First, there was Barcadia, at least in New Orleans. The operation started in Baton Rouge with hamburgers. I loved Barcadia for about ten years. The owners opened a lounge next door to Barcadia as part of the group. And then Barcadia closed, but not until Junior’s on Harrison opened in Lakeview.
Junior’s has been a successful neighborhood place for at least six years, and in the meantime, HMH (Huft Marchand Hospitality-there was a management merger as well) opened a pasta and sauce combo takeout place in the space that was the very popular neighborhood restaurant Delerno’s in the last century. The new place is called Il Supremo. Since HMH was already in the neighborhood they were aware that the Parish Line was in need of a new owner.
The Parish Line was a short-lived neighborhood hangout in the space that was formerly the Metry Cafe. The renovation was stunning.
It had a limited menu and some high-roller clientele, but not a lot of mass appeal. And then it was gone, replaced by Barcar. I was highly suspicious of Barcar because I am not a fan of Junior’s and Il Supremo is fine but nothing more. But I did love Barcadia.
Barcar is a smallish place but deceptively so. It is casually glamorous. A long row of barstools line the outer wall, with windows that fold like an accordion. A tall banquette lines another wall, and a beautiful thick-marble bar takes up the remaining wall. Three or four tall leather-bound chairs surround beautiful wooden tables.
The menu is not large but there is something there to get. We started with the biscuits and fried oysters. (Not the same dish.) And there is a club sandwich on the menu so that was a given. Junior’s has a nice burger, and here is one separated from the other options so I had to get that too. And there was tuna with crispy rice which Tom loves.
Not long after we sat down, a waiter brought out a dish with half a dozen round balls that looked like boudin balls heavily dusted with grated Parmesan. In the accompanying tiny ramekin was miso butter, a trendy substance I don’t understand. Here’s another instance where I had an image in my mind that looked nothing like what showed up at the table.
I was highly suspicious of these round balls they called biscuits, but they were fluffy on the inside and deep-fried crunchy on the outside. The dough was a tad sweet and the miso butter worked. I have to admit this was a tasty bite.
The oysters arrived next, and these too were weird. Perfectly fried in cornmeal, they were golden brown and greaseless, and covered in part by a combination of what the menu said was bacon with caramelized onion and pecorino. These were served with a charred green onion aioli. Next time I would get these without the “stuff” and just the aioli alongside. The green onion aioli was intriguing and much spicier than I expected. I didn’t understand this dish, but Tom was crazy about it.
The club sandwich was a very good sandwich. It was only mildly unusual in that it had some dark lettuce in addition to the regular dressings of iceberg lettuce and tomato. I didn’t even realize there was tomato on this sandwich until a very thin slice fell out of it. The meats and cheeses were not overloaded, and the bread was toasted just right. This was not the best club I’ve ever had, but I liked it a lot. The chips that filled out the plate were original Zapp’s.
I was prepared for the burger to be unusual, and it was. With caramelized onion, melted American cheese, and garlic aioli, these ingredients were bookended by a brioche bun covered in everything bagel seasonings. I am a sucker for everything bagel seasonings, and that’s what sold me on the burger. It came with waffle fries. This was a fine burger whose flavor was eclipsed by the bagel seasonings, but that’s not a bad thing. Waffle fries bore me, and these were no exception. Coated with a Creole seasoning, there was nothing exceptional about these at all.
The star of the table if Tom’s reaction was any indication was the tuna. He is a big fan of tuna in any preparation. This was a beautiful dish of four square rice cakes. A dollop of minced tuna was placed on each one, and the entire thing sat in a puddle of yuzu vinaigrette that was so pungent I had to move it away from my nose until Tom was ready for it. Sesame seeds covered the entire dish. A few whole sprigs of cilantro sat in the middle of it all.
Tom was obsessed with this dish. He always loves tuna but he was excited about this one. He ate every speck.
Before we left I went upstairs to see the balcony, which was as nice as the first floor. Every inch of this place was pleasing to the eye, and we will be back. I only wish there was some seating outside. But inside is so nice I may not even care.
