Monday, October 10, 2011.
She's Coming Home. Todd Schaefer's Bread Pudding.
I called Mary Ann to see how far along she was on the road from Atlanta to Washington, D.C. The answer surprised me: Birmingham, homeward bound. She had changed her mind about the rest of this trip, which originally was to take her and both of the kids to New York. But Jude's too busy, and Mary Leigh seemed tepid about the idea. That took all the wind out of MA's sails, and she's not happy about it.
She had reached Poplarville by the end of my radio show. She wanted me to meet her in Slidell for dinner at Bistro De La Reine, a newish spot in Old Town. The menu there looked decent to me, but she thought it was too much like a bar for her, and the music was irritating.
We headed to Speckled T's, a restaurant Mary Ann has in her crosshairs as a possible advertising client. I thought I knew where Speckled T's was, but I had it confused with Todd Schaefer's on Robert Boulevard. Since we were there, we went inside. The menu looked good to me. Mary Ann was in a mood that no mere meal could lift. We sat down.
I don't know the story of the Shaeffer family except that they had a seafood place on the other side of town for awhile, and there was some sort of disagreement among family members that led to the opening of this Todd Schaefer's.
I know more about the building. We had four or five remote broadcasts here during the years when Floyd Bealer operated it under the name Doug's. Floyd had previously been for many years one of the top chefs in the Brennan family's restaurant. He is still a legend at Commander's Palace for having once cooked 1200 brunches one Sunday in the 1970s.
Todd Schaeffer--whoever he is--performed such a renovation on the restaurant that even after the all the hours I'd spend there broadcasting and dining I couldn't recognize the layout. They're clearly aiming at the family crowd, which is by far the largest group of diners in Slidell.
We started with turtle soup (pretty good, along the line's of Mandina's) and crabmeat au gratin. The latter had the thick cheddar cheese top and creamy sauce matrix that people seem to like. That's for portion size alone, however. The crabmeat was white but not lumpy, and the white sauce took over. I'd prefer a serving half this size for the same price, but with a higher crabmeat proportion and a lot less cheese. But this is Slidell, and I can hear what the average diner would say to that.
What little I've heard about Todd Schaeffer's is that its fried chicken is good. The waitress confirmed this, not only by saying so but by warning us that it would take about a half-hour to come out. Indeed, this was good, crisp, hot chicken. More emphatic seasoning would have been welcome, but for nine dollars with two sides one couldn't be disappointed.
My entree was listed on the menu as an appetizer for two: shrimp and oysters Venezia. I don't think this was a reference to the Mid-City restaurant, nor for Venice (one would never find such a dish there, unless it was Venice, Louisiana). Shrimp, oysters, mushrooms, bread crumbs, garlic, olive oil. I love this kind of thing, but I've had better. The water that comes out of oysters when they bake gave the bottom half of the dish an unappealing texture, although I got over that and ate the whole thing.
There is no question that I will come here again, however. The bread pudding was incredibly good. So light as to almost seem like a soufflee. Topped with meringue, just like the pudding I grew up with and still make at home. Everything else about it was perfect. If it's this good all the time, I will nominate it Best Bread Pudding in Town. And bread pudding is my favorite dessert.
Todd Schaefer's. Slidell: 348 Robert Blvd. 985-649-9003.
It's over three years since a day was missed in the Dining Diary. To browse through all of the entries since 2008, go here.
