With the incessant rain last week destroying our alfresco obsession for lunch we found ourselves in need of an immediate change of plans. Zea, a place that was a weekly regular in our orbit, suddenly resurfaced. Since its arrival on the local dining scene, I have found it to be a reliable home of very good American food and consistent execution of that genre.
But even though we pass it countless times a week, it has simply dropped from our radar for many years. I am always reminded of our happy days there when I see servers in other places who regularly took care of us at Zea. I have enjoyed watching one of them rise through the ranks into management around town.
What made a return visit to Zea worthwhile for me was the Tammany Taste of Summer Specials menu. It was different from the others, with a very specific construction. Zea does its “meals for two” program a few times a year, especially for Valentine’s Day. I think Tom and I may have done that once. But it was wildly inappropriate for a regular lunch with my daughter. We don’t eat that much, and this twice-the-price of what everyone else was charging was intriguing, but a bad deal for us or any two people who want to eat normally. It was more suited to a group.
The deal was: A bread service that came with the meal, which is odd because Zea was a breakout restaurant in not serving bread when everyone else did. You couldn’t even ask for it. The house had none. Seeing it here surprised me, and made me curious.
But this was no ordinary bread service. It is some globally inspired olive oil infused spread. A cutting board has six thick slices of ciabatta toasted and then the waiter comes with a little pitcher that reminds me of a Turkish tea service. He pours olive oil into six little ramekins that are filled with exotic seeds and spices: lemon poppyseed, za’tar, four pepper, black and white roasted sesame seeds, four pepper & roasted garlic, and Marrakesh-inspired. And then you are to dip the bread into these mixtures.
You are also to choose an appetizer from a list of six that will be shared between the two diners, and then each person chooses their own entree.
Zea is one of those places that doesn’t change the menu, but they constantly tweak it. But the things on the list of entree options are longtime menu stalwarts, with an errant newbie like roasted Kung Pao cauliflower. We chose the Mediterranean hummus as an app. I have long said that the hummus at Zea is my favorite, and that includes Middle Eastern versions. Greg Reggio explained once that they roast the garlic first, so it has a richer flavor. I think this is true, and I have never forgotten it, even when I made my own.
Then they introduced the Mediterranean version, and I still prefer the original, but the Mediterranean has eclipsed it in the restaurant and in the ordering in my own family. The original has now disappeared as an option. In my minority opinion, there is too much “stuff” in this version. I love all the elements here but the hummus gets lost. This giant version came with double the pita toasts.
I knew that by process of elimination ML would get the Thai Ribs, so I felt I should get something else. I was thinking about the crispy duck which I have had and loved, but already felt like a hostage having to get two entrees so I refused to pay a $5 upcharge. I went with the salmon, after I was promised that it was wild caught. ML got the corn grits and crispy potatoes, and I selected red beans and rice and collard greens.
We were already pretty full from the bread service and hummus when the entrees arrived, but we sure had fun getting there. The bread service is worth a piece all by itself. The little spice ramekins were uninteresting for the most part. One had such an overwhelming smell of cinnamon we put it away from the table. Cinnamon is like peanut butter and bananas, there is no room in your senses for anything else. Another of these ramekins had cinnamon but to a lesser degree. There was a spicy one and a benign one with roasted sesame seeds. I was most disappointed in the za’tar seasoning, because even though I was warned that it was sweet, I am crazy about za’tar seasoning in the regular way. I didn’t even know there was a sweet version. Totally negates its point, to me. This bread service was amusing, and that is its total worth.
We enjoyed the Mediterranean hummus as always, and this was a double portion. But I wonder if it was so large, why not just have each person get their own app as well? Maybe it’s easier for the kitchen?
The entrees came and I was shocked at the size portion of the Thai Ribs. It looked like a dozen to me but I think it was really just eight. Still, eight ribs is an enormous amount of food. These ribs are always outstanding. They made a huge splash when they arrived on the scene but we love them as much as ever. They are consistently at the sweet spot that Tom and I argued over: sliding off the bone or not? I came over to his side that they should not fall off the bone, but they should when pulled even slightly. He still wanted more chew. And for one not inclined to move past American Chinese flavors, these ribs flavors are great.
ML also got the ever-consistent corn grits that also changed the grits game around town. Made with cream instead of water, they are denser and creamier, and are studded with corn kernels throughout.
She also got crispy potatoes, which are unnecessarily fried after roasting. They used to have fries when they opened, then they switched to roasted potatoes only after Katrina, but are now back to having fries. The roasted potatoes are fine, and though these were crispier, a roasted potato can be crispy-skinned too, without that deep frying step. Extra points for how golden brown they were.
Over on my end the salmon was perfectly fine but nothing more. It was covered in a balsamic glaze and soft inside. I wished I had gotten ribs too, because at least I would have been excited by those.
The accompanying red beans and rice were that Popeye’s-style soup with no definition of beans at all. The rice was a little ball of mush.
I did love the collard greens. This green is something I try to eat whenever I see it because I know it's good for me, but it's usually not good in the eating. These were filled with meat bits and accompanying fat, giving it some real flavor. They were cooked very soft, and I could have eaten a large plate of these and made myself feel very healthy. That feeling about collard greens is rare.
We ran into Monty Montgomery (the owner of The Time Saver, Tom's first employer) and his son, who were dining with friends. We used to run into them all the time, but once Dakota closed to move, the clientele scattered and we rarely see them now. Monty is 97 and remembered Tom always, and I enjoy seeing them. I told them about “the deal,” but they were also stunned by the amount of food. I suggested they get it and split it four ways instead of two.
The place was pretty full when we left with our boxes of food that we’ll be eating for days. Zea represents sameness to me, which is probably why we rarely go now. But sameness has a positive side. It’s called consistent, and that gets rarer with each passing day. Good for them.
