Tom and I spent a few nights after our wedding as guests in one of two penthouse suites at the top of The Windsor Court Hotel. We always reminisced about that in subsequent stays at the hotel in The Club, which is now in that space. Those early days set off a special relationship we had with the hotel, where we spent every anniversary there, either with a one-night stay or some meal in The Grill Room. The hotel invited us again to the penthouse for our tenth anniversary. That hotel is our pied-à-terre. We have gathered family for a few days for Mardi Gras, and were home-based there for Jude’s visits, starting with his wedding. That special relationship lasted until the very end of Tom’s life, literally. I cancelled our resy for lunch on our last anniversary as I drove behind the ambulance. He died the very next day.
With such a history, it has pained me for many years not to want to go to The Grill Room, which had been faltering long before COVID, but was unrecognizable after. I think the low point was having to scan a barcode to order. C’mon.
I was delighted to receive an email from the hotel’s PR folks about a new dinner menu rolling out, channeling chef Kevin Graham, who presided over the halcyon days of the hotel’s restaurant. What was always so interesting to me about the Kevin Graham hire was that he’s a Brit, and even though the hotel has always had a strong connection to Britain (it was part of The Orient Express and later Belmond) this era was part of, as Tom called it, “The Contemporary Creole Revolution,” where young chefs (mostly from here) were thrilling diners with re-invented New Orleans classics. How could someone from across the globe interpret food he had never known? Answer: he didn't. He brought a global perspective to the restaurant while incorporating local dishes. That is the norm now, but back then it was different. The Grill Room was the only hotel restaurant in a group of upstarts like Gautreau’s, Flagon’s, Upperline, Clancy’s, Mr. B’s, Commander’s, The Pelican Club, Bayona, Emeril’s, and Brigtsen’s, which shifted the dining paradigm and created a lot of buzz between 1985 and 1995.
Since then, there have been many chefs at the helm of The Grill Room, with an average tenure of about 5 years. The last few were so unfamiliar with the essence of what makes this food so renowned that I couldn’t pronounce or even try to spell their names.
It had long been obvious to me that hotel management was comfortable being just another hotel restaurant rather than a player in the dining scene here. And that is of course fine, but newer places like Peter & Paul and The Chloe and Columns are on the dining map with younger dining locals. And The Four Seasons has Chemin à la Mer and Miss River.
Perhaps The Windsor Court’s Hotel local owners and management must have taken notice, because a consultant was hired to get them back into the game. The Golden Era of The Grill Room is widely acknowledged to have been those early years, so Kevin Graham’s cookbook Simply Elegant was dusted off, and the new dinner menu was inspired by those dishes. Talking to the consultant on the radio show made me curious and happy. I was interested to see what they would do to woo back local diners by revisiting that glorious period of Windsor Court dining. The $90 prix fixe price made me pause, because I thought it would be too gourmet for me. I don’t mind spending money if I’m going to eat, but that’s too much to stare at the plate. But when I checked the website recently, I saw that it was entirely doable for me. And there is an à la carte option. I went.
It was thrilling. Thrilling! It may be more thrilling to me than for you, because of the emotional connection I have to this place, but the food was fabulous! Start to finish.
I was seated at the same table where Tom and I shared three decades of anniversaries. The place was empty, so they had to have notes directing me there. It was strange to have the empty chair. But I was too happy with the experience otherwise to be sad. I looked down into the courtyard at the familiar statue of St. George and a very busy valet. station. My waiter was friendly and very attentive, guiding me through a wonderful meal. He recommended the famous Chinese Lacquered Duck, which I would definitely have ordered, but it was duck breast. I love duck on the bone, but I chose other things.
He brought a bread basket so fancy I would have paid $10 for it. But it was complimentary. One Sourdough roll, a small loaf of seeded Pumpernickel, and a small Italian loaf that reminded me of Ciabatta. These were served with garlic confit, butter flavored with Esplette pepper, and the familiar olive oil and Balsamic vinegar combo. The waiter and I had a conversation about this wonderful bread, and he surprised me by telling me that the bread came from The Brennan Bakery, which has heretofore unimpressed me. But I loved these breads. The waiter also told me that these were proprietary recipes. That made more sense, but I have to admit the execution was fantastic. I wish I had been more prepared for the overall excellence of what was to follow. I ate too much bread before the dishes began to arrive.
The Shrimp Remoulade arrived, and it was delicately beautiful. Arranged on a leaf of Butter lettuce, the color contrasts with the shrimp and the colorful spice garnish. The new Shrimp Remoulade style is chopped shrimp, which I think I prefer. My “shrimp thing” makes me suspicious of larger shrimp, and this is easier to eat. I loved the flavor of the Remoulade and the spices. Good texture. Good everything.
I almost didn’t get the Corn and Crab Bisque, and I am so glad I ignored that impulse. I get a lot of soups like this, and there were other things on the menu that interested me. But it was the only hot app that I really wanted, so I ordered it. When it came to the table, my eyes popped. It was a gorgeous soup drizzled with oil and corn kernels popped out of the top of a pretty -colored soup. Lump crab was visible, which is not always the case.
The beignets were a meal in themselves. They came in a separate dish and were plump and beautiful, greaseless from the deep-frying. And they were the size of large Easter eggs. It was recommended that I put a beignet in the soup, which I intended to do anyway. But they were so large, I could only do one at a time.
When the beignet was submerged a bit into the soup, it started to disintegrate but not get mushy. Crab popped out all over. When I looked into the bowl again, there was crabmeat everywhere. For $22, this was a steal. It was such a hearty soup and so delicious that it could have been a meal in itself.
By this time, I was pretty full, and the Black Truffle Risotto was next, along with the seasonal vegetables I ordered. The vegetables were a medley of a lot of colorful vegetables. There were broccoli and cauliflower florets, along with onion and garlic, squash, zucchini, and bell peppers. These were sauteed in a butter sauce. Very good.
The Risotto just blew my mind. I had no intention of eating more than a bite of this, so full was I. But the richness of this dish was intoxicating, and I just kept eating it. The truffle was in tiny bits but a lot of them, with a generous amount of Parmesan cheese, silky rice, and toasted hazelnut bits on top. It came with a poached egg, but I asked for that to be separate. In hindsight, it was the perfect topper for such a decadent dish. This was creamy and luscious and so full of fat and flavor that it lingered on the lips. Divine.
I did not get dessert, but there was a parting gift for me. A single chocolate bonbon with orange infusion was very nice, and this was accompanied by a tiny baked loaf of Praline Coffeecake. This was wrapped and came from Le Salon, the little treats shop on the first floor.
The chocolate bonbon was a tasty little nibble, and I saved the coffee cake until the following morning, when it was a treat. Soft but dense, the praline topping was sweet and a good contrast to the plain cake. Good enough to buy one myself next time.
There will definitely be a next time. I had begun to think I had made my last visit to the Windsor Court, and that made me sad. But this menu is so enticing, and so beautifully executed that I really can’t wait to return and have more of this food. And that makes me happy.