New Orleans Hamburger & Seafood comes up a lot on The Food Show, maybe because it was such a long time advertiser, or maybe it’s because not everyone can eat out like we do and they just want good food for a reasonable price. Or the illusion of it. Tom’s family wanted to get together recently and we were delighted to meet up with them. It was the Monday before Thanksgiving, so Monday was the only option. That severely limits things in these parts, especially post-COVID. It gave me a chance to check in on the latest renovation of New Orleans Hamburger & Seafood, on Veterans at David Dr. The new digs were quite nice. During the meal I learned that it had been open a year, and that explained the little wear and tear. It was still a vast improvement on the 1990s look it replaced.
As usual, we went crazy. I held up the fast casual line by ordering chargrilled oysters, onion rings, a roast beef poor boy, a softshell crab sandwich, and redfish almondine for Tom. The ladies we were with got hush puppies and a catfish/gumbo plate.
They arrived before us and already had hush puppies on the table. Tom busied himself with these. They were very nice. Soft inside and crispy on the outside, with a little jalapẽno kick. More cake than gritty cornmeal, this is a version I prefer.
The fried onion rings arrived and these kept us all busy. In the medium-sized arena, these were crispy and perfectly battered, not totally greaseless, but not greasy either. They disappeared fast because they were irresistible. It was a large portion, meaning that no one was especially hungry when the “real” food arrived.
I wouldn’t have lingered over the gumbo anyway because it was just ordinary.
The chargrilled oysters were the classic version and those too were good. Served with a portion of toasted French bread that would last through the whole half dozen. Well done.
The catfish/gumbo plate was also fine but just that. It was served with some of the best frozen fries out there. These are larger than most and battered, with odd shapes.
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My softshell crab sandwich was served on toasted Texas toast. It was a small crab and not very meaty, and just not very good at all. The dressings were plentiful and fresh but that didn’t save it. That’s on me, though. I should not have ordered a softshell crab sandwich at a place like this.
Tom’s Almondine was nice. It was served with a blanket of toasted almonds but no real brown butter. Oddly, rice pilaf accompanied it along with a vegetable medley. It was a nice piece of fish, and while this would have been better at a restaurant with only one location, it was good enough. Billed on the menu as "fish," that could mean anything. We upgraded to redfish for $3 more.
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The roast beef poor boy was one of the best I've tasted. It was sliced and debris and chunks in a very good gravy. It had plenty of dressings and was served on the requisite bread that was slightly toasted. I would return here just for this and will put it in my drive-through list. Very good.
New Orleans Hamburger & Seafood is off our radar just because we have to go to different places and prefer single-location operations. But for someone looking for an uncomplicated but still good version of our local classics, it is possible to do much worse.
