Big family event in Mary Ann’s family this weekend, so yesterday we stopped at the home of the one sister who lives in town to do some preparations. Tom’s famous baked ham was requested, along with Shrimp Remoulade, and Mary Ann did her jambalaya and spinach dip. It was a fun get together for the sisters pre-get together, and I enjoyed watching their camaraderie. It will be interesting to see how these things turn out, because we only got them started, and gave instructions for their completion. I always like to hear if the recipes people use that I created work out for them. These two are among the ones most used, and the ones I hear most about, so I am confident.
I had some spots to cut at the radio station, and MA had errands to run, so we left this pre-party after only a few hours. I know the spinach dip would be a hit,` because the girls hit it themselves a few times. And I had a bite. If one must eat spinach dip, MA has a good one. Many years ago Steve Stonebreaker was kind enough to share his excellent one with her, and she has tweaked it only a little. Stonebreaker’s was a good restaurant, and he was a nice guy, and the demise of that restaurant and the man was a tragedy. MA carries on the legacy often, because she makes that spinach dip a lot.
For dinner, we went to Meril and had the worst experience we have ever had. The girls love this place but have a different take on it now. Even Mary Ann was taken aback by the cacophony of sound that greeted us at the door. It is Tales of The Cocktail Week, so maybe that had something to do with it. The usual buzz of Meril was heightened, to put it mildly. Our waitress made MA’s Hall of Fame, just behind the girl at Bouligny Tavern that she almost got into a hair-pulling tumble with. I will never forget that. This one didn’t have the millennial attitude of that one. This one was older but not at all interested in our table. We saw her when she greeted us. When we informed her that no alcohol would be consumed, we weren’t sure we would see her again. But we did, twice. Once to take our order, and to pick up the check. She did not come to tell us why our food would be delivered at a glacial pace, did not ask why I left my linguine and clams untouched. She didn’t even deliver the food or supervise its delivery when it was finally ready.
We got a meatball which looked superb, its marinara crusted and bubbling, but was nothing special. There was a chicken dish with a mole sauce that was also just a grilled chicken. The mole sauce wasn’t bad but was less a true mole than their take on it, and it actually didn’t seem to belong there. I tried it on my linguine but that didn’t help the linguine either. MA would normally ask that this be removed from the bill, but didn’t want to talk to the waitress. We got the upside-down cornbread that I think would be better without all the glazing. The street corn was pretty good, but not the best we have had. A cavatappi pasta in a creme sauce was also tasty, but salty. The best thing at the table, a Margherita flatbread, was also salty.
I do hope this can be blamed on Tales of The Cocktail, and that this restaurant has not slipped like this. But it is definitely more fun than it was. Besides the Instagrammable neon sign cove in the bar, there is a snowball machine with $5 snowballs, also in the bar, which was absolutely a scene. And birthday people get a cotton candy accompanied by a sparkler candle, which definitely gets attention passing through the dining room.
Meril
434 Girod St New Orleans
504-526-3745
Sun-Th 11:30-10
Friday & Saturday till 11
emerilsrestaurants.com
