Tuesday, September 6, 2016.
A Normal Steak At An Adventuresome Restaurant.
Mary Ann is busy making calls and cleaning up the aftermath of the Wedding That Disappeared. Among the happier aspects of all this--and it is beginning to look as though most of them are indeed happy--is that most of the outfits booked for the event are rebating our deposits. There was a while there when the number of non-refundables was blood-curdling.
Meanwhile, in my everyday world, I have dinner at La Boca. Last time I went there the place was jammed, with no hope of seats opening up for hours. But this is one of the worst weeks of the year for restaurants, and even La Boca is nearly empty.
[caption id="attachment_52661" align="alignnone" width="480"]
The bar at La Boca, often filled with people dining. ut not this week.[/caption]
La Boca is in some ways a standard steakhouse, and in other ways different from any other. It positioned itself originally as an Argentinian steak place--Argentina being even more of a beef-consuming land than America is. That idea doesn't swing out of line too far, but it does add something. Quite a few of the cuts are found nowhere else.
[caption id="attachment_52660" align="alignnone" width="480"]
"Bife de Chorizo."[/caption]
I see on the menu "bife de Chorizo," billed as a USDA Prime New York strip. Unlike all the other steaks I've had here, this one is down to earth. Except for that note about chorizo, the spicy sausage. I ask the waiter whether it's stuffed with the chorizo or what. He says that it's just a name, and there is no sausage in or around it.
While waiting for the grill to do its work, I have a salad with hearts of palm, avocado, romaine, and a mayonnaise-based dressing. It lacks a little in freshness, but not enough to worry about.
The steak, on the other hand, is everything I was hoping for. It's a fourteen-ounce job, seared in an exciting way across and around its every surface. Juicy, juicy. Could have been seasoned a bit more, but that is easily repaired. It comes with a small rack of little dishes, each with a room-temperature sauce. The green one is chimichurri. The red one is a chile-pepper puree. The ivory-colored one is a mayonnaise with mustard and pepper. All are good; my favorite is the chimichurri.
I order no sides, because I know I will not be able to finish the steak, let alone a pile of fries (great here) or grilled big asparagus (also excellent). I put away about ten ounces of one of the two or three best steaks I've had in awhile. But that is La Boca's standard performance.
La Boca. Warehouse District & Center City: 870 Tchoupitoulas. 504-525-8205.
[divider type=""]
Wednesday, September 7, 2016.
A Pleasant Surprise At Broussard's.
When I had dinner with Tommy Andrade and Marv Ammari last month--they were telling me about Tommy's selling his restaurants to the Ammari's Creole Cuisine restaurant group--we also talked about the Ammari's other establishments. The story behind their acquisition of Broussard's is interesting. I have always had a soft spot for Broussard's, the fourth or fifth restaurant of the big old grande dame places. It needs special treatment from its owners for it to do well. Fortunately, it had that on numerous occasions. But it has also changed chefs and management a little too often.
As I note in the full review of Broussard's today in the NOMenu Daily, Broussard's may currently have the team and the promotion it needs. Chef Neal Swidler concocted a special summer dinner menu which, for $19.20 (the year Broussard's was founded), sends out three courses of some very interesting food.
[caption id="attachment_52668" align="alignnone" width="480"]
Fried oysters atop a spinach salad at Broussard's.[/caption]
With a couple of exceptions, Mary Ann and I limit ourselves to the special menu. Mary Ann starts with a great crostino, follows with a spinach salad with oysters, and winds up with trout amandine. I have a brilliant take on crabmeat gratinee and have the $19.20 entree: chicken Pontalba, a dish I've always loved.
To quote myself, "This food at this price should have a line outside the door every night!"
It could be that the beautiful old place is too formal for younger diners. (Although there is no serious dress code.) On the other hand, they do serve a hamburger at Broussard's. Yes, on the dinner menu.
[caption id="attachment_52665" align="alignnone" width="480"]
Trout amandine @ Broussard's.[/caption]
The solution may be to hire about a dozen people to stand in line in front of Broussard's from about 6:30 to 7 or 8. It's not a dishonest move. Who can explain vogues and style in anything?
Broussard's. French Quarter: 819 Conti. 504-581-3866.
