Consistently Consistent

The Pelican Club arrived on the dining scene in New Orleans about the time I entered Tom’s life. It was one of the first fine dining restaurants I became acquainted with because of our association. It remains a favorite of mine, as it always was of his. Since COOLinary came into being about ten years after that, the Pelican Club stood out from the crowd as it always has, by doing something better.

Instead of offering one or two choices for COOLinary, Richard Hughes included the entire Pelican Club menu, giving diners a real taste of The Pelican Club. More expensive items on the menu had an upcharge attached, but you could still have them as part of the three-course meal. Great strategy. Also, The Pelican Club’s COOLinary lingered an extra two weeks, ending in mid-September. This year it went until the end of the month, and last week I got in there to try it.

There will be no great revelations here about The Pelican Club, because in addition to its other charms The Pelican Club never changes. It is consistently excellent. But this is an account of a fun evening there, and the terrific food at the center of it all. I went on a Sunday evening early, before the Saints massacre was over. It was slow at the restaurant, and I went to the first dining room which includes the bar. This has always been my favorite of the three very different dining rooms at The Pelican Club.

The host was behind a podium ready to seat me. The bartender had no one to serve, so he was enthusiastically drawn to the game on television. And he got more depressed with each disastrous play. A few other staffers were there for moral support, and I struck up a conversation with these three. It wasn’t long before people started trickling in.

Two people sat at the bar and chimed in, eager to console the bartender. It made my solo dining experience fun. Best of all, I was able to catch up on Bill Belichick's love life.

Richard sent out a Seafood Martini. He also wanted to send out the scallops appetizer, but I declined. I hadn’t ordered for myself yet and I was alone. I can only eat so much. I was planning on getting the Barbecue Shrimp and an entree of Short Rib over grits with heirloom carrots. And I decided on the Flourless Chocolate Decadence Cake for dessert. Add to that the focaccia bread I am always talking about and it was already too much food.

The bread service arrived with the Seafood Martini. This gigantic Martini glass was brimming over with seafood. Starting at the very bottom were two leaves of Romaine lettuce and heirloom grape tomato halves, with some Creole Potato Salad as the base. Jumbo lumps of crabmeat were layered on top of that. Those crab lumps were topped end-to-end with morsels of lobster meat, and on top of that were boiled shrimp. A generous dollop of Ravigote sauce finished this glorious appetizer. 

I could, (and maybe should have) made a meal of this with the bread, which was soft and warm and a tad salty. It was a lot of seafood. I savored every bite of this. The crabmeat was divine and plentiful, the lobster tender and not at all chewy, and the shrimp just perfect. I was crazy enough about the sauce to ask for more. I absolutely loved this, as I always do.

Barbecue Shrimp is something I don’t often order, but tonight I felt like it. This was not a dark roux or a sauce heavy on Worcestershire, but it was very good, and elevated further by the toasted focaccia as accompaniment. A hint of rosemary was nice too.

The Short Rib was a huge slab of tender braised short rib with a mushroom-based demi sauce. This had a rich mouthfeel, which I always love with dishes like this. The grits underneath were also decadent, with a flavor boost from three cheeses. The contrast of textures with the short rib and the coarse grits was pleasing. This had two roasted heirloom carrots as part of the ensemble. It broke my heart to just not be able to eat all of this, but I was so full from the first two courses. And so much focaccia…

After we packed up the short rib, the flourless chocolate cake came to the table. This was dense and dark and moist, with a drizzle of caramel, a dollop of whipped cream and a smattering of blueberries and strawberries. There are few flavors that I allow to dilute my chocolate, and caramel is one of them. The berries and whipped cream cut the density in the dark chocolate. Good stuff!

By this time the place was beginning to fill up, the Saints game had taken a backseat to happy activity, and my wonderful meal at The Pelican Club was over. I left with a smile on my face, as I have done for 35 years.