Was wrong about you, Salú!

First impressions can be a bitch. For example, the first time I walked into Salú on Magazine Street, I was pretty disappointed. I only stayed for a couple of beers and some French fries, but the whole restaurant and menu left a chain-restaurant taste in my mouth. There was this unmistakable aura of Chili's or Applebee's hanging over the place and I just couldn't shake it ... at least not enough for a return visit.

A few months ago, I was working on a fun little piece about ceviche and saw that Salú offered a bay scallop version on their menu. So, I dragged my buddy Anne with me to go and check it out. When we got there late in the lunch hour, the restaurant was mostly empty. We were seated right away and had a terrific server who was attentive from the get-go. Anne and I chose a bunch of different plates to share, perhaps a bunch too many, but no one was complaining.

The first dish to arrive was their "Ceviche de Salú" with small, bay scallops, pieces of shrimp, tomatoes and cilantro all marinating in a cool lemon/lime mixture and served with warm tortilla crisps. The ceviche looked divine, but had an overwhelming fishy taste that took us aback. We ended up sending it away, but we were still determined to go on with our meal. It was so odd that the dish I went to Salú to try turned out to be the worst item on our list, but, as they say, it can only go up from here ... and it most certainly did.

Completely counteracting the disappointment from our first dish, the second came out and wowed us right down to our bellies. We inhaled a bowl of perfectly steamed mussels draped in shaved Parmesan and resting in a pesto broth that was so addictive, we squeaked when the server tried to take the bowl, explaining that we simply had to soak our French fries in the leftover sauce. 

The next dish had us drooling before it reached the table, Broiled Gulf Oysters topped with crispy, house made bacon and swimming in herb butter. These amazing mollusks were so incredibly delicious, we had no choice but to order another round, even though we already had more plates coming out. We did indeed order that second round and no, our eyes were not too big for our stomachs ... we gobbled the whole shebang.

Our next two items came out together, a plate of Lamp Lollipops, two small, tender lamb chops that were seared to rare done-ness and drizzled with a mint chimichurri, competed with bacon-wrapped prawns. Both dishes were excellent, the lamb flavorful and juicy and the huge shrimp laden with smoky bacon ... I mean, can you go wrong with bacon? I started to feel like I could sit there and keep eating all day.

We finished off the feast with a flourless chocolate cake that was topped with freshly-whipped cream and served with a rich, chocolate sauce. Anne and I both couldn't breathe too well afterwards and I'm pretty sure the waitstaff was prepared to roll us out on dollys if need be, but we squeezed back into Anne's car and headed home. All I can say is Salú! Salú! I am sorry I misjudged you!

House of the week: Double Gallery on Governor Nicholls

In an effort to prevent a complete mental and emotional breakdown, I've lately searched for homes utterly out of my financial reach during my weekly, online forays into New Orleans' available real estate. Even with these preventative measures in place, I can't help but feel a twinge of pain when I stumble upon a listing like this.

Located in the historic Treme, right near the I-10, is this gorgeous old mansion called The Louis Chalon House. Built circa 1860 by Louis Chalon (son of Joseph Chalon, one of the wealthy "gens de couleur libres" or free people of color), this is a classic double gallery home featuring Corinthian columns and cast iron railings. This huge house sports eleven bedrooms, eight bathrooms and over 7000 square feet of living space.

Although it is in disrepair, this Grand Dame should not go by the wayside. It still has stunning architectural details like pocket doors, ceiling medallions, Victorian mantles and original hardwood floors. If you're into restoring beautiful old homes, I would encourage you to snap up this lady listed at only $399,000 and make her dance again. I certainly wish I could!

Taj of blah, meh and totally so, so

Writing about restaurant visits that are really not worth writing about is very taxing. It's depressing to make an effort discussing a place that couldn't care less what quality of food they put out and it's heart-wrenching, not to mention seriously agonizing, to bust out the cash to pay for it. So now I have to talk about it?

