Although the north shore has restaurants of the caliber of their counterparts on the south shore, we don’t have nearly as many. Last week, after passing on the usual places, we did something we often talk about but rarely do, for some inexplicable reason. We went to Dakota.
Kenny Lacour and chef Kim Kringle opened Dakota 30 years ago this month, when the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain was a gourmet wasteland. The two had worked together at Juban’s in Baton Rouge. Kenny is a local guy and Kim is from North Dakota, hence the restaurant’s name. It’s amusing to imagine the arrival of such a fine restaurant on the northshore in those days. Crab meat and brie soup originated there, and how exotic that was!
It is not hard to find a first class restaurant here now, so Dakota has sunk into predictability. These two are comfortable and have already proven their gourmet creds. They have a reliable base of customers. End of story.
I remember when this was exciting food. Now it’s just excellent food, as we discovered again last week. The dining room hasn’t changed in 20 years at least, but that is not a slam. It was elegant then and remains so.
The menu at Dakota was never large, and I think there may even be more choices now in COVID land. We weren’t very hungry so a meal of small plates seemed good. Tom started with skillet-baked Oysters Mosca. They were a lot like the real version, though not nearly as oily or garlicky, which to me means not as good. Tom loved them.
I got the spiced gulf shrimp napoleon, which was absolutely sensational. This was just so lovely to behold, and even better to eat. The shrimp were sliced, which made them easier to eat, and it made them look more plentiful. This was a stack of thin-fried mirlitons which had a crispy batter and a good bit of crunch. The layers consisted of mirliton discs, a schmear of remoulade sauce, a pile of shrimp and a splash of Crystal. I definitely want to get this again, and may return soon just to do so.
It was tough to decide on the next course, so I got a pork sausage flatbread with buffalo mozzarella and plump baby heirloom tomato halves. I liked this a lot, until Tom’s duck confit crepe arrived at the table. Duck confit is irresistible to me, but I am not a fan of crepes. The picture in my mind of this dish was definitely different than what arrived at the table. This thing was huge, with tender morsels of the braised duck falling out on all sides. I thought there might be some sauerkraut in it, but that didn’t make sense. A look at the menu proved I wasn’t far off. There was cabbage and caramelized onions along with lardons and Gruyere. This was a steal at $12. There was so much duck here that it was enough for an entree size. A duck confit lover’s dream.
When it was dessert time we were dismayed that the usual suspects were not there. Kenny Lacour’s mother has a coconut cake that has been on the menu since day one, and it is a bestseller. There were only two choices, and neither was one of Tom’s two favorites: Creme Brulee and Bread pudding.
He settled on a peach crisp with homemade ice cream which belongs in Tom’s Fruit Dessert category. He loved this. The proper amount of crisp, cinnamon and sweet, this was pleasing even to a strictly custard guy.
Somewhere in the middle of the meal I noticed a small plates section on the menu which included things like house cut fries and mac'n'cheese. I ordered some to take home. The mac’n’cheese was studded with smoked bacon and a medley of cheeses. It was creamy and delicious.
As dinner wound down, Kim Kringle emerged from the kitchen to visit. We talked about the upcoming anniversary, and the fact that we often mutually lament the passing of Dakota Wine and Feed with callers on the show. I told him how much it is missed, and he said he missed it too. And when I asked why they didn;t bring it back, he surprised me by saying they actually think about it, and if the right things came up…
At a certain stage in life the idea of starting new things is not appealing to most. But the very idea is thrilling, because if there is one thing this last visit proved to us, it’s that Kim Kringle has still got it.
