For some time now, I have been worried that I have eaten out so much that I have become jaded. Everything seems less than it was and I am never excited by anything put before me. Yet, it has happened twice in the last month (a small percentage of meals we eat in restaurants,) and I am thrilled.
The first was at Fury’s, and I have chronicled that experience in our most recent newsletter. But last Friday evening we went to a restaurant I call an enigma whenever I mention it on the radio show. Pardo’s was an instant favorite of ours from the moment it arrived on the scene ten years ago. Set in a strip mall by 1-12 in Covington, it surprised us with its glamour and excellence.
About five years in, their very talented chef died, and things sort of fell apart. Not long after that, owner Osman Rodas bought a decrepit old house and did a long and outstanding renovation of the place, creating one of the most beautiful dining spaces anywhere around New Orleans.
The staff is also outstanding. The only problem with the place is, unfortunately, the food. It has never regained its former excellence, and even though that is a high standard, the problem here now and ever since the move is inconsistency.
One night we will dine at Pardo’s and I will stagger out, wowed by something I had. On the next visit, I will stagger out, puzzled by what I just had. Sometimes different dishes in the same meal can do this.
One recent experience is a good case in point. Osman was there and sent out a dish that they won The Food Fight competition with. It is a Surf & Turf dish, which usually puts me off, but he gave no explanation until after he placed it in front of me.
Four cups of Romaine hearts had a simple slice of pork belly inside, with a grilled shrimp on top. There were squirts of various condiments shooting from all over.
The simplicity belied the exquisite taste of this dish. It exploded in my mouth with flavor. I loved this! All of the components of the dish weren’t especially extraordinary in their own right, but together they made magic. Pork belly can be tough to get right, and they certainly did. It was tender and the sauce delicious. The grilled shrimp was seasoned perfectly and cooked to my taste. But when the shaved and pickled onions and the condiments wrapped it all together, it was exciting. It is so rare that I am excited by something I eat in a restaurant it is definitely worth noting.
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At this same dinner, Tom had his usual fried oysters, which come in a different preparation each time he gets it. All are fantastic, as was this one. My daughter had an ordinary wedge salad, and their extraordinary gnocchi dish, the best thing on the menu. I had a pasta special which boasted house-made pasta, a point overshadowed by its lackluster everything else. And Tom had the scallops, which are right up there with the fried oysters and that incredible gnocchi as reliably delicious.
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So what gives? Rodas is an experienced restaurateur from A-listers like Emeril’s. The revolving door of chefs has made it difficult to gain solid footing. On one visit last year, I was delighted to hear that the former Oxlot chef was in the kitchen. Then he wasn’t. And now the former chef from Tchefuncte’s is there. I have high hopes that the place will gain some solid footing now.
In the meantime, we will continue to return to Pardo’s, stick with the tried and true winners on the menu, bask in the glamorous surroundings with their beautiful people clientele, all while enjoying the warm embrace the staff offers with their excellent service. That works.
