A business lunch last week offered an excuse to eat at Desi Vega’s in Metairie, a place I am always recommending on The Food Show. I have often spoken about the list of specials that are no more expensive than a place far less good. As it turned out, of the three of us at the meeting, I was the only one who ordered from that menu. But the other orders did give me an opportunity to see what the rest of the menu was like at lunch.
The place is hopping. I was thinking of getting the crabcake as a shareable app, but one of us got that on a salad. The other got sliced filet on her salad. And I got a burger with fries from the lunch menu. I noticed a ravioli dish I wanted and a tasso and shrimp dish that seemed new. I will just have to go back. Not a chore.
The meal started as it always does here with the single meatball. I am bonkers about Desi’s grandma's meatballs and sauce. It made me want to call it a day with a bowl of these. I restrained myself.
The salad with the crab cake was Desi’s Steakhouse Salad, and it had cucumbers, tomatoes, red onion and carrot, and it came with a Dijon vinaigrette. The crab cake was an extra “protein,” which now kicks a salad into the expensive price point on a menu. This one was $15 for the mixed greens and veggies and $11 for the crab cake, totaling $26.
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The other salad was the Louie salad, with its heart of palm and asparagus, and crumbled egg.. This one was already a $20 base. With the $12 steak this was a $32 salad. This is where I veer off and get the Trout Meuniere instead. I remember this salad when the place opened. I often got it. At that time it came with a buttermilk dressing and a pile of crabmeat on top. In a few short years the price had nearly doubled. C'mon.
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Somewhere in the last five years, the crabmeat got removed and the dressing switched to 1000 Island. The rest of the ingredients remained. With the option to add “a protein.”
Both my companions enjoyed their choices, as did I. It was the burger with prime beef, lettuce and tomatoes and housecut fries. I asked for extra pickles forgetting that I don't care for the housemade pickles here. I don’t understand why chefs need to make their own pickles these days, but they widely vary in goodness. And because I don't care for a particular flavor in these, I wasted extra pickles.
The beef is great here, and the rest of the sandwich was top level, as always. I got basic cheddar for a classic burger, and I added it to the dressings, dumped the bun, and had my own sort of salad.
The fries are housecut here and are always very good. They are the basic size with skin on, and are seasoned well. They are sometimes a tad greasy as they were this day, but it's a forgivable offense offset by the extra trouble the kitchen took to cut the potatoes in house.
This place thrills me every time I am here. It is always consistent, the service top notch, and the food excellent. It almost makes me okay with a $32 salad.
Almost.
