Andrew in Alabama's Profile
Why is Quiznos charging for napkins and bags after purchase???
I have been boycotting the entire chain ever since they refused to honor a coupon I had printed out because it was in black & white rather than color.
Quiznos can kiss my ass, and that is easy to say because the food ain't so great.
Max's Deli - Fried Chicken
OK we tried the lauded chicken this weekend.
I tried my best not to be too influenced by the amazing reviews here, although our choice of sides was definitely inspired by what I read on chowhound.
Steve has done it... he has found the perfect chicken combination of crispy (outside) juicy (inside) and flavorful (throughout.)
We arrived to a PACKED Max's at about 11:40 on Sunday morning. This wasn't the after church "look at me" crowd... this was a crowd that was all about good eating. We ordered our usual app, the amazing chopped chicken liver (great as usual) and were informed that it would be a 25 minute wait for the chicken. The couple next to us was informed the same a few minutes later and decided they would order sandwiches instead. More on them later.
By the time we had worked our way through the chicken liver and two baskets of the amazing pickles (try the pickled tomatoes, thank me later) our chicken arrived, with our chosen sides of a potato latke and the sauteed spinach. Not being all that hungry, we decided to share one order among the 3 of us. It was more than enough, although we surprised ourselves by devouring the whole serving.
As others have stated, the serving is one leg, thigh, wing, and an enormous breast half. The coating is crispy and delicious, without being too salty or over-seasoned. I am going to make a guess at one of the secret ingredients: Whole-wheat flour? In any event, it was cooked to perfection and served piping hot.
The flavor is not confined to the exterior of the chicken, however, as even the breast meat nearest the bone was juicy and nicely flavored.
The sides were equally remarkable, with the spinach especially delicious. Like others have said, it has great flavor while still maintaining the characteristics of spinach.
We were three very happy fried chicken fans stuffing our faces with this remarkable chicken.
As for the couple next to us, our chicken arrived just minutes after their sandwiches, and the woman was *literally* drooling while watching us devour the golden-fried goodness on our plates, while she gnawed at her sandwich.
We ordered several orders with assorted sides to bring back home (I live in Montgomery) and the flavor actually deepens after refrigeration, but unfortunately much of the crispiness is lost. Still, it is a very satisfying "leftover chicken" experience.
I have very mixed emotions about not living closer to Max's.... on one hand I could eat there several times a week... on the other hand, I would soon weigh 300 lbs. Max's will remain a special treat for my family, but with football season approaching, I can predict many tailgate parties featuring food from Max's this fall.
Max's Deli - Fried Chicken
SO happy to hear about the success of Max's. We are going to try the chicken this weekend. Steve is a very good restaurateur and his is obviously a labor of love.
Will report on the chicken, but I have to say my expectations have been raised quite a bit......
Soft Shell Crabs in CBD/Warehouse?
Will be visiting NOLA on May 14 weekend. I love soft shell crabs, and had one of the best ever at GW Fins last year.
This time I am staying at the CBD and am looking for something in that area. Any suggestions will be welcome.
I am not averse to walking over to GW Fins again (love that place) but would love to hear of alternatives.
After 10 PM near ONT
We are coming in this week for the BCS National Championship game (Roll Tide!)
We arrive at 9:45 PM into ONT, and will likely be hungry. I note that there is an In & Out on I-10 near the airport, but if anyone can suggest some more "chow-ish" places that might be open that late, I would be very interested in hearing about them.
We will have our kids (11 & 9) with us, but they are Chow-pups and up for nearly any type of food.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
Montgomery AL
Finally tried this place yesterday, and everything you say is true. Really impressed and pleased that we tried it. My dining companion (my law clerk) told me that she may become a regular.
Be warned, this isn't "lite" dining by any stretch, but we were certainly made to feel at home and the food was simply wonderful.
Try it. Thank me later.
Where to eat in Montgomery Alabama?
I ate lunch there yesterday... it was open, albeit somewhat understaffed.
