Until a few months ago, the North Shore had only two restaurants (Pardo's and DelPorto) that could be imagined as making it if they were on Magazine Street instead.
By that I mean a really stylish, sleek place where what comes out of the kitchen matches the sophisticated vibe. That's as it should be. The Mandi-Cov corridor's restaurant scene is an enigma. The potential customers are affluent, but not especially sophisticated when it comes to dining out.
Now that I've angered a few restaurants and diners, I'd better say that the guys at Chimes found that when they opened in Covington, they had to upscale their menu. (Which might say more about their original Baton Rouge location than the one in Covington!) And great restaurants do exist on the North Shore. Keith Young's, Gallagher's Grill, La Provence and a few others,
But that New Yorkish, young-targeted Magazine Street bistro style requires. . . a feeling. And there's not much of that feeling on the ironically cooler end of the Causeway.
After that long introduction, I'd better know a place that does have a kind of Magazine Street atmosphere. And I do. Tory Stewart, after years as the chef de cuisine at Broussard's, left to open his own bistro. He found empty a century-old bakery in old Mandeville, across the street from the big Our Lady of the Lake complex. The former location of Juniper, the building has been a number of other restaurants during the past fifteen years or so.
Owner Bronwyn Planchard put a lot of effort and money into the adorable cottage. Most apparent is a major upgrade outside, where a brand-new patio awaits the return of warmer weather. Insides there's plenty of warmth, the heart-of-pine plank floor radiating homeyness while the walls glow faintly with tones of green only a designer could identify.
My first visit to Jubilee was in its early days (it opened in August, 2013). A new place with tables on a patio? I can't resist that. But it was disappointing. The food was too cutting-edge for us, and fell short of being. . .how can I say this? . . .good. I had a chopped salad with a really delicious dressing. But the chopper was overzealous, and the texture and appearance were. . .well, if I had a blindfold, I would have put it on to eat it.
That day I also had a cochon de lait sandwich. It was beautiful, squirted with so many differently-colored sauces that they all canceled each other out and tasted like nothing.
But the service was perfect and the place gorgeous. So we vowed to give it another try. Our second lunch revealed that the menu had been modified for the clientele. Still more polished than most on the North Shore, but not too daring.
We started with a lovely purée of cauliflower soup with crabmeat, prettily set off with striations of colored oils. My Caesar salad with grilled chicken was made with anchovy, as promised–but a little too much so for my taste. (Anchovy lovers like my husband would rhapsodize.) The presentation was unique: large shards of French bread buttressed it.
Then drumfish with asparagus and fingerling potatoes, napped with a delicious, buttery sauce and my favorite palate-perker, capers.
We passed on dessert, lingering over coffee and tea happily administered by more of their polished service with antique silver pots. Now, if only Tory can be the one to finally get the hundred-year-old wood-burning bread oven in the kitchen working. . .
Jubilee. Mandeville: 301 Lafitte St. 985-778-2552. Lunch and dinner Tues.-Sat. www.jubileerestaurantcourtyard.com
By Mary Ann Fitzmorris
Author, The Suzie Homemaker Chronicles
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