Diary 1|9|2015: Café Adelaide: Still Under-Appreciated.

[title type="h5"]Friday, January 9, 2015. COLD!! Café Adelaide: Still Under-Appreciated. [/title] Surprising news at the radio station: John "Spud" McConnell has been laid off from his job as afternoon drive-time host on WWWL, where my radio show also appears. The official word is that it's strictly because of a programming budget cut. I hear no other words about this, but I'm sure I will. It's somehow appropriate that temperatures stayed in the thirties all day. A hard-blowing wind made sure that all except folks dressed up like Eskimos would feel as though the upper surfaces of their exposed flesh were crystallizing with ice. I have a block of that to cross to get to dinner at Café Adelaide. No particular reason for going there, other than when I looked over their menu I found it appetizing. And it's been over a year since my last visit. It wasn't very busy, and if anyone in the dining room staff recognized me they didn't let on. The servers have a new uniform of checkered shirts and bow ties. A little corny, but distinctive. And I like corn. I also like beginning a cold-day dinner with a hot soup. The soup du jour was made of white beans and crabmeat. That pushed me in the direction of turtle soup (same recipe as Commander's, Adelaide's big sister). But the waiter said he liked the bean potage well enough to bring me a sample. It was as tasty as he said, and I asked for the whole serving. [caption id="attachment_46240" align="alignnone" width="480"] Fried oysters at Cafe Adelaide.[/caption] Then an appetizer of cornmeal-coated, fried oysters with drizzle of what looks like pesto sauce and a small salad off to one side. Oysters are big and good these days. [caption id="attachment_46239" align="alignnone" width="480"] Filet mignon with two sauces and potato puree (mashed to you and me).[/caption] What strikes me most about Café Adelaide's menu is that they have several outstanding table d'hote offerings: two or three courses, perhaps with a glass of wine for around $40. The one I pick has as its entree a generous filet with two sauces--one a sort of marchand de vin flavored with tasso, the other a white-truffle cream sauce. The steak sat up on a big pile of potato puree (the new way to say "mashed potatoes" in a classy eatery). This was exactly the sort of thing I was in the mood for, and it left me wanting for nothing. [caption id="attachment_46238" align="alignnone" width="480"] Biscuit bread pudding at Cafe Adelaide.[/caption] I wasn't expecting a big deal in the dessert course. Part of that was because I remember having this bread pudding made from biscuits and not liking it much. Either my tastes changed or theirs did, because this was thoroughly enjoyable, even after I was well past the point where I should have stopped eating. Even the presentation was appetizing, in a small black-iron skillet. The wind blows in the same direction I am walking, to the garage two blocks away, but that didn't make the walk any more pleasant. I hate winter more with each passing year, even in those years when I accurately predict the season's weather, as I did this year. [title type="h5"]Cafe Adelaide. CBD: 300 Poydras St. 504-595-3305. [/title]