Mandina's In Mandeville: No Oyster-Artichoke Soup, But Trout Amandine Excels.

[title type="h6"]Saturday, September 14, 2013.[/title] I wonder what gives at the Mandina's in Mandeville that prevents them from serving their oyster-artichoke soup. It's on the menu, but they have it only sporadically. I think it's the best version of that great potage in the whole area. It's made in the style of Chef Warren Leruth, who invented it in the 1960s. No cream: just a light roux with a lot of the namesake sauces. [caption id="attachment_20918" align="alignnone" width="400"] Trout amandine at Mandina's in Mandeville.[/caption] With my fingers crossed that today would the the day, and with hankering for that flavor, I persuaded the Marys to join me at Mandina's for dinner. They said yes. The waitress said no. No oyster-artichoke soup. Hasn't been on in weeks. Arrggh! Why would a restaurant with something so good keep it in the shadows? They did have the other dish I had on my mind. Trout amandine at Mandina's has always been good. Fried fish (even Galatoire's and Arnaud's, the two most famous purveyors of the dish, cook it that way), toasted almonds, and a flow (a bit too much, I'd say) of the old-style, Arnaud's-created brown meuniere sauce. That's unique to New Orleans, and a greatly altered version of what the French think of as meuniere, but good anyway. Other than that, the day went to the endless jiggering of files as Jude, his group of Pakistanis, and I work on the website renovation. [title type="h6"]Mandina's. Mandeville: 4240 La 22. 985-674-9883.[/title]