Max's Delicatessen revisited -- Birmingham
Had the pleasure of re-visiting Max's Delicatessen in the Colonnade Shops in Birmingham last night. I found the experience met or surpassed our first time there.
We were a group of 7, 3 kids and 4 adults.
To start, we selected homemade cheese blintzes, chopped chicken liver, and two soups, beef and barley and a combo soup of matzoh ball and chicken noodle. They were short on blintzes so the owner gave us some potato knishes in addition. We also ordered a sampler platter of meats that included corned beef, turkey, and kosher salami.
Everything was outstanding, except it was reported that the combo soup was lacking salt.
The chicken liver was so divine, even my 10-year old (a Chowhound in training) eagerly ate much of it. The knishes were bland until dressed with the gravy that accompanied them. This transformed them from something "bleh" to something "wow!"
The meats were as expected, with the standout again being the turkey. The owner explained to me that he uses free-range turkey with no preservatives to prepare Max's turkey. Whatever he does, the result is outstanding. I would never think that at a Jewish-style deli, the show-stopper would be roasted turkey, but that is the case here.
Cheese blintzes got good reviews but I don't really care for them, so I didn't partake.
I should mention the pickles that are placed on the table... really garlicky pickled green tomatoes, a nice dill pickle, but the standout if the "new pickle," one of my favorites, and I am unaware of anyplace else to get them in Alabama.
Service was good considering they were totally full at about 7:30 on Sunday night. It's nice that the owner is present and active in running the service.
Atmosphere is pretty non-existent. This ain't fine dining... it's a deli!
All in all, Max's is great for what it is... a no-frills deli serving very high quality deli food with an owner who is on premises and cares about his product.
I think my wife said it best after we left... her comment was "Why don't we eat there more often?" I think that in the future, we will.
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Max's Delicatessen
3431 Colonnade Pkwy, Birmingham, AL 35243
Montgomery AL
I had another couple of excellent meals at Jubilee in the past two weeks. One thing I don't think has been mentioned, besides the freshness of the ingredients, is the quality of the service. Scott, the bartender, is amazing at keeping everything straight at the bar, filling drink orders for the other servers, and taking telephone orders. It is a joy to dine at the bar there, and there is rarely a wait for those seats.
Montgomery AL
Scott Street has decent sandwiches, no better than I could make at home, and good salads if you don't mind all shredded iceberg topped with industrial cheese and lunch meat.
I don't know if it has been mentioned yet, and since we are talking about downtown, the Commerce Cafe has a very passable meat and two lunch daily. In fact, it gets my vote for the best meat and two in town, now that Hillwood Cafe is no more. Commerce Cafe is located in one of the RSA buildings downtown on Adams Street, with free parking in the deck across the street. Very convenient if raining, since there is an underground walkway.
Here's the website:
http://www.montgomery-catering.com/menus.php
Montgomery AL
Great comments. Unfortunately, PJRs closed down. Too bad as I really enjoyed their food, and the owner always had a wonderful attitude.
As for the rest of your recommendations, you reminded me that I haven't been to India Palace in quite some time. I'll have to go this week.
Ala Thai used to be my favorite, but the prices have increased and the portions declined, so I am back to Lek's, especially the downtown location at lunchtime where the Basil Chicken "Thai Style" may be one of my favorite dishes of all time, anywhere. Order it and thank me later.
Montgomery AL
I'd be interested to hear your impressions. We ate at Arirang a couple of times when they first opened and were turned off by the disorganization of the service. Nothing wrong with the food, but Shilla has become our go-to place.
Hope you like it.
Montgomery AL
You are right that Jubilee is priced higher than some, but IMO it is a good value for the quality. Destin Connection is great... I may head there today to get some fresh fish for dinner.
Montgomery AL
Let's see if I can remember what we had last time at Shilla. My knowledge of the names of items is limited, so I will do my best to describe them:
Eponymous marinated bean sprouts
Starchy chunked potato-like vegetable with spicy red sauce
English cucumbers with sesame and spicy marinade (this was great!)
