Thursday, January 28, 2016.
Tiki Restaurant Revival At Latitude 29.
Mary Ann is back at work in the background of the New Orleans Menu Daily and on other projects. These bring her to the south shore this evening, so we have dinner together at a restaurant we both have been curious about: Latitude 29, the current restaurant in the Bienville House Hotel. Many good restaurants have come to and gone from that restaurant space. Some were very good, notably Iris, the previous tenant.
We have dinner together at a restaurant we both have been curious about: Latitude 29, the current restaurant in the Bienville House Hotel. Many good restaurants have come to and gone from that restaurant space. Some were very good, notably Iris, the previous tenant.
The current eatery brings back from local extinction the tiki restaurant concept. Coincidentally created in the 1930s by Trader Vic's and Don The Beachcomber--both in California--the tiki style was created from whole cloth and called Polynesian. There was no such thing as Polynesian cuisine--it was really Chinese food with atmospheric tweaks. But for decades restaurants like this were among the most popular in America. The New Orleans version of it was the famous Bali H'ai at Pontchartrain Beach. That prom-nighter's favorite died in the 1980s, as the gimmick went out of style.
Latitude 29 looks a lot like the Bali H'ai did. We weren't expecting this. But we weren't sure what kind of restaurant it was. People who called on the air about it seemed to like it, but couldn't describe its food.
Well, here I am to do that. Latitude 29 makes all the rum-based drinks from the Trader Vic/Bali H'ai era, complete with unusual glassware. My cocktail, named for the restaurant, came in a tall glass wrapped with an actual banana leaf. New leaves on the glasses every day, said the waitress. The guy who does the wrapping makes as many as fifty banana-wrapped glasses on a busy weekend.
[caption id="attachment_50453" align="alignnone" width="480"]
Dumplings and fresh-cut fries.[/caption]
So here is the strong point of Latitude 29: they make good drinks of the kind that make you feel as if you're sitting under a palm tree in the tropics and sipping a fresh-fruit-and-rum concoction that takes a half-hour to finish.
[caption id="attachment_50451" align="alignnone" width="480"]
Vegan cauliflower with green curry.[/caption]
On the food side, the menu offers burgers, dumplings, a roasted half-duck, bahn mi and Cuban sandwiches, a vegan dish, and a few other items. We tried everything mentioned above except the sandwiches. As to its goodness, I invoke a well-known bit of advice: "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all."
[caption id="attachment_50450" align="alignleft" width="171"]
Roast duck.[/caption]
[divider type=""]
Speaking of latitudes: When I get home at around nine, Orion and his faithful dog with the gleaming eye are brilliant in the clear Cool Water Ranch sky. High as the constellation is, I am reminded that Orion is still well within in the southern half of the sky. At the North Pole, you wouldn't be able to see it at all on this near-midwinter night.
That thought is erased as the real dog Susie runs up, barking at me. She has not yet accepted the VW Beetle as an authorized resident of the ranch, and it's not until she gets a whiff of me that she shuts off the alarm.
Barry the Dog Barricade is not to be seen. He's probably inside, recuperating from a veterinary visit today. He's been limping around lately. No bone problems--he seems to have the dog equivalent of athlete's foot, with an infection in his right pads. The vet also suggested that Barry might catch the interest of people wanting to breed their German Shepherd bitches. He is very handsome, but lacks experience. He is otherwise fully equipped to handle that assignment.
Latitude 29. French Quarter: 321 N Peters. 504-609-3811.
The current eatery brings back from local extinction the tiki restaurant concept. Coincidentally created in the 1930s by Trader Vic's and Don The Beachcomber--both in California--the tiki style was created from whole cloth and called Polynesian. There was no such thing as Polynesian cuisine--it was really Chinese food with atmospheric tweaks. But for decades restaurants like this were among the most popular in America. The New Orleans version of it was the famous Bali H'ai at Pontchartrain Beach. That prom-nighter's favorite died in the 1980s, as the gimmick went out of style.
Latitude 29 looks a lot like the Bali H'ai did. We weren't expecting this. But we weren't sure what kind of restaurant it was. People who called on the air about it seemed to like it, but couldn't describe its food.
Well, here I am to do that. Latitude 29 makes all the rum-based drinks from the Trader Vic/Bali H'ai era, complete with unusual glassware. My cocktail, named for the restaurant, came in a tall glass wrapped with an actual banana leaf. New leaves on the glasses every day, said the waitress. The guy who does the wrapping makes as many as fifty banana-wrapped glasses on a busy weekend.
[caption id="attachment_50453" align="alignnone" width="480"]
Dumplings and fresh-cut fries.[/caption]
So here is the strong point of Latitude 29: they make good drinks of the kind that make you feel as if you're sitting under a palm tree in the tropics and sipping a fresh-fruit-and-rum concoction that takes a half-hour to finish.
[caption id="attachment_50451" align="alignnone" width="480"]
Vegan cauliflower with green curry.[/caption]
On the food side, the menu offers burgers, dumplings, a roasted half-duck, bahn mi and Cuban sandwiches, a vegan dish, and a few other items. We tried everything mentioned above except the sandwiches. As to its goodness, I invoke a well-known bit of advice: "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all."
[caption id="attachment_50450" align="alignleft" width="171"]
Roast duck.[/caption]
[divider type=""]
Speaking of latitudes: When I get home at around nine, Orion and his faithful dog with the gleaming eye are brilliant in the clear Cool Water Ranch sky. High as the constellation is, I am reminded that Orion is still well within in the southern half of the sky. At the North Pole, you wouldn't be able to see it at all on this near-midwinter night.
That thought is erased as the real dog Susie runs up, barking at me. She has not yet accepted the VW Beetle as an authorized resident of the ranch, and it's not until she gets a whiff of me that she shuts off the alarm.
Barry the Dog Barricade is not to be seen. He's probably inside, recuperating from a veterinary visit today. He's been limping around lately. No bone problems--he seems to have the dog equivalent of athlete's foot, with an infection in his right pads. The vet also suggested that Barry might catch the interest of people wanting to breed their German Shepherd bitches. He is very handsome, but lacks experience. He is otherwise fully equipped to handle that assignment.
