I talked the Marys into crossing the lake to have dinner by dangling a first-class steak before them. I didn't emphasize that this would proceed from the year-old Galatoire's 33 Bar & Steak. I wanted to avoid triggering Mary Leigh's aversion to the French Quarter, let alone Bourbon Street, which she despises.
She was in a vulnerable moment. The Boy is still not back from spending Christmas with his family in Baltimore. She filled her day by creating some amazing new designs, destined to be printed on fabric to make curtains for her studio in Covington. But I figured that she would be ready to escape the house by dinnertime.
In this third visit to 33 (the address of the building in the old numbering system of the mid-1800s), we saw a performance entirely consistent with the first two. Quick summary: the steaks and chops are excellent, expensive, and generous, but the appetizers and the sides are mediocre, almost without exception. And dining in 33 is almost nothing like dining in the main room at Galatoire's. The thought of that restaurant just on the other side of the left-hand wall is tantalizing.
The familiar, celebrated 110-year-old first-floor dining room at Galatoire's was not in full jumping mode tonight. I think we could have walked in there and sat down to dinner without delay. The day after Christmas is usually that way. Overflow from Galatoire's is the primary source of trade for Galatoire's 33. That is even more true of 33's bar, which is much larger and more pleasant than anything in Galatoire's a la carte facilities. It was a good plan to do what the new, well-financed owners of Galatoire's have done with this annexation.
Galatoire's 33 was nearly empty when we arrived for our reservation. The Marys liked the place, which was half the battle. I like 33's atmosphere myself: darker and calmer than next door. The sound system was a little loud, to make up for the lack of the steady conversational din one associates with Galatoire's. I ordered French bubbly wine, and was pleased to see my daughter–who is as modest in her drinking as her mother–pick up the flute with apparent pleasure. It was the beginning of a nice evening for the three of us.
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Bone-in tenderloin at Galatoire's 33 Bart & Steak[/caption]
I will jump ahead to the entrees to keep the mood in these words joyful. ML, a filet mignon lover, was willing to get the bone-in version. Sombody in management had the intelligence to call it a tenderloin, instead of a filet. ("Boneless filet" is as much a contradiction as "dehydrated water.") The steak was beautiful to my eyes, seared to nearly a Pittsburgh-style black. The inside was juicy and delicious, no doubt owing in some measure to the protection given the meat by the bone.
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Colorado lamb chops.[/caption]
Not much on Galatoire's menu is available in 33. I asked about the lamb chops. Were they the same beautiful Colarado chops served aboard the mother ship? The waiter, who mentioned that most of this week he'd worked next door, assured me that these were the same in every particular, save perhaps for the fact that in 33 they come out of one of those super-hot Montagu broilers. That was good enough for me, and indeed the lamb was exactly as I hoped, bearnaise sauce and all.
So the two dishes that accounted for eighty percent of the food check were flawless.
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Crabcake at 33.[/caption]
The rest of the dinner was less salutary. Mary Ann asked for a crab cake, one of her favorite dishes. This one was tall and chock full of crabmeat, but MA registered a texture problem. I saw what she meant. Everything was on the very soft side. I thought it tasted okay, but it wasn't the brilliant crabcake we're used to finding in steakhouses at this level. (Or at Mr. B's, for that matter.)
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Oysters Casino and Thermidor.[/caption]
My appetizer was a combination of two of the three varieties of baked oysters: thermidor and casino. I thought it interesting that these two could be on the same plate. In New Orleans, oysters casino and thermidor are two names for the same dish, made by putting an oyster on a shell and baking it under a blanket of cocktail sauce and a coverlet of bacon. Which name was used depended on whether you were in Brennan's (as you never will be again) or Antoine's.
What 33 served under those names were the classic French-American recipes for casino (bread crumbs, herbs, garlic, butter, a little bacon) and thermidor (seafood fumet, white wine, bechamel, and a little mustard). They were reasonably edible, but nowhere near as good as a well-made Bienville or Rockefeller.
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French onion soup.[/caption]
At MA's behest, I tucked an extra course between oysters and lamb: French onion soup. Classic style, said the waiter. In a baked crock, with cheese gratinee. It seems to me lately that nobody makes good onion soup anymore. This was certainly not a good one. Too sweet, too thick, no finesse.
The sides were as unimpressive as every time before. Pasty potatoes au gratin. Limp (but fresh-cut) pommes frites. Was it this time we had the terrible creamed spinach, or the time before?
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Hamburger from the bar menu at Galatoire's 33 Bar & Steak.[/caption]
The ultimate absurdity was all our fault. On the way in, Mary Ann saw someone in the bar eating a hamburger that looked good to her. Could the waiter serve that at our table? He made it sound that this was irregular, but sure, why not. MA reported that the burger wasn't as good as it looked. But what could she expect from even a steakhouse with the Galatoire's name on it. It's like going to a bar and asking for a sno-ball. You'll get it, but the nectar won't taste right.
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Cherries jubilee cheesecake.[/caption]
For dessert I had the cherries jubilee cheesecake, a good idea. Very rich. And now I know everything I will need to know about Galatoire's 33 Bar & Steak for the foreseeable future.
On the way out, I poked my head into the main restaurant. It was still not entirely full, but close enough. I knew a lot of the people there, and talked with them as long as I thought I could, what with the Marys wanting to get a move on for home.
Galatoire's 33 Bar & Steak. French Quarter: 215 Bourbon St. 504-335-3932.
