We are nearing the end of the longest possible Carnival season. And that means many steaks must be eaten, if a) you follow local tradition most strenuously or 2) you love steaks. I'm in both categories, which explains why on any Mardi Gras you will find me at around two in the afternoon eating a sirloin strip steak at the Crescent City Steak House. Also there will be enough others to fill the dining room, another dining room you probably didn't know was even there, an upstairs dining room that even I didn't know was there, the entire bar and all the open space in the entrance, and perhaps even some acreage in the parking lot.
I can't imagine a better place to say goodbye to steak for forty days. Like an old parading krewe, the Crescent City has been left behind by more modern organizations. But that doesn't mean we can't love it.
The Crescent City created the prime New Orleans-style steakhouse as we know it--along with the irresistible sizzling-in-butter method of serving it. It has been almost changeless over the years, a standard by which all other steakhouses can be measured--even though it's a long time since it could be called the best steakhouse in town. On the other hand, it's significantly less expensive than other premium steak places.
John Vojkovich--one of many Croatian immigrants who built restaurants in New Orleans in the early 1900s--created this very straightforward steakhouse in 1934. It looked and operated then almost exactly as it does now. The location was key to its success. On the route away from the Fair Grounds Race Course, it early on built a clientele of guys with money to use in celebration but not much culinary savvy. But almost anybody can get his head around a first-class steak, and they did. The restaurant is now operated by the founder's wife and children.
The main room is moderately small, with a distinctive antique-modern look (I can't think of another term for it). Tiled floors, a pressed-tin ceiling (not original, but added by a movie crew during a post-Katrina filming there), rounded windows and doors all around (the room has four entrances, although they use only one).
The steak is everything here. Appetizers and side dishes have improved in recent times, but are still there only as filler around the steak.
| Attitude | 1 |
|---|---|
| Environment | 1 |
| Hipness | 0 |
| Local Color | 2 |
| Service | 1 |
| Value | 1 |
| Wine | 0 |
