Sampling new fare in New Orleans

Betwixt the Saints (ill-fated) game, New Year’s Eve and the Sugar Bowl, there’s of plenty of action in New Orleans this week, some of which will no doubt draw folk from Baton Rouge. I was there over the weekend to take in some food and drink. We started at Lüke, one of the many notches in the ever expanding belt of Chef John Besh. Chatter on the blogosphere about Lüke, Besh’s less expensive, European-style brasserie, was that service has been inconsistent and some of the menu, ho-hum. I had a good experience, which included on-target Bloody Marys, an impressive house-made plate of charcuterie and a really great bowl of chicken and matzo ball soup, which I probably never would have ordered had I not been nursing a wicked cold. It’s amazing how so much flavor was coaxed out of something so simple. Also wondrous was the Luke salad – done up in bibb and buttermilk dressing. The place is known for its raw bar, where you can get oysters, lobster, shrimp and fresh mussels, the latter served cold or hot with frites alongside. The burger here – served on a cutting board with an accompany “vase” of frites –was recently listed by Travel and Leisure in its top burgers round up, according to our waiter, Carl.

We also sampled the fare at lauded Patois, located uptown not far from Clancy’s and the Monkey Hill Bar. It was packed, mostly with well-dressed locals, but I can’t say I loved the vibe. It was too light. The service was great, and the food mostly solid, including a knock-out gnocchi appetizer and a fried oyster spinach salad special. The heirloom lettuce salad with pumpkin seeds was a lovely tangled pile of crisp greens of all shapes. We found the pork belly and seared scallop appetizer with its hints of Steen’s Cane Syrup sumptuous in two different textures. The entrée list was short, and I had my heart set on pecan encrusted speckled trout. Alas, it was 86’d right as I put in my order. So was the pork chop special that was my second choice – a frustrating situation indeed. Few other choices appealed that night, so I settled for homemade fettucine with shrimp, black eyed peas and slivers of greens. The pasta was fresh and tender, but the broth that bathed it was so hot I had to wait far too long for it to cool down. For dessert, we sampled the Meyer lemon posset (a warm pudding-like dish) with lavender shortbread. Well-balanced and delightful.