*sigh*

A month or so ago, my friend Lorin and I visited the recently re-opened, reincarnation (not) of Sarah's Bistro on Dublin Street called Taj of India. When I stepped inside, I noticed that the restaurant looked almost exactly the same as the last time I'd been there, several years ago, only they squashed the already-squashed tables together even further to allow for three large buffet tables in the back. There were a few more patrons than in previous visits, but the restaurant was largely empty.

After selecting a table, we headed straight for the buffet where I scored a plate and loaded it up with rice, veggie pakora, and chana masala (a chick pea curry). I also got a couple pieces of yellowish tandoori chicken and a few spoonfuls of raita. When we got back to the table, they served us a basket of warm naan and the server/owner encouraged us to eat up.

Here's the depressing part: While nothing we ate was "bad" per se, nothing was actually "good" either. Bland, a word I've never employed to describe any Indian cuisine I'd ever eaten in my entire life (California has some amazing Indian restaurants), was completely and utterly appropriate. Other words come to mind like "lukewarm," "dry," and "flavorless," but now I'm just repeating myself.

Will the best Indian food I ever eat again in this town come from a jar? Needless to say, I won't be back to try dinner...

MoPho-ing tasty...

Anne, John and I visited MoPho a while ago, right in the first week of its opening and yes... it's taken me this long to write about it. Am I lazy? Am I a slacker? Perhaps, but I only seem to sacrifice my own blog when I'm feeling in the mood to do absolutely nothing.

But this week, this week I am on a mission and I really hope this drive carries on into the following weeks because let's face it, there's a lot of stuff I'd really like to get done. So, without further ado...

MoPho is located on that weird corner of City Park Avenue, right behind the Burger King. When visiting MoPho, be warned that parking in the Burger King parking lot will indeed get you towed, so park wisely. But I am sure y'all have been there by now... at least you better have! 

We sat outside because the restaurant was packed full even though it was a tad late in the lunch hour. It was a bit chilly, but we suffered on, determined to enjoy ourselves regardless of the weather. We started out with a couple of appetizers that arrived at the same time. The Crispy Chicken Wings with lemongrass and ginger were incredibly wonderful (and I really am not a fan of wings), the sauce they wallowed in at the bottom of the bowl was so good in fact, I wrote about it's possible use as a body sauce in another article. We also had a plate of Crispy P&J Oysters with "Mopho mayo" that was equally fabulous, the oysters being rather plump and juicy. We gobbled them both down just in time for our entrees.

Anne and I both had pho. I got beef broth with duck, pork belly and mushroom. I don't recall what Anne ordered exactly, but I am pretty sure she also chose the beef broth with pork belly. Two things disappointed me about the pho. First, there was barely any meat. I got one bite of duck, one of pork belly and the rest was mushroom. I suppose I could have loaded it up (double that belly!), but still...it made me sad. Second, the broth was lacking the beefy depth and richness I've experienced at my favorite Vietnamese spots and Anne agreed with me. BUT! You must keep in mind (and I did) that this was their first week of opening and it's entirely possible that the chefs still hadn't quite got the hang of making a great pho broth. Foodie friends of mine thought the pho was perfect, so I will have to return a few more times before my judgement of the pho is definitive. 

John ordered a "sloppy" roast duck banh mi and although it was juicy and overflowing with fresh veggies, the quantity of meat was seriously lacking and it was in no way sloppy. Certainly not like a sloppy roast beef po-boy where you need to wash up afterwards. I'd be surprised if John used more than one napkin on the whole sandwich.

We finished out the meal with dessert, a condensed milk cake with condensed milk caramel served with Vietnamese coffee ice cream. Although it didn't look very pretty, it was quite delectable, especially the ice cream. We also ordered a couple of hot Vietnamese coffees in the hopes of warming up. 

All in all, though there were some disappointments, almost everything tasted quite good. Not to mention, while we were waiting for our table, we saw all kinds of dishes coming out for other diners that looked and smelled quite stunning, so we will definitely be back to try again.