Ash Wednesday, February 14, 2018. And, to the disappointment of restaurateurs, it's also Valentine's Day. Finding a restaurant for a romantic dinner at the last minute is, as always, difficult enough. Also as usual: I have not taken my own advice about this and we have no plans. We quickly run through the list of possibles, but everybody of interest is sold out.
Finally, we select Pepe's, a new Mexican restaurant in downtown Covington, owned by Osman Rojas, the boss at Pardo's and Forks and Corks. The menu here is not what I would called far-reaching, but they do have a number of rarities. Molé poblano, my favorite Mexican flavor, for example. It's not an especially good version of that dish, but every time I find molé anywhere, I rejoice.
We will probably see a good deal of of Pepe's. Mary Ann likes the place and the way it's designed, with a large area for dining outdoors--not something MA gets her fill of easily. The interior is nicely decorated in lighter colors than I remember from the last time we were here.
Still, about the only dish in this meal that catches my attention is the velvety flan that made the dessert an impressive version of this classic.
Thursday, February 15, 2018. MA has an idea for dinner tonight, a restaurant she says she's never tried. I myself don't go to Gautreau's nearly as often as I should. It's been at least a couple of years since my previous taste of this, part of the cutting edge of nouvelle Uptown Bistros in the early 1980s.
During a period when Gautreau's hired one great young chef after another, it established itself as one of the best restaurants of its kind. I have often considered adding it to my short list of five-fleur restaurants. The only thing that keeps me from doing so is the high dining room sound level, which since its earliest days has been too loud for me. Ignore that, and you are suddenly dining in uninterrupted deliciousness, delivered by adept servers and floated by some imaginatively-selected wines.
Our dinner is a classic selection of Gautreau's classics. We split a confit of duck leg, quickly fried in duck fat. Then a quartet of scallops, always good at Gautreau's. Fish is next: red snapper for her, and halibut--a major signature dish and one of my favorites among Gautreau's best dishes here. With a glass of Sancerre to create some sort of contrast.
We agree that this has been an excellent dinner, and I for one am very glad we came.
Gautreau's. Uptown: 1728 Soniat St. 504-899-7397.
Written by Tom Fitzmorris February 20, 2018 16:30 in
