A few weeks ago, we received a call from Don the Gourmet Neighbor and sometime host of the show. He had some valuable information he knew that I as the hamburger queen, would be delighted to hear. Dickie Brennan’s has a hamburger on Fridays in the bar for $15, with fries. He mentioned that this was a very large burger and generally just pretty great for any price.
Finally, last Friday, I was able to get over there to check out this important tip. We discovered that not only was there a burger for a bargain but plenty of other bargains as well. There is a $1 cocktail: Martini or Old Fashioned. Tom ordered a Manhattan just so he could sing to the waiter, who couldn’t have cared less. I let him have his song, then informed the waiter that he’d have the Old-Fashioned. If we were there to check out a deal, the drink deal counts too.
Another great deal here at Friday lunch is the $20 lunch special which includes two courses, and one of them is a steak! This seemed too good to be true, so I got the burger and ML got a steak and Tom got the fish option on the $20 two-course offer. Tom got turtle soup to start which he loved, and the fish which he didn’t love so well. It came grilled with some potatoes and mushrooms and looked as underwhelming as it was. ML had better luck with her steak. She got a salad first which was really great. It was a large pile of spinach with blue cheese in a tangy vinaigrette. Her steak was an appropriate size for $20, and it sat atop a pile of mashed potatoes.
It was not spectacular, but the steak quality was quite fine and this was a good deal. The burger was enormous, as promised, with a fair-sized portion of french fries. I do not understand first-class restaurants with dark fried things. It screams to me, “We should have changed the oil!” It’s probably good because I tend not to eat such fried things, so it’s like an angel override on my bad decision. But it makes the restaurant look ,...less. To me, anyway. I was told from the beginning that there were no pickles in the house, and the burger was otherwise dressed appropriately. The meat was good, it was cooked as I asked, and the bun was great, although a little small for the patty, which stuck out all around by an inch. Hmmm. The burger was not a disappointment at all, but it wasn't special enough for a return visit.
The most striking thing about this meal was the abysmal service, which I’m sad to say is a trademark of this brand. I am aghast at the many times my husband has been tutored on what gumbo is at Tableau, and here I actually asked for something with the preface, “I’m so sorry to bother you, but,,,”
Maybe it was that we made no secret of the fact that we were there on a mission to see if the deals were real, but two wrongs do not make a right. If you’re at work, and the place is not busy, maybe you should check in at your table. It pains me to leave less than 20%, but I was gleeful to do it here.
Will I go back? Of course! A deal is a deal.
Dickie Brennan’s Steakhouse
716 Iberville St New Orleans
5:30-10 seven days
Friday lunch 11:30-2:30
dickiebrennanssteakhouse.com
