they never really took off. I stuck with it anyway. I always liked Chef Greg Picolo's food, both at his previous restaurants and here. The fact that owners Maria and Tommy Delaune have as their main business a wholesale seafood house allows them a tremendous source of raw materials. That most recently resulted in the installation of an oyster bar. It was part of a subtle but deep renovation that wrapped up a few months ago--in time for the 100th anniversary of the building of the church that is now the restaurant. I meet up with Mary Ann, who also loves Redemption. Soon Maria Delaune was sitting with us. The Marias, I think I'll call them, because they have become good friends, with the same hard-charging characteristics. When I hang with Tommy Delaune, I detect that he gets bossed around by his Maria about as much as I am by mine. The party is completed by the advent of a lady selling Maria on some high-end tequilas. (This is how many restaurant owners spend their afternoons--talking to salespeople for everything from wine to toothpicks.) I tasted the tequilas and thought they were good--particularly the double-anejo, with many years of aging. But tequila doesn't push my button very hard. [caption id="attachment_46975" align="alignnone" width="480"]Grilled oysters at Redemption. Grilled oysters at Redemption.[/caption] Chef Greg is out of the building, says Maria. But I stay for dinner anyway. How bad could it be? Not bad at all. Apparently Greg has the team well coordinated. I start with an oyster dish that sounds a lot like oysters Roland, but without the mushrooms and served on shells instead of in an au gratin dish. That leaves garlic, parsley, butter, and seasonings. Good stuff. [caption id="attachment_46976" align="alignnone" width="480"]Eggplant batons in a stack. Eggplant batons in a stack.[/caption] Mary Ann sees an architecturally impressive stack of fried eggplant sticks. Here they come, then, as good as they look. It is even better when I dunk them into the tomato and tarragon soup, which is so fine that I'm already planning to come on the next jour that features it. It even has a small grilled cheese sandwich floating on top. [caption id="attachment_46974" align="alignnone" width="480"]Tomato and tarragon soup with a small grilled cheese sandwich. Tomato and tarragon soup with a small grilled cheese sandwich.[/caption] Now the Marias leave the table. The tequila lady stays, and opens a slender, tall bottle of a sweet wine. It is oddly right with the smoked soft shell crab I have next. That's a rebirth of Christian's most famous dish. Chef Greg knows it well, but very few dishes successfully leap from here to there, and this one doesn't either. Chef Roland's version was smaller and lighter in its coating. On the other hand, "different" doesn't necessarily mean "not as good." I get beyond my handicap of having tasted too many great dishes over too long a time, and enjoy this and its brown butter sauce. [caption id="attachment_46973" align="alignnone" width="480"]Smoked soft shell crab. Smoked soft shell crab.[/caption] Maria swings by to tell me that the pistachio cheesecake is something I ought to try. The notion passes through my brain that we are two blocks away from what is almost certainly the greatest user of pistachios in this part of the world: Angelo Brocato's. Not only does it make a great pistachio ice cream, but they dip each end of its classic cannoli in chopped pistachios. Time to go home, Tom. [title type="h5"]Redemption. Mid-City: 3835 Iberville St. 504-309-3570. [/title][divider type=""] [title type="h5"]Saturday, March 14, 2015. Sudden Show. A Bad Place For Dinner.[/title] I could have sworn that I have the day off from the Saturday WWL radio show. LSU has both men's and women's basketball games today, plus a baseball game. All these are broadcast, and roll right over my highly optional program. But I have simultaneous good and bad luck. One of the teams (I don't follow any of this) lost its game yesterday unexpectedly, pulling them out of the lineup for today. That puts me on the air at three, but I don't know this until the radio producer calls wondering where I am. Fortunately, I am sitting at my desk, and I connect with the station right away. That happens just as Mary Ann leaves the Cool Water Ranch for the afternoon. She has been co-hosting the Saturday show for the past few months, and likes it. I prepare myself to be chewed out for cheating her out of this exposure today. [caption id="attachment_46978" align="alignnone" width="480"]St. Patrick cupcakes by ML. St. Patrick cupcakes by ML.[/caption] Mary Leigh, meanwhile, is making six hundred cupcakes and a cake for a reunion-like event next week at her Alma Mater, the Louise S. McGehee School. The usual eye-popping work of the baker's art. Each of the cupcakes is emblazoned with the school's iconic front gate or the letter "M." She does this by stamping thin discs of fondant with rubber stamps she had made especially for this purpose. This also shows in a batch of St. Patrick's Day cupcakes she has in the works. Her meticulousness is astonishing. When the radio show ends and MA returns, we head to dinner at a restaurant we all have been avoiding since it opened a few years ago. I had to go sooner or later. It was even worse than I expected, and the one dish that I looked forward to was not only not on the menu, but never has been, according to the server. The Marys are even less happy about all of this. What I can't figure is that the guy who runs the place has been at a long time, and at one time operated a much better restaurant. I guess I ought to name it, but even that is more publicity than I want to give it.