Herbsaint Is 25!

Tom was a fan of Herbsaint from the beginning, when it was founded by Susan Spicer. He remained a fan long after Donald Link took it over. Believe it or not, I had never been until recently. It must have been the banner celebrating its 25 year anniversary. I am a sucker for such things. Or it might have been that I was driving by and needed a place to eat. I went there without a reservation, which I had done before with Tom in tow. The front folks seemed so uninterested in our dining there that we left. That was the same treatment I got this time. With an empty room and plenty of reservations to be had, you’d think they’d be more welcoming. The second time, the hostess welcomed me, but I was seated as far away from the front door as possible, in the bar. I actually like the bar there and prefer it to the dining room. I had a nice two-top at a window on a somewhat stormy day.

It’s a good thing I was enjoying the view because I sat for quite a long time before a single human approached the table. The restaurant was empty except for one other table, waiters hung around talking to each other and walking about the dining room, and no one even came to greet me. Back in the days when waiters had perfected the art of pretentiousness, I always considered Herbsaint the gold standard for that. The attitude is still going strong, obviously. 

It's too bad that I love the food. It’s a menu of enticing things, and dishes are executed beautifully. This food is sophisticated and polished. I wouldn’t say I wanted everything on the menu, but there was plenty to interest me. I settled on the gumbo with chicken, tasso, and andouille, a beef short rib dish, and a housemade pasta from the Small Plates section of the menu. And I got some dirty rice as a side, because it’s Donald Link after all. If a Louisiana rice dish fanatic like me isn’t going to order such a menu item at a Donald Link restaurant, where should I?

There’s a free bread service here of housemade sourdough with soft butter. I love that everyone is serving sourdough bread, and even though it’s not the California crumb that gives teeth a workout, I still like it. It was, in fact, really good.

The gumbo arrived, and it’s the new-fangled kind where everything in it is chopped small. It makes the gumbo look more substantive, and indeed it is. This was predictably delicious, with the dark roux and house-smoked meats that made him famous. Good spice level and overall a top-tier version of the classic.

Everything else came out at the same time. I’m glad Tom wasn’t there. Such a thing irked him to the point I once heard him ask, “Which of these should I let get cold?” I just sampled these dishes first, then settled on them one by one. The dirty rice could sit, which it did. 

The Short Rib with Potato Rösti, Salsa Verde, and horseradish cream was delicious. It was a nice portion of short rib for the price of $19. The meat was braised beautifully. It was tender and juicy. Salsa Verde is glorious no matter what it is on, and the horseradish cream was luscious. I loved the Rösti. This Swiss potato pancake is similar to our hashbrown cake: fluffy on the inside and crispy, crispy on the outside. Buttery and wonderful. This was a terrific little plate.

The pasta wasn’t as large of a plate. It was more of what I expected from the Small Plates menu. It was creamy and delicious with its cream sauce and Guanciale throughout the housemade spaghetti.

As most things do in hip places like this, it came with a poached farm egg on top. What was odd about this was that it was breaded and deep-fried. I asked that it be separated, so it came in its own plate. It reminded me of a Scotch egg without the sausage.

The dirty rice was a little disappointing. It was fine dirty rice, but I guess I expected more spice and meaty flavor from a Donald Link kitchen. I liked it, but my expectations were to be assaulted with Cajun flavors.

Herbsaint is delicious. I will return again for more of this New Orleans American food. My favorite food to eat.