An afternoon tryst at Lüke

I met someone and I think I'm in love. He's sweet, accommodating, relaxed yet stylish and extremely tasty as I was fortunate enough to discover last Friday afternoon. My friend Anne was there, too and we both enjoyed what he had to offer...I'm pretty sure anyone would.  His name is Lüke.

Now I could keep going with this and assuredly suffer from gales of mischievous and unabashed laughter while writing, not to mention possible castigation from my peers after publishing (suck the heads would take on a whole new meaning). So, instead I'm going to lace it up and talk about the food. I promise, if I start writing that kind of blog, y'all will be the first to know...

Nevertheless, it was still quite a sexy lunch. Anne and I got to the restaurant just after noon, luckily scoring a choice parking spot only a half block away. For those who don't know, Lüke is located on St. Charles Avenue only blocks from Poydras Street and right, smack downtown. Like any city, finding parking is nigh impossible and it seemed like fate when we slipped into a spot that opened up right in front of us. 

We were seated right away, without a reservation, and ordered a couple of cocktails while perusing the menu. Both of us ravenous, we got a little carried away with our order. Thankfully, our server steered us onto the right path, when he could have just as easily let us order way too much food like a couple of boobs. (really, I'm not even trying...) Anne had a "St. Charles Streetcar" with St. Germain, pear vodka and champagne, which was tasty, but I liked mine better and not only because of its name.  Dubbed "The Riverbend," my cocktail was of the refreshing, summery type with Ultimat vodka, lemon, basil syrup, blueberries, cucumbers and ginger ale

Almost right away our first dish arrived, a half dozen raw Gulf oysters on the half shell. When Anne saw them on the menu, she just couldn't resist and I don't blame her. They were large, ice cold, salty and perfect. I think both of us were a little sad when we slurped down the last one, but we didn't have time to consider ordering more because our next appetizer showed up just in time. Called "flamenküche," it was an onion tarte with thick hunks of fatty bacon and a creamy Emmenthaler or Swiss cheese. It was quite possibly the best thin-crust "pizza" I have ever eaten. 

For our entree, we both wanted the "Choucroute Garnie Maison" and thanks to our server, we wisely decided to split it. I had to look this up, but apparently this is a famous Alsacian dish of sauerkraut topped with salted meats, sausage and other charcuterie. Conveniently split in half, our dish at Lüke featured a smoked pork shank, a hunk of Mangalista pork belly and a huge link of bratwurst. Basically, it was a unadulterated pot of meat that while feasting upon it, made me feel a bit carnal...not that I'm complaining.  

While perusing mandatory desserts, Anne was quite adamant about not sharing (dessert can do that to people), so we each ordered our own. Anne chose a "Gateau Basque" or vanilla cake with crème fraîche and local satsuma marmalade and I got a "Belle Ecorce Chevre Tart" - basically a goat cheese "cheesecake" topped with braised celeste figs and honey. Since I shared some of mine, Anne was willing to give up a few tastes of hers and, all kidding aside, both were quite delicious.

In all honesty, I may not be in love with Lüke, but I am undoubtedly in lust.