Last weekend was a big one for my family of origin. The family patriarch turned 80, and people came in from across the country. After the big party on Friday evening with delicious food catered by Palate, we played tourist in the French Quarter. On Saturday, we boarded the Natchez for a lunch tour.
The tour was nice, with a different view of the city from the river. Lunch was part of the ticket, and at the designated time everyone moved into the dining room, where really friendly servers delivered plates of cliché New Orleans food. It wasn't nearly as good as something we’d get from a nearby restaurant, but it was certainly good enough. It was a plate of New Orleans classics: fried catfish, red beans and rice, and jambalaya were offered in generous portions. A little square of bread pudding came later as dessert. It was a nice way to spend a few hours.
The rain that pummeled Metairie started in a light shower while we were on the boat, so some of us bailed on Part 2 of the city tour. Because of my fractured foot, I decided to pass on the extensive streetcar tour starting on the riverfront, then transferring to Canal, then to the St. Charles Ave car.
A few of us went to the back patio of The Audubon Clubhouse while we waited for them to arrive on the streetcar. There were four of us. One got a Bloody Mary that he declared one of the best he’s had. I ordered two apps, and another of us wanted chocolate. He got a brownie sundae.
The apps were the Dickie Brennan signature Crabmeat Cheesecake from the Palace Cafe. This insanely popular dish has made a few appearances in pop-ups around town, but it appears to have found a new home here, and I’d go just for that.
The last time I had it at The Commissary, I was disappointed that the brown butter sauce had been replaced by a classic Meuniere, and the crab claws were mostly replaced by mushrooms. I was delighted to see this cheesecake Meunière was lighter than the last one I had. It was fantastic. My only complaint was the size of the piece. I wanted more! It’s so rich they did me a favor. The crust was flaky and perfect. We all loved this.
The other app we had was the fried oysters. These came as a half dozen crispy fried oysters drizzled with Remoulade and served over a creamy slaw. The oysters were really crispy, and they were so spicy that their presence on top of the slaw made the slaw spicy too.
The lone dessert on the table was also loved by its recipient. It was a large slab of brownie topped by vanilla ice cream, and two chocolate chip cookies were perched in the ice cream. A chocolate sauce was drizzled over this pile of chocolate dessert. A chocolate lover’s dream. And that chocoholic was pleased.
After a leisurely time on the covered patio, we left, one of us going to pick up the drenched others on the streetcar.
We definitely made the better choice.