Greg and Mary Sonnier met in the kitchen of K-Paul’s many years ago, and they are celebrating Paul Prudhomme this week on what would have been his 85th birthday. It’s a wonderful excuse for a summer special menu and price. The price is $60 for three courses, and the courses feature some of Paul’s originals. The restaurant was packed when we went. It’s a perfect size for an intimate experience, and the dining room is the very epitome of New Orleans. The dark walls are a great backdrop for art, and they are crammed with Jazz Fest posters and an endless amount of recognizable images of a New Orleans life.
We arrived for the 5-6:30pm Happy Hour, with a wine BOGO deal, reduced cocktail prices, and appetizers for $10. We got two of these: the duck fat fries and a plate of housemade andouille and kimchi.\ We were a table of four and didn’t follow the everyone-get-something different scheme. There was a lot of sameness at the table.
The extra apps were a good choice. Duck fat fries are on menus now and then. We had to get some. These were housecut shoestring fries that came with a surprisingly sweet sauce for dipping. I would have preferred a straight aioli but the fries themselves were very nice.
The housemade andouille with kimchi was exactly what I would have expected here. The andouille was really spicy and very smoky. I was surprised at its texture, which was crumbly. The kimchi was actually fiery.
There were two gumbos on the table for the first courses, with three choices, which is something I never see. Pretty ambitious. One seafood and one guinea hen and andouille. And two of us got the Crabmeat Avery. For entrees two of us had the Chicken Tchoupitoulas, there was one blackened redfish and one Veal with Fettuccine in Czarina sauce. And the entire dessert menu was open, so two of us had the signature Peppermint Patti, one had a Lemon Chess Pie and one Sweet Potato Pecan Pie.
The Guinea Hen Gumbo was a typical Greg Sonnier gumbo, very dark roux, as was the seafood gumbo. Both were dense with flavor and had an adequate amount of "stuff” in it.
I was disappointed in the Crabmeat Avery. It was a small portion with three or four little crostini and the flavor was unremarkable as well. It had large pieces of the “trinity” in it and seemed to veer into a tomato realm, which I agree with Tom should never cross paths with delicate crabmeat. Crabmeat belongs in a cream sauce, yes, but not an assertive one.
The blackened redfish looked fantastic when it arrived at the table. It was a large piece of fish with new potatoes and vegetables and a brown butter sauce on the side. It was as good as it looked.
The Chicken Tchoupitoulas was a generous plate of food, with tender chicken pieces roasted beautifully and napped with Béarnaise sauce, placed over spinach with little mirepoix-sized Brabant potatoes. This was very good chicken, cooked to the sweet spot of tender but not overcooked. I love tiny vegetables. These were a great accompaniment to the chicken, and together with the spinach it was a nice bite.
The Veal entree was paneed and came with fettuccine in Czarini sauce. I was not familiar with Czarina sauce but Greg Sonnier explained to me that it was unique to Paul Prudhomme and very personal. The K of K-Paul refers to his wife Kay, who had a reputation of being more like a czar. It’s essentially a creamy cheese sauce with shrimp and squash vegetables in it. Another good dish that was simple and very New Orleans.
The desserts were roundly loved. Two had the Peppermint Patti which was a slab of flourless chocolate cake flanked by a generous scoop of creamy housemade peppermint ice cream. The cake was dusted with powdered sugar, with a drizzle of chocolate sauce. This was as heavenly as it sounds.
A lemon chess pie was very perky. It had a bit of raspberry to offset the tartness, and a dusting of powdered sugar. This was quite good for what it was.
And the pecan pie was just what I expected. It’s a good version here, and a little crumbly. It’s got all the right taste one expects in a pecan pie.
This terrific chef couple got their start with Paul Prudhomme, and their cooking style is straight Cajun and particularly Paul’s. Everything here is dense and flavorful, and exactly as it has always been since they started Gabrielle. The Prudhomme celebration week has been a tremendous success, and there is talk of an extension. Check with the restaurant if you want to experience this very good deal at $60 for three courses.
