Tuesday, September 26, 2017. NOPSI's Public Service. A few weeks ago we were invited on a tour of the new NOPSI Hotel on Baronne Street in the CBD. The two Marys and I had dinner in Public Service, the name and the mission of New Orleans Public Service Inc, the all-in-one operators of gas, electricity, and transit in New Orleans for decades. Its old headquarters building was built so solidly that it stood up to a major renovation leading to a luxurious hotel.
That first dinner was taken very soon after Public Service got its kitchen going. It was less than polished, but that figures. But I liked enough aspects of it for it to be on my mind since then.
I tried to get hold of any of the three most familiar women in my life (wife, daughter, and sister(s). Nobody available. But I was in the mood, and that can balance off things. The confirmation that I should have dinner at NOPSI came when a parking spot half a block away proved open and legal.
First impression: they have the service side of the operation down pat. The three servers who worked with me on this dinner were accommodating and knowledgeable. I begin with a glass of Three Brooms Sauvignon Blanc. That was good with what the menu calls both "chicken-fried" and "soft-shell" Atop a salad. No mention was made that it was indeed a soft-shell crab. Which it was. But I checked just to make sure, chefs being so inventive these days.
That was good, with a very sharp sauce over the greens and the chunks of watermelon that studded all that.
The most appealing parts of this compact menu were dishes I had the first time around. So my entree was something that didn't move me. A ribeye cap steak is what I wound up with. It was served with enormous (much too big for any purpose other than showing in off) fries. But the beef is good and the sauce very good, so I'm reasonably pleased.
The rest rooms are well hidden. from, and the staff offers to walk one over to the facilities lest they get lost. What I found was something I'm always looking for: place in buildings that have great resonance for, let's say, a singer. Or a bunch of singers. NOPSI has just such a place, and it made me sound so good (and I need all the help I can get) that I will try to pull together a quartet or so to give impromptu performances, perhaps during the holidays. I wonder if the management would be interested in such an event.
I love these cool hot spts one finds in buildings. We have several at the radio station. One is in the elevator lobby. Another is inside the entrance to the parking garage. Somebody ought to produce and publish an album of such spots.
Public Service. CBD: 311 Baronne St. 504-962-6527.