Squid strips with red spicy sauce
Kim Chee
Green vegetable (taste similar to asparagus) in a sesame marinade
Tofu cakes with onions, green onions, garlic in an amazing sauce (this was the show-stopper.)
In addition, the Bi Bim Bap was amazing. Hard to beat for $7 per person.
I think they do have some tables with the BBQ grills, but only in the private rooms. It seems to be popular with Korean ladies, who always seem to be there in large groups at lunchtime.
Montgomery AL
For Korean, I really like Shilla, which is located off the Atlanta Highway, in a shopping center surrounding Eastdale Mall.
It is family run, very friendly, and the food is great. At lunch, my wife and I both order Bi Bim Bap, and share a large tofu soup. The bill comes out to around $20, and the little side dishes are the best and most generous I have seen in town.
Montgomery AL
I really like some of the replies here so far, but no one has mentioned my favorite place in town, Jubilee Seafood. Located in the quirky but fun Cloverdale neighborhood, it consistently serves the best, freshest seafood in the area. It's not fancy by any stretch of the imagination, but the food is excellent, the service always great, and the beer ice cold.
Preparations vary from simple grilled fish, to a daily changing menu of more elaborately prepared dishes. I am partial to the grilled triggerfish (when on the menu) but everything I have had there has been very good.
It has an atmosphere that you would expect to find at a "locals" place in a beach community. We are, IMO, lucky to have it here in Montgomery.
Bar Oysters in NOLA
I really like Grand Isle. They have an extensive non-oyster menu for your friends and excellent oysters in an upscale bar environment for you.
Dining report -- Grill Room, Riomar, Brennan's (With food pictures)
Got to echo what N.O. Food said... the serrano wrapped tuna steak was definitely a highlight of our 9-course meal.
He is also correct when he says that the ceviches are not to be missed, particularly the Ecuadorian, served with a popcorn garnish!
Dining report -- Grill Room, Riomar, Brennan's (With food pictures)
Bill,
Thanks for the reply. Your latest review of Grill Room was a major reason I wanted to try it, and you can see we had a fantastic time.
I don't want anyone to have the impression that I was unhappy with Brennan's... on the contrary, I am very glad we went. It is just not a place I would go out of my way to return, except for the Bananas Foster.
Grill Room's New Menu/Chef
Glad I could help... we had a great experience there... hope you have the same.
Dining report -- Grill Room, Riomar, Brennan's (With food pictures)
Glad everyone likes Riomar.
Here is a link. It is an easy walk from anywhere in the CBD (we walked from Windsor Court) and even from the FQ.
http://www.riomarseafood.com/
Dining report -- Grill Room, Riomar, Brennan's (With food pictures)
Riomar definitely rocks. And it helps that the owner/chef is such a decent guy.
Grill Room's New Menu/Chef
Here is my report, including the report on Grill Room:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/607658
Hope you enjoy it.
Dining report -- Grill Room, Riomar, Brennan's (With food pictures)
My wife and I celebrated our 14th anniversary by visiting New Orleans. I sprang for a room at the Windsor Court, which was wonderful, but since this is a food report, let's get to it!
THE GRILL ROOM
After the drive from hell into NOLA from Alabama, we were ready for a nice relaxing meal, and, importantly, some alcohol. I had made a 7 PM reservation for the Grill Room, which I had to back up to 8 PM on account of the drive from hell. After a quick wash up and change of clothes in our suite, we walked up the stairs from the beautiful, old-school cool hotel lobby and the hostess was expecting us. I had mentioned when making the reservation that this was our anniversary, and we were led to the best table in the house, in a tiny alcove by itself, looking out over the "courtyard," which really was the porte cochere. In any event, it was a lovely presentation. We could not have had a better welcome to town than we got at the Windsor Court and at the Grill Room.
