Tom always said he wished he could eat where he wanted to rather than always where he had to. I thought of that as I drove down Magazine St. recently on a breezy, beautiful evening. I knew I wanted to be outside, but I was racking my brain for a place nearby to settle in and enjoy the weather.
For months, I have been trying to experience a place with some buzz currently, but every time I arrive, I see a blackboard outside announcing that it is closed for a private party. Three times now. It’s an interesting place with a lot of history dating back to 1865 (hence the name), but Bar 1865 remains elusive.
This night was no exception, so as I stared at the blackboard I resolved to go back to Magazine St. Once I got outside the Warehouse District, outdoor dining became more of a premium. I wanted to go to Clancy’s, but that’s not new enough for a write-up. Kingsway was calling, but it was inside dining. That was also true of Bistro Daisy, a place I am newly interested in since my brother told me it’s a favorite for him.
When I passed Lilette and Bouligny Tavern, I settled in on that. It’s been a number of years since Tom and I went, and my rapport with the waitress almost descended into a hair-pulling wrestling match. But it was outside, so I went anyway. Besides the foggy recollection of that situation, I have an equally vague memory of the food. I think I had a burger and some housecut fries. The menu this evening was smallish, but I found a few things to get.
Gougères were on the menu, so I got some of those, and I got some crab claws. There was a pickled vegetable salad and duck confit on this list. I managed to find a few interesting things, so I ordered those.
The Gougères were a snack before dinner, but they arrived on the table last. I have decided this little cheese puff is beyond everyone in my experience who has tried their hand at them, except for a Pasadena restaurant in The Langham Hotel, where they have been on the menu for as long as I can remember at The Royce Steakhouse. They are fabulous there, and plentiful, arriving at the table when you are seated. They are light, airy, and cheesy. In New Orleans, my luck has been spotty at best with these little delicacies.
The ones I had at Bouligny Tavern were no exception. They were plentiful, but I didn’t really want to eat them. There wasn’t a lot of cheese flavor to them, and that is the only reason to get Gougères. I find the hollow inside this choux pastry unappealing.
The salad was next, and it was pretty, with various pickled vegetables sprinkled on top of a mix of lettuces. There was a very nice creamy dressing on the lettuce, and a heavy dusting of grated Parmesan cheese. This was a very nice salad, and it was so large it was a meal in itself.
The crab claws were interesting. Sautéed in an olive oil, garlic, and herbs sauce like most of the others, I found these to be the least of the versions I have had, and I get them everywhere. That said, there is no such thing as crab claws prepared this or any other way that makes them not worth eating. They were not uniform in size, and the hunk of bread from Bellegarde looked like it had been torn from the loaf rather than cut.
A duck leg and hind quarter arrived next, perched on a little salad with the requisite French vinaigrette dressing. Pretty red grape tomato halves added a pop of color to this plate. Housemade croutons from the bread, like the chunk on the crab claws plate, were part of this mix. This duck confit did not have the usual characteristics of the many others I have had. It had no sauce at all, and no really crispy outer skin. What it did have was a great flavor, and it was really tender, yet not falling apart as most are. It was a tad salty, but as I have said many times, I like salt.
Everything on the table this evening was the least good version of similar dishes I have had in other places. That doesn’t mean they weren’t good or that I didn’t enjoy them. It’s just that, as a collective lot, it all blends into the 90% of things I eat that I’ll never think of again. And spending $90 for a meal I feel like that about makes me wonder after a while.