We had such fun last week cruising around on Friday evening looking for fish frys that I resolved to make it a weekly thing. That first Friday we had one from a restaurant and another from a Catholic school. Both were terrific in their own right.
This second Friday we were not as lucky. First, let me say that the Catholic schools are doing just fine with their fund-raisers. I worried about them when restaurants started getting into the game, but there is a wait everywhere we have been.
The north shore waits aren’t as long as the south shore waits. I tried St. Catherine in Metairie this last Friday evening and couldn't even get into the parking lot. A glance at the line told me this was not for us.
On the way into town to have the fish plate at Basin Seafood, I called Gabrielle to pick up their plate. It was already sold out. It was getting too late to try another Catholic school, so we went to Basin and had regular things on the menu.
I think we were there once before many years ago, but I didn’t remember how charming this place is. Small, cozy, and happening, it has a nice view of one kitchen, which is always buzzing. The other one must be too, but you don’t see it.
We sat in full view of the pick-up station where the expediting takes place. It was intriguing. It seemed like everyone there did everything unless you were in the kitchen. Our waiter seated us and then served us. When Tom needed to leave he was busy with another table so someone else checked us out.
We started with a side of garlic bread to keep Tom busy. This was three chunks from a loaf of French bread with a light dusting of butter. I didn’t detect any garlic flavor, but it didn’t matter. It worked for its intended purpose.
Chargrilled oysters arrived next, covered in Parmesan and herbs. They were done for Tom, which means plump and juicy but not overdone. He loved these.
This being an Edgar Caro restaurant, there had to be something Latin on the menu. The pupusas with crawfish sounded great. And they were. They sat in a spicy red chile sauce with a pile of vegetables and crispy bits on top. I can’t decide if I like griddle cakes. These were softer than usual. With less filling than I expected. But the overall taste of all the elements together was nice.
We also got elotes, which I sort of like, but it’s so messy to eat I don't often get it. Again, being an Edgar Caro restaurant, I had to try his version of the popular Mexican street corn. It was messy but delicious. It came as a stack of three small cobs, covered with “stuff.”
I also had crab claws, which is a requirement at my table if it is on a menu. These seemed tough, which I have never encountered in a crab claw. I didn't find the sauce redeemably flavorful. Of the two dishes we had where garlic is mentioned in the listing on the menu, they seemed shy about using it.
The last dish of the evening was the grilled drum over lima beans. The beans were nicely done, holding their shape, and cooked to the sweet spot: not too hard or soft. The other part of the accompaniments to the fish was popcorn rice. I am crazy about this type of rice because its flavor is so wonderful it needs nothing to taste great all by itself. I thought the flavor was too mild in this version of our local grain. To be honest, neither the fish nor the bean had much flavor either. This was a bland dish. Disappointing.
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That’s the word for everything on the table.. As a fan of this Latin chef, I have never had anything at his restaurants that didn’t fall into the memorable” category, meaning food I’ll think about long after I’ve had it. It seemed weird to be ambivalent about it.
There wasn’t time to make it to a Catholic school fish fry. We will resume the hunt next Friday.
