Thursday, February 28, 2013.
Rene Bistrot.
My last normal day for the next week did what a routine is supposed to do: get a host of jobs done with a minimum of conscious effort. At the end of the radio show, I needed only to record two commercials, fill out a time sheet, and make sure that everybody involved with my show knew I would be gone all next week.
This left only one open question: who will host the show next Wednesday? Mary Ann, who is taking care of these details, says not to worry, it will be solved. Perhaps not until ten minutes before the show goes on, but solved.
She, Mary Leigh, and The Boy were looking for a farewell dinner with me tonight. For some reason--it could not possibly have been for the menu--MA wanted to have this dinner at Rene Bistro. That's the new home of Chef Rene Bajeux, who took over the former La Cote Brasserie after a short stint at the Rib Room. I have been hearing that Rene's new menu was in place, and I get asked often enough about the restaurant that I need to go there in the near future.
I arrived first. The restaurant is only a block from the radio studio. I saw multiple problems as soon as the menu arrived. First, the kitchen is still using the old menu. A diluted version of it, in fact. Rene told us that he was still a week or two away from the revelation of his new card. Second, the younger diners would have a hard tine finding something to eat here. Even the hamburger was gussied up: a Kobe beef burger for over $20. There was a roast chicken for The Boy, who seems always to get poultry when we dine together. (Not that I blame him.) Nor was there a lot of food that Mary Ann found appealing.
We solved this by getting a bunch of appetizers, starting with a pile of fries to go with the martini and the wine. The fries were overcooked and dark, delighting Mary Ann, who didn't then have to eat any. Mary Leigh and The Boy arrived in time for some sliced tournedos of beef, abetted with fried oysters set atop fried cubes of what I think was polenta. Now some more fried oysters, covered with a slaw of mirlitons.
Things were getting better. Slices of toasted, pesto-buttered French bread came with an island of molten, herbed chevre in a sea of tomato sauce. Everybody was happy with this--even The Boy. Now more goat cheese baked in a little ramekin of pasta. with a salad of thick-leaved greens. The ramekin was a mess, with the sauce burned to the sides of it. But it's cool to serve things like this these days, as long as it's delicious. Which this was.
I'd say the most appealing item was the onion tart, the northeastern French answer to pizza. Chef Rene has always made this a house specialty, and remains so. We gobbled that right up. (Except for The Boy, who doesn't like onions.)
The dinner ended on a dreary note. The baked apple was visually and gustatorily substandard. But I was the only one eating at that point, anyway.
But now Mary Ann and I needed to get home, because we have a big day tomorrow. To put it mildly.
Rene Bistrot. Warehouse District: 700 Tchoupitoulas. 504-613-2350.
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