On our evening sojourn before the season got under way, we were met with the realization that the parking spaces behind the facility were pay-to-park until 10 p.m. With the restaurant’s office door open to the parking lot, the catering director heard our grumbling and informed us that if we presented the receipt to our server, we would be reimbursed. Pleased with this news, we were then informed that the Club has big plans for the fall, with music and perhaps outside bar service during football season.
Nothing is finalized, but exciting things are in the works. What’s not being planned is dinner service after kickoff, but everyone will be at the game anyway, so no foul.
We were promptly seated once inside and quickly greeted by our server. She soon returned with our drinks, followed by another server with noteworthy onion rolls for the table. Oniony and strong in the best sense, they were dense but soft with lots of great roasted-onion flavor.
Once table chit-chat had subsided, we got down to the business of eating with an order of Highland Crab Cakes and Land, Air & Sea for starters. “Almost like a croquette,” as one member of our table noted, the two cakes were pan-seared with crisp exteriors and creamy interiors and good crab-to-breading ratio. Not a great ratio, but good.
The three amuse bouche-sized pieces of Land, Air, & Sea were doled out, with each person getting one selection. “I could eat that as an entrée,” my friend said after devouring the seared tuna with leeks and hoisin. My other companion described the seared tenderloin with duxelle as “dewishus”—a vodka tonic was lubricating the description. My bite of the duck with boursin was well seasoned, well seared and, well, gone way too fast. The duck was cooked perfectly, and the creamy cheese and crisp wonton were nice complements.
Appeased and lubricated, we felt that entrées were in order. I had long since scoped out the Filet Raphael and was astonished when the massive dish arrived. A large hunk of meat rested on a massive pile of requested blue cheese mashed potatoes. We all agreed that the potatoes were very blue cheesy and spectacular. The steak was adequately prepared but nothing special.
One friend ordered the Counting Sheep, with the other deciding on the En Papillote. Counting Sheep consisted of four meaty lamb chops, perfectly medium rare, with a light curry dusting and a sweet chutney accompaniment. The chutney and lamb were hits all around but were better enjoyed separately, in our opinions. The black drum in parchment was baked with vegetables and finished in a lobster white wine sauce. All of us found it had way too much butter. That’s all we tasted.
All entrées were served with a wedge salad, a unique and welcome choice until we tried it. None finished it, and all complained about the pedestrian nature, noting the not-from-scratch taste of the dressing.
The side items looked too tempting to ignore, so we also ordered the Spinach Au Gratin and Button Mushrooms. All appreciated the spinach for its subtle spiciness, abundance of spinach and velvety sauce. The mushrooms were fungi and not very fun guys at that.
I had earlier informed my companions that Linelle Lee of downtown bakery Strands Café fame was the in-house pastry chef here. That arrow hit its intended mark, and my friends were eager to try out her wares. Two off-menu items were suggested: Orange Chocolate Crčme Brűlée and Flourless Chocolate Cake. With additions like dark chocolate ganache, praline pecans and bourbon brown sugar mousse, the flourless cake was described by one companion as, “Real chocolaty, but not [overly so].” Only I enjoyed the mousse. One friend expected more bourbon. One found it boring. I found it sweetly delicious. The crčme brűlée was a rich, deep umber color with very subtle orange flavor. The luscious crčme was not super-rich, making for a soothing dish.
The service was very young and unpolished. Dishes needing to be cleared were left to languish on the table. But our server was sweet and helpful, if a bit uninitiated. Overall, the food was good, with the appetizers, bread and desserts being the highlights of the meal. One companion described it well, saying, “I was expecting a Galatoire’s-like experience, but it wasn’t. Still good, just not great. I guess I expected a little more.”
Originally the Faculty Club, the on-campus restaurant reopened as The Club at LSU Union Square last August with an upscale menu. Only serving lunch during the summer, dinner service begins again Aug. 23. On football game days, The Club opens from noon to kickoff with an a la carte menu and flat-screen TVs for pregame coverage. Reservations are preferred.
