We have lived on the Northshore for over thirty years. When we arrived here Dakota was the only gourmet restaurant of any note. Covington native Kenny Lacour and fellow Juban alum Chef Kim Kringle set up shop in Covington in 1990 in an unassuming building in the shadow of a motel close to where Hwy 190 meets I-12.
Its longevity and popularity owe to the talents of Kenny at the front of the house, but mostly to Kim Kringle in the kitchen, who turned out really innovative, ambitious, but mostly delicious food when not many were doing that.
In the early Nineties, Dakota was the hot ticket. These two partners were also the hottest caterers in town, opening a unique place called Dakota Wine and Feed, and then Creola, a delicious hangout to take the kids. These three restaurants were wildly popular with everyone on the Northshore possessing a discriminating palate.
And suddenly all restaurants but Dakota were gone as the owners set their sights on the Southshore, opening Cuvee in the CBD. All innovation was put into Cuvee, and Dakota began to look stale and frankly, boring. Over the years more and more restaurants of that caliber opened on the Northshore, and Dakota was no longer the hottest ticket in town. In fact, a lot of people, us included, forgot about Dakota.
COVID changed everything, and no one needs to be told that. People didn't go as far as often, especially for something optional like a nice meal in a restaurant. And so a few weeks ago, out of sheer boredom with the same old places close to home, we remembered Dakota, one of our old favorites, and we went in for lunch.
Nothing has changed in over thirty years but the place still seemed fresh. How have they done this? After all that time it should show signs of wear, but it didn’t. The menu was the same, and that didn’t bother me either. Maybe it’s because we kept running into people we knew.
Our waiter told us about the specials, which explained why the menu doesn't change. The specials were indeed special. Tom started with a menu favorite, Oysters Mosca, the Dakota version of the iconic dish. While it is not as good as the dish it is modeled after, it worked for Tom, hitting all the the right notes.
It’s a really large portion, served in a medium-sized cast iron skillet, filled to the top with lots of breadcrumbs covering a generous amount of oysters. It is definitely drier than the real Mosca’s original, but it works. How far wrong can you go with baked oysters, garlic, olive oil and breadcrumbs? It is not necessary, but a piece of grilled focaccia is served alongside it.
While Tom savored this very substantial appetizer, I enjoyed a cup of duck and andouille gumbo which was intensely flavorful, striking the perfect balance between spicy and smoky. The color was spot on and the consistency just what you want.
What came next for Tom was a sandwich. Specifically, an oyster poor boy, but this was no ordinary oyster poor boy sandwich. On an 8 inch span of good French bread was a generous amount of perfectly crispy fried oysters with an adventuresome mix of salad greens, vegetables, and dressings that amounted to a salad that could stand alone. This was not only beautiful and generous, but uniquely delicious. It came with a gigantic pile of clearly house cut french fries and a perky aioli.
I ordered out of my league by going with a special. I have often chided Dakota as unchanging and coasting on the good old days, but the last two meals we have had there prove that everyone should “coast” like this. The ambition is in the specials, because Kim Kringle can do the regular menu in his sleep. (And it would still be better than 95% of what else is out there.)
The special happened to be a fish roulade, something I would ordinarily never get. I don’t feel that food should be rolled, especially proteins, and that goes double for fish. But in the hands of a chef like this, how bad could it be?
Not bad at all. In fact, pretty fantastic. It was pan-seared speckled trout rolled into a cone and placed over a mound of risotto in caper butter. There was corn sprinkled throughout and spinach and onions and carrots atop the cone, a crisp slice of bacon, and green beans on the side. This was a gorgeous plate of food with a lot going on. It defied the famous words of the late great Dick Brennan, who once said, “so much in there all together it tastes like nothing.”
There was indeed so much going on there, but it did not taste like nothing. It tasted like a very delicious something. All the flavors of these items stood out individually and then blended into a perfect harmony. I was very glad to have overridden my hard rule about no roulades. This was spectacular.
Tom got creme brulee for dessert. It was executed with the same precision that made the rest of the meal memorable. A nice portion of rich, eggy custard, finished off with a layer of glass sugar, topped with ripe colorful berries. This was gone in a blink. Tom was well pleased with this version of a desert he gets everywhere he sees it.
I left that extremely pleasant and totally delicious meal vowing to return as soon as possible. I don’t know why I have spent the last ten years being harsher on Dakota, such an old favorite, for not changing anything, than any other place of this caliber.
The most obvious thing that hasn’t changed at Dakota in the last 32 years is the level of excellence and polish in the decor, the wait staff, and most important, the food.
All the new places at this level that have arrived on the scene on the Northshore have nothing on Dakota. It’s the original, still doing the same thing it always has, and keeping a low profile. No ‘hype” needed.