Within seconds we were greeted by John, a young enthusiastic waiter who took excellent care of us all night. We were happy to see John, but were even happier to see that he was pouring us two glasses of champagne (Veuve Cliquot, IIRC) as an "anniversary gift." How thoughtful.
The first food we were served was the bread basket. This is something that is often overlooked at many places, but this was a STUNNER. Yeah I know it is just bread, but each of the four types of bread in the basket were unique and expertly made in their own individual way.
http://tinyurl.com/dleczx
There was a cracker-type lavosh, a whole wheat pumpkin seed loaf, tiny cornbread muffins, and the show-stopper, bacon and leek muffin that was so flavorful that we couldn't stop eating them.
I told John that because of my admittedly limited wine knowledge I was going to trust him to keep us properly served with wines by the glass throughout the evening, which he did with efficiency and enthusiasm, giving us some background on each vintage, why he liked it, and why he chose to pair it with the food we had chosen. It was fun to try new wines, made even more fun because of John's enthusiasm.
A beautiful amuse bouche of perfectly grilled scallop in a citrus sauce with salmon roe was a noble start to dinner.
http://tinyurl.com/cmoxd7
For our dinners, my wife chose carpaccio, which was presented traditionally, with the local edition of creole mustard. She pronounced it to be delicious.
http://tinyurl.com/dcse83
I had the charbroiled oysters, which were delicious, but rich.
http://tinyurl.com/dcatxe
Entrees were New York Strip steak and lobster (her) and the Veal Chop (which was really a veal porterhouse) (me.)
http://tinyurl.com/c4s25r
http://tinyurl.com/c56x8f
Both of these were really well prepared, really getting the most out of the ingredients on the plate.
For sides, we ordered truffled risotto, which had a deep truffle flavor and was really rich and wonderful, and collard greens (!) which my wife declared as the best she had ever tasted.
We sat for a while and chatted, and decided that instead of dessert we would go to the Polo Lounge for drinks. While there, John surprised us with an unsolicited but welcome dessert plate:
http://tinyurl.com/d87quq
We also took a picture with John:
http://tinyurl.com/d5fkur
We sat in the bar, listened to the wonderful jazz trio that was playing, and just enjoyed being in New Orleans for a while.
http://tinyurl.com/c6ub5e
Overall, I would certainly give the Grill Room an enthusiastic recommendation. The food we ordered was classic and heavy... but expertly prepared with obvious great care. It was a fitting introduction to our New Orleans weekend. Were I to return (and I hope I do) I am anxious to get a little deeper into the menu, and explore some other, lighter options.
Breakfast at Brennan's:
The next morning, we did the almost un-thinkable for us, and slept in until about 10 AM. We took our time getting ready and were about 1/2 hour late for our reservation at Brennan's.
http://tinyurl.com/dktt6d
Breakfast at Brennan's was something that I, as a newly regular visitor to New Orleans, felt that I should do at least once. Now that we have done it once, that will probably be it , as it was a perfectly competent meal, but we couldn't escape the feeling that we were in a tourist trap. That may be due to the fact that we WERE in a tourist trap.
First the good:
The setting at Brennan's is beautiful, if crowded. The staff really does seem to enjoy doing their thing, and they do it with humor and what seems like genuine friendliness. We had several people who were serving other tables nearby come check on us, and one even suggested a cocktail for me, and took this picture:
http://tinyurl.com/dahnuh
The cocktails were excellent. During the course of our meal, I sampled a sazerac, an absinthe suissesse, and another absinthe cocktail suggested by the waiter. All tasted great, but pretty much everything tastes good when it is noon and you are in New Orleans, with some cocktail in your tummy:
http://tinyurl.com/d5kx8w
Also special was the Bananas Foster, which of course we had to sample:
http://tinyurl.com/d86maj
http://tinyurl.com/cd3bqd
Next the "not so" good:
The soups were pretty awful. My wife had onion soup which had a nice flavor, but was thickened to the point that it had an unpleasant texture. My oyster soup was interesting. I described it at the time as "liquid oysters Rockefeller." That being said, it was un-interesting and not very deep in flavor. I didn't even take pictures of the soups.
