Thursday, June 14, 2012.
Pause For Bistro Daisy For Paws.
Restaurants give so much to local non-profits that fatigue long ago set in. Organizers of would-be fundraisers contact me almost every week to ask why they can't seem to get a lot of restaurants to attend their events and give out free food. They seem surprised when they learn that restaurants are importuned at the rate of two or three such requests every day, and they can't do them all.
But some of the organizations are using an idea that's both effective and easy for the restaurants to go along with. Tonight, the Louisiana SPCA--which handles all the animal control and pet adoptions in Orleans Parish--held its annual Pause 4 Pets in 44 restaurants around town. Customers come in and order normally, at the standard prices. At the end of the night, the restaurant sends twenty percent of the take to the SPCA. This works because the restaurants involved get a bump in volume, and the restaurants don't have to break from their routine operation or menus.
The idea certainly worked well at Bistro Daisy, where Mary Ann and I had dinner. We were among the first to arrive, but by mid-meal the dining room was full, enough to put a little gasp (and gaps) in the service. We didn't mind. We love dogs and cats, and this was a delicious way to help the lot of those not as lucky as our dog Susie or our cat Twinnery--both rescue animals.
First course: a crabmeat salad atop fresh beets for MA, sauteed sweetbreads with brown butter and almonds for me. Nice enough, but our plan to have two courses fell apart at that point. We inserted a second course--a warm spinach salad for her, and an unusual chilled cucumber and tomato soup (below) for me. Interesting idea: the bowl was filled about halfway with the cuke broth, then the tomato potion was poured into the center, to make a big bullseye. Interesting and good.
Entrees: sauteed mangrove snapper, the special of the evening, for Mary Ann. And bouillabaisse for me, with shrimp, oysters and fish in a creamy-looking broth. The classic hint of fennel was so clear that MA picked up on it by smell alone.
I have not yet made any subjective comments, but we both had some. The same ones, at that. The food was not as polished as it usually is here. The snapper was particularly uninspired, and the sweetbreads lacked the toasty zing that sets off the richness of that treat.
The portions were smaller than I am accustomed to being served. My rational mind welcomes this--I always get enough to eat before I finish any dish, and these were the right amount of food. Still, the animal side of the brain (the one that often makes me dive into a dish before I take its picture, thereby ruining the picture) misses those piles of food. I'm fighting that, but it's not easy or entirely pleasant.
And, ironically, we had nothing to bring home to the dog or cat.
The meal ended on a perfect note with baked Alaska, which they make in a beautiful style much different from the familiar Antoine's version. This one had dreamsicle-flavored sherbet under the fluted, bruleed meringue.
I can't get upset about the imperfections tonight. I think they were doing more business than they expected. And a restaurant that's always been great in the past gets a pass for a hiccup.
Bistro Daisy. Uptown: 5831 Magazine. 504-899-6987.
It's over three years since a day was missed in the Dining Diary. To browse through all of the entries since 2008, go here.
