With all the grand plans for dropping Tom at dinner for me to see a parade were thwarted when the Endymion Parade was canceled. Good thing we hadn’t left the north shore yet. We changed plans and stayed close to home, which gave us a great opportunity to scratch the Pat Gallagher's 527 itch Tom has had for about a month.
I have long said that of the two great steakhouses on the north shore, people have allegiance to one or the other. Everyone is either a Keith Young person, or a Gallagher person. Both of them do really really well. We are Keith Young people, but the “lustiness” (as Tom calls it) of Pat Gallagher’s food sometimes calls to us. We listened that Saturday.
Tom got what he always starts with here, the Oysters Pablo, with spinach, shallots, chipotle peppers and lots of romano cheese sauce. I was intrigued by Crabmeat St. Francis, which originated with the legendary Warren LeRuth. When I mentioned to Tom that I couldn’t recall having ever had this very famous dish, he insisted I try it. I didn’t really know what to expect, but I didn’t really care for it. Is that blasphemy? It was heavy on bread. A lot of breadcrumbs throughout and crusted on the top. It was also served with grilled ciabatta. The dominant taste in the actual crabmeat dish was pepper. It completely overwhelmed the delicate flavor of the crabmeat.
There was a special of halibut topped with crabmeat. We laughed about this considering Tom’s “Halibut in Halifax” fixation on the show. Someone had to get it. Tom also noticed a bone-in filet, a sort of signature here. It was decided that I get that. When these entrees arrived at the table I was glad I settled on the filet. This was an enormous filet whose mass included a lot of bone. It was sizzling in butter as all things from this kitchen are. This was a butter-knife tender piece of meat that wasn’t nearly as large as it looked.
We made the boring but still delicious choice of a baked potato with all the fixin’s. All of this fell into the same realm of taste. It was all salty, very peppery, and buttery. In other words - lusty, as Tom has always said.
Pat Gallagher’s 527
527 N. Causeway Blvd. Mandeville
985-778-2820
Tue-Fri 11-2:30 Lunch
Tue-Th 5-9:30 Dinner
Fridays till 10
Saturday 5-10
gallaghers527.com
