Last night was our first Coolinary visit of the season. It is only fitting that it be at the Pelican Club, my very favorite of Coolinary menus since the birth of the Coolinary idea.
We love this place. Tucked away quietly on the alley known as Exchange Place, the bustle of the French Quarter in all its glory and baseness seems far away. This could be three distinctly different restaurants. Mary Ann always remarks that her favorite room is the bar, but she goes to the bathroom and comes back talking about how beautiful the other rooms are too.
Here is the best Manhattan in the city, bar none. It had the perfect proportion of rye whiskey, bitters, and sweet vermouth.
We started with the grilled oysters, which are different from the usual versions around town. These are served with a red pepper aioli, in a lovely presentation. There is red pepper in the oyster coating as well, and the cheese is not overpowering, but appropriately crusty. These are not buttery or garlicky. They are different, and terrific.
MA got the crab cake, which she must. She was surprised by this, because her memory of the crab cake here is tall and stands alone. This one came with a fried green tomato, and a frisee salad. The crab cake was not the best she has had here, but the combination of the crabcake and the frisee salad was spectacular. Delightful fresh vinaigrette, she reported.
I had the seafood martini ravigote, a genius idea that is now a restaurant signature dish. It has lobster, crab ravigote, shrimp, and potato salad. This was up to its usual greatness.
The lamb was a little disappointing. I want to write a piece about lamb and other meats that chefs are reluctant to cook medium. I am a medium rare person, except when it comes to duck and lamb, which I always order cooked longer, and almost never get it. The crust on this lamb was otherwise perfect, but inside it was rare, and that was disappointing because the lamb itself was great quality, and I would have eaten more of it.
MA got more crab for an entree, this time atop a piece of seared tripletail. Served over Pesto Royal Corona beans with a Jalapeno Hollandaise, she thought this an interesting dish and liked it very well. I think all fish dishes should have a bean component somewhere.
For dessert I got my usual creme brulee and it was excellent. Maybe a little more firm than usual, but very tasty. Mary Ann ate just a few bites of her Pecan pie, only because she just got it to try it. She passes on all desserts unless they are deeply dense chocolate.
Our waiter was attentive and a real pro. We remembered him from Tomas Bistro. In short, another great Pelican Club visit.
Pelican Club
312 Exchange Place New Orleans
504-523-1504
Sun-Th 5:30-9:30pm
Friday & Saturday till 10
pelicanclub.com