The egg dishes were pretty workmanlike. My wife actually sent her omlette back because it was sitting in a pool of grease on the plate. My Eggs Hussarde were tasty enough, but certainly not anything special. Also the timing was screwed up on the soup service, and my eggs came out at the same time as the soup. The food runner insisted upon taking the eggs back and told me that they would prepare a fresh plate when I was ready, but I was obviously served the same plate that had just been kept warm in the kitchen. The egg yolks were cooked too much and the hollandaise had hardened a bit.
http://tinyurl.com/ddxreb
Am I glad we went to Brennan's? Absolutely. Will we be back? The only circumstances would be if we are in town with the kids, and want them to try the Bananas Foster. There was nothing else at Brennan's that would compel us to return, given the other brunch options in town.
Afternoon tea at Windsor Court:
We pretty much kept up the drinking all afternoon, walking around and enjoying the incredible weather and taking in the New Orleans atmosphere. At around 4:30 my wife reminded me about the afternoon tea service that she wanted to do at our hotel. The tea is served in the lobby of the hotel, which is really a beautiful room. There are two choices for service, the more expensive of which includes tea, sandwiches, pastries, and a glass of champagne.
Despite the fact that I was the only male in the room, I surprised myself how much I enjoyed this experience. It was girly and dainty, but I am comfortable with my masculinity, and all the food was top-notch for what it was. The breads were soft, the fillings and toppings tasty and well-presented, and the pastries were beautiful and tasty. We also had a great seat, being able to watch the comings and goings in the busy hotel lobby. My only complaint was that the tea was really floral, which is not to my taste, but that is more a symptom of our ordering than of the overall experience.
In any event, afternoon tea at the Windsor Court is very highly recommended if you are looking for a nice way to spend an hour or so in the afternoon.
http://tinyurl.com/d7v9d5
http://tinyurl.com/cdpyrw
Dinner at Riomar:
This meal came about because I was dining solo a couple of months ago at the bar at August, and struck up a conversation with a couple sitting next to me. I asked the bartender to put the couple's bottle of wine on my tab. When they found out that I had bought their wine, they finally introduced themselves as Adolfo Garcia, chef/owner of Riomar, and his wife. He insisted that I come by his restaurant next time I was in town. Boy am I glad we did.
We walked in the room to find Adolfo expediting outside the open kitchen. He warmly greeted us, and told us that we were in his hands for the night. We then proceeded to enjoy a 9 course dinner, complete with wines, that just knocked my socks off. I can't describe it any better than these pictures. I will link to the first in the series... feel free to scroll through and read the captions for descriptions:
http://tinyurl.com/ctuqpk
Suffice it to say that this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and one for which I am eternally thankful to Chef Adolfo Garcia.
Riomar also gets my highest recommendation, and next time we go I won't even mind paying full price.
I hope that you enjoyed reading this report as much as I enjoyed writing it. Comments are welcome.
Grill Room's New Menu/Chef
We had a wonderful dinner there on Friday night. Service was great, food wonderful. I will put together a full trip report and post it soon. The menu can be found on the Windsor Court's website.
I had charbroiled oysters and a veal porterhouse. My wife had carpaccio and a strip steak with butter-poached lobster. We shared collard greens (!) and a wonderful truffled risotto. We allowed our waiter, John, to select our wines, and he seemed very excited about being able to share some of his favorites with us.
After we retired to the Polo Lounge and enjoyed the jazz trio while sipping after-dinner drinks. All in all a great evening.
Birmingham — New Jewish Deli
Let me put in another enthusiastic thumbs-up for Max's. We went in last night and were concerned to find an empty dining room at about 5:15, but by the time we left, the place was about 80% full on a Sunday night.
