Diary 9|26|2014: GW Fins Is Lobstering, But Not For Us.

[title type="h5"]Friday, September 26, 2014. GW Fins Is Lobstering, But Not For Us. [/title] Every time I write about going to restaurants where we have no reservations, I get a clump of emails from people accusing me (rightly) of not taking my own advice about that. I always reply that I try as hard as I can to act like a typical customer when I dine out. And that a lot of typical people don't make reservations, for reasons I don't understand. Unless it's this one: we never seem to make up our minds about where to eat until we're headed to the restaurant. And the reason for that is that Mary Ann never seems to know where she wants to go until we are actually seated in the place. Even then, sometimes, she changes her mind. I remember when I was a kid, one often saw movie and television routines that ended with a reference to "a woman's unrestricted right to change her mind." (Those were almost always the exact words.) I don't hear that joke much anymore. Except in real life. [caption id="attachment_44002" align="alignnone" width="480"] GW Fins on a busy night.[/caption] When we arrive at GW Fins around six-thirty, we discover that a large convention is in town. No tables available until ten p.m. All those people must have heard that Fins is the best seafood restaurant in town. I believe I was the first to say that to a large audience, but the credit all goes to Gary Wollerman and Chef Tenney Flynn. Disappointed and on the way out, we bump into a manager on the way in. He brightens up, shakes my hand, and asks if he could help us. I congratulate him for such a successful night, and ask whether the Lobster Feast is still running. "You must be a local to know about that!" he says. "Come on in. We save some tables for locals." Yeah, sure, I can read the emails saying. But popular restaurants really do save tables for locals. Truth is, I don't think anyone there knew my secret identity. Otherwise either Gary or Tenney would have emerged to say hello. The first time I met Gary Wollerman--formerly the corporate COO of Ruth's Chris Steak House, before Ruth sold it--was during my first dinner at GW Fins. He walked around the dining room passing out freshly-baked (I mean hot out of the oven) buttermilk biscuits. They were a little sweet, which put me off, because in every other way these were identical to the ones I make at home, which I believe are perfection. (This is not because of anything I know, but because it's a very simple recipe, with three ingredients.) I like Fins's biscuits so much that I eat three of them tonight. The waiter will keep bringing them if you ask. [caption id="attachment_44007" align="alignnone" width="480"] Triple wedge, three sauces.[/caption] Both MA and I have overeaten all week. (Two Eat Club dinners in three days!) We order light tonight. Certainly not the Lobster Feast, which shows up this time of year. It's three courses of lobster for something like $65, and it has many fans--not the least of them because of the unique and wonderful lobster ravioli. But neither MA nor I are lobster lovers. And too many other dishes sound good. [caption id="attachment_44006" align="alignnone" width="480"] Crab cake with tamarind coulis, chimichurri, and jucama.[/caption] We begin with a salad made of three mini-lettuce wedges, with shrimp remoulade, crabmeat, and blue cheese and bacon adorning each wedge respectively. Very nice, but MA has the better dish. Not only is this crab cake everything you'd want in terms of solidity of jumbo lump, but the sauces are unique. One is a coulis of tamarinds, the other a chimichurri. Very pretty, and even better in the tasting. [caption id="attachment_44004" align="alignnone" width="480"] Scottish salmon, grilled over wood.[/caption] I tell MA to just go ahead and get the wood-grilled Scottish salmon with a corny (I mean that literally) succotash. If she got anything else, I would have to have the salmon, and after one taste of hers she'd want to swap. [caption id="attachment_44005" align="alignnone" width="480"] Scalibut.[/caption] And I am interested in a new Fins specialty called "scalibut." It's a hefty slab of Alaskan halibut with middle-size sea scallops jammed between the halibut's flakes. (That's how I think they do it, anyway.) By coincidence, a dinner I hosted some twenty years ago used more or less this same idea, and I always thought it was a good one. This one was fresh and pure-tasting, and needed only a little heavier hand with the Creole seasoning to address my tastes ideally. [caption id="attachment_44003" align="alignnone" width="480"] Ban-nilla.[/caption] An odd dessert called "Ban-Nilla" ended the evening. This is a cup made of of vanilla ice cream with banana ice cream inside, topped with bruleed bananas. Whipped cream and a caramel sauce wrap it up. This must take a few minutes to build. As we pay the check, we find ourselves thinking the same thought we often do lately: Why don't we come here more often? Fins is terrific eatery. We walk across the street to take a look at what's going on at Arnaud's. We didn't need to go inside to see they were busy, too. And we ran into Katie Casbarian, who with her mother and brother manage the old French-Creole classic. She says that a new menu is soon to appear. Not to worry--it's not changing much. Katie is wearing work togs. Mary Ann tells her what I can only think: this woman can throw on a few rags and still look urbane and glamorous. [title type="h5"] GW Fins. French Quarter: 808 Bienville. 504-581-3467. [/title]