Last night I and another couple dragged Tom to do something he is not inclined to do. He did something he has preached not to do. And he was only invited because he had to be and because Chef Duke would have thought it odd if I went without him. My regular dining partner for such occasions was unavailable. We had to go see what was happening at Dabs.
The official opening of Dabs is October 25th, and the problems with the old building continue, so it will be only a trickle of family and friends until then, when full lunch and dinner service begins.
But we were delighted with this soft opening, to have had a taste of things to come. And we can’t wait to go back and try more. Tom rails against such ideas, declaring all new restaurants a risky dining experience before six months. I think this can be true, but isn’t necessarily set into stone. I trusted this friend and seasoned professional who has been around the culinary block a bit to be able to turn out a good plate of food. Besides Chef Duke, the Giorlando’s of the quiet but excellent eponymous restaurant have helped Duke every step of the way. This couldn’t be bad.
I was a little humbled by the experience. Until last night, I assumed that my spinach dip was in a class by itself, all others, including restaurants, well behind. Duke’s spinach dip was almost as good as mine. I didn’t eat the chips, because they didn’t look great and because they would have to be great for me to eat them. They were not tempting. Fried green tomatoes, a favorite of our guests, were also on the table. And a seafood crab cake, which piqued my curiosity, also landed before us. Tom was so devastated by the fact that oysters were only available fried that he just kept to the family-style eating.
The fried green tomatoes were deemed really good by our guests, and the seafood crabcake was a disk of fried something with an unusual fried coating, but inside was loaded with seafood in a mixture of exactly perfect texture. This was served on spring mix with a light vinaigrette - also really tasty.
There were a number of things I wanted to try but I settled on a seafood-stuffed avocado with three grilled shrimp flanking its side. This was spectacularly good. It had puddles of olive oil and a pesto-type sauce as a base. The avocado was fat and ripe and the seafood dressing the perfect amount for everything else on the plate. The tomatoes under the grilled shrimp were good enough to eat. I love when this happens, and it is sadly rare. One of us had the meatballs and spaghetti. Two nice-sized meatballs in a bowl of pasta with a totally insufficient amount of sauce. When we asked for more, the tiny ramekin that was brought was still insufficient. I hate when this happens. And I don't know why anyone would do this. Tomato sauce can’t be that expensive, and whatever the cost is not commensurate to the cost of holding back. Restaurateurs would do well to remember that.
Maybe the most interesting thing on this table was something called the New Orleans Bowl, which was a bowl of layered New Orleans “stuff.” Not exactly a “looker”, the base was a great brown real Cajun jambalaya, covered with a red bean sauce, (also known as just red beans), topped with a grilled chicken breast and a slice of smoked sausage, which everyone at the table declared fantastic. This was one of the most innovative things I have seen in a while, capitalizing on the hip “bowl” of stuff seen everywhere, but never like this.
Desserts were bread pudding that looked bad and was worse, and Duke’s signature Ice Cream Po-Boy, which is irresistible. Like a chocolate cookie dipped in chocolate frozen so hard, cutting it was a challenge. Draped in chocolate sauce and topped with whipped cream, this is the stuff of youth. And that is a wonderful thing.
Dabs Bistro
3401 N. Hullen Metairie
Lunch Mon-Fri 11-3
Th-Sat dinner 5pm-2am
Closed Sunday
504-581-8511
dabsbistro.com