We tasted a number of things off the menu... the pickle platter is highly recommended... I haven't been able to find "new" pickles anywhere in Alabama, and these were great. Also the pickled tomatoes were really tasty.
The chopped liver was creamy and delicious, and I loved the rye bread it was served with.
Potato pancakes were thin and a little on the greasy side, but the flavor was spot-on and they were served appropriately, with applesauce and sour cream.
We ordered knishes but they were gone by the time I had a chance to try them.
On to the meats. We ordered a couple of the sampler platters, and chose tongue, pastrami, corned beef, brisket, turkey, and salami. All of the meats were very good, but the show-stopper was the house made turkey. It was just awesome... not dry at all and very very tasty. I could eat this every day. In fact, I am about to eat the leftovers for lunch.
The very friendly owner spent a good deal of time talking to us about his suppliers. He is originally from Detroit, and most of his meats come from that area.
I cannot recommend this place more... and try the turkey!
Restaurant August report
Hi Bill. I enjoy your reports quite a bit.
Sorry but I really don't have a basis to judge wines... I know when I like something, and I thought all the selections paired nicely with the dishes, at least to my untrained palate.
Frankly, that's one of the reasons I enjoy tasting menus with pairings... it allows the experts to make wine decisions for me.
Restaurant August report
I would like to hear from others about experiences at August.
Restaurant August report
This is an excerpt from a New Orleans trip report that I wrote for another forum. Most of the report concentrated on gambling and hotel, so I have snipped that part and just attached the part that would be interesting to Chow Hounds. Enjoy.
http://www.restaurantaugust.com/
Chef John Besh is pretty close to a celebrity chef in the New Orleans
world. He markets himself extremely well, has appeared on Iron Chef
America, etc. His was one of the first restaurants to reopen after
Katrina, and he is well known for his efforts to feed rescue and other
workers in the aftermath of that storm. I was really anticipating
this meal, as I really enjoy experiencing a talented hand behind a
good meal.
I should take this opportunity to explain that Harrah's New Orleans
sends regular players dining coupons. These can be used at any
restaurant inside the casino, but also at an impressive selection of
local restaurants, including all of the John Besh restaurants. This
is a great benefit, and we have discovered some spectacular places due
to these vouchers. For this evening, I had a $200 voucher.
August is a very cool, very New Orleans looking restaurant. It is
located on a corner, and encompasses 3 stories. The first floor is
the main floor, with additional seating and the restrooms on the
second level, and private dining rooms on the third level. I arrived
about 6:45 on a Sunday night to find the bar empty, much to my surprise. I took a seat
and simply announced to the bartender that I was having the
five-course tasting menu with the wine supplement ($105.) As a
splurge, I also ordered a bottle of Pellegrino water, which I finished
by the end of the meal.
The first course (not listed on the menu) was an amuse-bouche of a
flavored foam served with strips of brioche in an egg shell bowl. The
flavor was rich and delicious, complex but not overly so. It was a
very good start. It was served with a champagne, which I enjoyed very
much.
"Warm salad of pieds du cochon, veal sweetbreads, hearts of palm and black truffle"
Second course was pied du cochon (pig trotters) with sweetbreads,
hearts of palm, and some other vegetables. This was one of those
dishes with just too much going on. The sweetbreads were delicious,
but could have stood on their own just fine without the other things
on the plate. There was so much in the dish, that I had to ask for
the menu back just so I could remember what I was eating. It wasn't
bad, mind you, but it was very complex, perhaps overly so.
"yard egg raviolo with brown butter and black trumpet mushrooms"
The third course was a farm egg raviolo in brown butter with trumpet
mushrooms. This had the potential to be a knockout. Basically a
small egg was cooked inside a pasta coating and served with the sauce
over it. The egg was cooked perfectly, with a slightly runny yolk,
but the pasta was slightly undercooked. The brown butter sauce was
divine, but too salty for my taste. It was such a unique and special
presentation, that I hated that it was marred by such a salty sauce.
