The Four Seasons Hotel opened right before another local disaster, Hurricane Ida, so it has suffered from a lack of buzz. First there was Ida, then the New Orleans mandates, so maybe everyone is just tired after two years of adversity. The hotel has maybe unwittingly kept a low profile.
But I am a connoisseur of such hotels, and of mid century architecture, so I wanted to see the hotel. I recently had a tour of the gorgeous property, whose design style I just can’t place. With views of the Mississippi seemingly everywhere, it doesn’t really matter. The rooms and all public spaces are stunning nevertheless, and a few things are original, like the escalators and the floor in the lobby.
The entire lobby is a bar, with cozy discrete spaces all about. Miss River is located on the first floor beyond the bar, with an outdoor patio to be opened shortly. The space is actually arresting. There is nothing quite like it in New Orleans. In fact, I have only seen the like in London, which was exactly the image that came to mind. It reminded me of places in the UK, so it wasn't all that much of a surprise to hear that the designer is based in London. Utterly unique.
I sat in one of the several banquettes which lined the outer walls of the room. The menu reflected what I was told was a goal of Alon Shaya - to demonstrate to the locals that he could be more than an Israeli chef in New Orleans. He wanted to do his interpretation of New Orleans food.
With that in mind I could hardly wait to seriously peruse the menu. There was no question that I would get the signature dish everyone was talking about if indeed they were talking about the restaurant. It is the whole fried chicken. But what else? There was plenty else. It is one of those menus where I wanted everything.
The waiter mentioned a special appetizer that sounded great. It was a crawfish cream sauce in a strudel pastry, but when he mentioned Gruyere cheese as part of the dish, I lost interest. Not that I don’t love Gruyere, but it was also in the Blue Crab Au Gratin that I had already ordered as an appetizer. And Gruyere is what I call a “statement cheese.” I also ordered Oysters en Brochette and a Giardiniera Salad which was blanketed in grated Parmigiano Reggiano.
If there is Giardiniera mentioned anywhere, I succumb. Before pickled vegetables became hip superfoods, I was smitten by their perky vinaigrette and fresh crunch. The very suggestion of an entire salad of this was irresistible.
I had three dishes ordered before we even started thinking of entrees, and we came in with the idea of the whole chicken. It was definitely too much food, but there was so much on the menu I wanted to try, I had to get control by promising myself a return visit to try more.
There is a gumbo on the menu and an oyster stew, also a muffuletta and a cold seafood platter which includes raw oysters, boiled shrimp, crabmeat, and crab claws. Red snapper, barbecue shrimp, marinated artichoke hearts, and an enormous array of interesting sides. We did venture into the sandwiches on this trip, adding a softshell crab BLT to the order.
It was easy to start by snacking on a housemade sweet potato brioche roll with cane syrup butter. Coarse salt on the top of the roll balanced out the flavors enough to make this an enjoyable way to pass the time while waiting for the order.
It wasn’t a long wait. The service is excellent, with seemingly everyone poached from R’evolution. I didn’t ask what the MKT price was on the Crabmeat Au Gratin, and I got a little nervous when I saw it, enormous lumps of crab packed tightly into a fairly large metal baking dish. The dish itself was interesting, with copper handles. A beautiful sight. Light breadcrumbs and cheese made this utterly divine, with all accessory flavors subtle, allowing the delicate crab flavor to assume center stage. This was accompanied by regular Saltine crackers in their own little metal dish. These were buttered and toasted, and served warm. This is one of the best crab appetizers out there right now.
Also on the table was the Oysters En Brochette, another stunning presentation. This was served on a platter with four triangles of toasted and buttered Pain de Mie (known in America as basic white sandwich bread, though the French version always seems special.) There was a decent pile of parsley salad in a French Vinaigrette. We liked this. But the star of this plate was its namesake oysters, battered just so and served crispy, golden brown, light, and greaseless. There were four enormous oysters on a skewer, separated by thick slices of Benton’s bacon. That is redundant, because thick is a trademark of Benton’s bacon. The other is smoky. Very smoky. Benton’s bacon is pricey because it is first, hip, and fortunately, also good. I would not go out of my way to eat it, mainly because it reminds me of something your country neighbor made. Another spectacular combination of flavors, and a great dish.
Ah, the Giardinaire! Definitely not a disappointment. It was hard to see the salad beneath the snowy mound of grated Parmigiano Reggiano. There were pickled red onions, carrots, olive salad, and the lettuce itself! It took a minute to fall in love with it, but the more I ate the better it was. Very large and something good to split.
The chicken arrived just as we were finishing the salad. It comes with a presentation not only on the plate, but the service itself. Not pretentious, just fun. It is offered for your admiration, for pictures, etc., then taken away to be cut at the large station in the dining room for such matters, something I only see in Europe. It returns in the same large version of the metal dish with copper handles. The pre-cut version is handsome, a smallish not-bloated chicken coated evenly with a medium brown crust, a tall sprig of rosemary standing tall.
Fortunately, the rosemary was not a dominant theme. The coating was not too crunchy, not too spicy, not too anything. The chicken was tender, cooked perfectly, and flanked by three sauces: a Pissaladiere, Chili sauce, and pure honey. The waiter told us this was a nod to the late Austin Leslie, but he would definitely find this all too fancy. If that nod is that here is the basic simple good fried chicken Austin Leslie cooked, I get it. An order of this chicken and a few of these interesting sides would make a great meal for four.
The least impressive thing on the table this day was the softshell crab BLT. Served on what appeared to be a Texas Toast-sized version of more Pain de Mie, buttery and toasted as bookends for a Tempura-battered smallish softshell crab, a beautiful thick slice of large yellow heirloom tomato, and a bit of Romaine lettuce. There was more thick and stiff Benton’s bacon here too. This wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t thrilling, as most things at this table were. My dining companion does not agree with my sentiment about this sandwich, confessing frequent dreamy thoughts about the sandwich and the whole meal, now four days later.
It has been a long time since I have been genuinely excited about something new on the local dining horizon. The Four Seasons Hotel offers a glamorous, great place to hang and dine, for any meal, at any time. It is definitely worth the price of admission, and that is saying something.
