Many years ago a good friend introduced us to his new favorite restaurant. He goes through a lot of those, and his taste is impeccable. He has turned us on to the great ones. Always. But this was a quirky little place Uptown that started life as a barbecue joint. In the ensuing years Boucherie got farther and farther from its barbecue roots. It turned into a gourmet restaurant, with just a hint of barbecue, but only if you looked really really hard.
Soon it moved out of the quirky little house and onto the main drag, around the corner on Carrollton Avenue. This wasn’t a particularly big place either, It was in the space vacated by a Spanish restaurant that featured flamenco dancers one day a week, so a lot of renovation was required.
And now renovation is required again, as that space turns into a Mexican restaurant. Boucherie moved back around the corner to its original space on Jeanette. It is a tiny little house with frankly, more character than the other place ever had. It was a surprise move, especially since the owners took over Cafe Nino next door and put in a barbecue joint with picnic tables out front. It’s called Bourre, and now the sister restaurants are separated by two unrelated restaurants.
The food at Boucherie remains the same. Unusual, but good. Fresh cut fries are not as good as I remember. My companion asked the waiter if they were fried in duck fat, which he was concerned about. I told him that would be healthier than canola oil. Most of them sat untouched, since he quit halfway through. My Caesar salad was interesting, and I mean that in a good way. The lettuce is charred on the outside, and the Caesar dressing perky. I got the Coolinary for $20, but they were out of my choice of duck confit-delicious here. They subbed out a pork pastrami sandwich on marble rye with onions, cheese, and homemade sauerkraut. I got the Russian dressing on the side and left off the marble rye.
The other entree was a fish sandwich. It stunk when it came to the table, but mine was accused of the same. Breadcrumb-coated fried fish inside the sandwich was suspiciously two inches high, and turned out to be a fish patty. The fish of the day was swordfish. Who would order this? It fell apart. The waiter offered a replacement entree, but we just paid the check and left. There wasn’t anything else on this short menu that intrigued us.
As part of the Coolinary, I got their signature Krispy Kreme donut bread pudding, which was very hot a few years ago. It came home to Tom, who loves bread pudding and was happy to dispatch it. Delicious, he reported.
We both decided that we like the idea of Boucherie more than we actually like Boucherie. I have that thought every time I go back there, but then I keep going back.
Boucherie
1506 S Carrollton New Orleans
504-862-5514
Wed-Fri Lunch 11-2:30 Dinner 5:30-9:30
Saturday & Sunday Brunch 10:30 2:30 Dinner 5:30-9:30
boucherie-nola.com