"French crawfish boil 'facon Chez Bruno"
Next was the strangest course of all. The server placed a bib around
my neck and presented me with a bowl containing about half a dozen
large whole crawfish. They had been covered in a cream sauce and
served, whole. I certainly wasn't expecting to eat with my hands
during this meal, and if the dish had been outstanding, I wouldn't
mind at all. However, I did eat two of the crawfish and found them to
be very bland on the inside. The delicious sauce (and it was an
amazing sauce) did not find its way inside the crawfish at all. After
eating two of the critters, I decided the rest were not worth the
trouble and mess of eating, so I just decided to sop up some of the
amazing sauce with the very good sourdough bread I had been served.
The server noticed this and we began discussing the dish. One of the
managers overheard us talking about it and came over to tell me he
agreed with me, but that chef Besh loves that dish so it stays on the
menu. They did tell me that they will substitute for that dish, so if
you go and the crawfish is on the tasting menu, I strongly suggest
that you ask your server for a substitution.
"slow braised kobe beef short rib; rapini, baby root vegetables, and rosti potato"
Next was Kobe Beef short rib with a potato pancake and baby root
vegetables. I guess these pieces of meat were cut from the top of a
short rib, but there was no rib bone on my plate. The meat was very
nicely marbled and had a great beefy flavor, but it was unlike any
short ribs I have had before. That's not a bad thing, as the
preparation and flavor was very nice. The potato pancake did not fare
as well. As it had been placed underneath the (wonderfully) fatty
meat and then doused with sauce, it was not crispy but instead soggy
and mushy. It simply had an unpleasant texture and I did not finish
the potato portion. The sauce was rich and a good foil to the beef,
but again was a little salty for my taste. The baby vegetables mixed
throughout were unremarkable.
"napoleon of nougatine with Valhrona chocolate bavoris and salted toffee ice cream"
Finally, dessert: a nougatine napoleon with salted toffee ice cream.
This looked marvelous, and parts of it were. However, the “salted
toffee” ice cream was a disaster. I was expecting a nice toffee
flavor with a background of salt. Instead I was surprised to taste an
overwhelming salty flavor... so much so that I could hardly pick out
any other flavor. I actually pushed the ice cream off the top of the
pastry (Blasphemy!) and allowed it to melt as I enjoyed the rest of
the dessert. I hope that I just got a bad batch, as this ice cream
was simply not edible.
The service throughout was excellent, and the atmosphere is very “New”
New Orleans, achieving a neighborhood bistro kind of vibe. I really
liked the place but was slightly disappointed by the food. If I would
dare to give Chef Besh a piece of advice, it would be to get back to
basics. Let the flavors of his ingredients shine through, and don't
over-think his dishes. His most successful dishes, the egg raviolo
and the kobe beef short rib, were examples of this, even though they
were far from perfect.
While I was dining the bar slowly filled up and I enjoyed a nice
conversation with some of my bar mates. To my left was a very nice
couple who ordered several appetizers and a bottle of wine. I could
tell from their order that they knew food, so we struck up a
conversation. They were so nice that I surreptitiously told the
bartender to put their bottle of wine on my tab. When they paid up
and the bartender told them that I had done that, they came over and
thanked me profusely. It turns out that he is the owner/chef of his
own restaurant. He said that next time I am in town, bring my family
and come to his place... I will be his guest and he will “take care of
me.” That was very nice, and I will surely take him up on his offer.
Sitting to my right was a lawyer who has an office down the street
from the restaurant. He seemed to be a regular, and we had a nice
talk about the practice of law and our profession in general.
All in all it was a very pleasant evening, and the kind of experience
that can only be had in New Orleans. I left Restaurant August
satisfied both physically and spiritually.
sushi and seafood in south beach
Shoji used to be our favorite, but we actually walked out of there about 6 months ago. Since Shin-san left, it has become a shell of its former self. The sushi was awful (not fresh) and the attitude of management is "tough."
Shoji Sushi should be avoided at all costs.
