Tonight, the hubbs and I got to experience a very special treat. Besides the fact that we got a babysitter and had a night out by ourselves, we also got the meal of a lifetime!
A very generous friend of ours decided to celebrate he and his wife's 20th anniversary by hosting 4 other couples for dinner at the Ritz Carlton of New Orleans - or so we thought. We were told to get a babysitter, arrive at 6:30 for cocktails and dinner would be at 7:00pm - and they were footing the bill.
So we found a friend to watch the kids, dolled ourselves up and headed to the French Quarter. We arrived and joined the group for a drink and then were escorted to the dining room - and then they just kept going (oh, I thought we are going to the private party booth area) and then they kept going (oh, we are going to a private room) and then they took us directly into the kitchen????? (Oh, I thought, they are going to let us meet the Chef or something) and then I noticed this large table right in the middle of the kitchen set for 10. That, my friends, is where we dined on a 11 course meal for the next 3.5 hours! THE CHEF'S TABLE!
The very first thing I noticed were the plates. I wish I had my camera to take a picture. But they were these fancy dinner plates with words around the border and prices. Like a menu. Absinthe, Shrimp, etc. But the prices were like .25 or .50. I immediately remembered NolaNotes post on similar style plates.
There were just as many waiting on our table as there were sitting at our table. The Executive Chef introduced himself and then told us there was no menu. The way it worked was that they picked what we eat. They inquired about any allergies, strong aversions to certain foods, etc. None in our group. We were all game. Bring it on!
So bring it on they did. They mentioned 7 courses at the beginning, but at the end we counted 11 including the last which was Cafe Bruno - a coffee with bay leaves, cinnamon, cloves etc and prepared over an open flame tableside and topped with vanilla ice cream and fresh cream.
It was so neat to watch all the staff come out together and serve each of us. If someone was not seated (bathroom break) they would hold the food and bring it out when the person returned to the table. Each time the Executive Chef, Sous Chef, Pastry Chef or similar would explain what was just placed in front of us with such great detail and they were so proud.
My favorite was the Wild Truffle (mushroom) Cappucino - the very first course. It was a very smooth soup that was served in a a cappucino cup and you drink it. It was so delicious!
Let's see if I can remember what we had.
Wild Truffle Soup
Fried Soft Shell Crab
Shrimp over some corn mixture
Sesame Crusted Seared Tuna with some Mango Smoothie in a shot glass (or so we called it!)
Filet Mignon with a potato of some sort and a crab stuffed tomato
Blueberry Glazed Duck over Cous Cous
Sorbet Trio - Cantelope, Strawberry, Passion Fruit
Creme Brulee Trio - Pistachio (MY FAV!), Coconut, Mango
Chocolate Mousse, Puff Pastry, Ice Cream and Deep Fried Fig
Bananas Foster (prepared tableside of course)
Cafe Bruno
Of course there were sides to some of these and fancy names, glazes, reductions, etc. My naming above does not do it justice. I don't even think I have recalled everything! Thankfully, everything was small proportions!
Oh and I should add that there was a constant flow of champagne and wine. They just kept putting something new in front of us. We just kept talking and eating and - well - drinking.
We finally exited the kitchen around 10:30pm. 3.5 hours later. Overstuffed and waddling, we took a seat in the dining area to watch Jeremy Davenport play his trumpet. About 5 minutes after sitting down to listen one of the other husband's in our group shouted across the table over the music, "Hey! You think we can get a little something to snack on?" We all just started laughing!
What a cool night out!
Showing posts with label night out. Show all posts
Showing posts with label night out. Show all posts
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Sunday, December 30, 2007
A night out with the bro in New Orleans!
Well, my brother was here visiting for Christmas and it was his first time here since we moved here 4 years ago. So we had to take him out for a night in New Orleans last Saturday. So we hired a babysitter and off we went!
First stop Jacques-imos for dinner. I had never been myself but my hubby has always wanted to take me. He takes his buds there when they come into town to visit and they all rave about it every time. I finally got my chance and man have I been missing something awesome all this time! I couldn't stop saying, "Mmmmmm. That is SO GOOD!" It is one thing to be a visitor and to go crazy over the food down here, but after living here awhile you start to know what is REALLY GOOD! We each ordered an appetizer ($7.50 each and nice size portions) and took turns tasting them. They all rocked! We got the shrimp and alligator sausage cheesecake, fried green tomatoes with crawfish sauce and four huge grilled shrimp on top and the crab stuffed shrimp. All were incredible but the stuffed shrimp was our favorite.
For entrees, my hubby got some kind of fish and bro got the Grouper. I got the waiter's suggested entree - Fried chicken! I went all out and ordered my sides as cole slaw and mashed potatoes to round it out. Man, I don't eat fried chicken a lot but this was mouth watering! The coleslaw and mashed potatoes were so good too I couldn't decide which of the three to finish as it was all too much food for me. Price for my entree - $17.95. Both hubby and bro loved their fish dinners and mmmmmm'd with every bite! My brother said that was the perfect place to take an out of town visitor and just the type of place he wanted to go to. It is a winner!
The atmosphere is cool, the food is great and the prices are affordable. Go early or expect to wait. Short story: On our way out we overheard a woman tell the hostess that they had a party of 6. She said, "Six. Well, you aren't eating here tonight." The woman looked confused. The hostess said, "Honey, I got a 3 hour wait for parties of 6 or more ." The girl left very angry;-)
After dinner, we drove into the quarter. We parked at the Ritz Carlton because that is where we would be ending our night. We walked down to the Foundation Room which is a private club off the House of Blues. A friend put us on the list for the night and we enjoyed this uniquely decorated bar and relaxed awhile in the comfy seating area.
After a few drinks there we decided to take a walk around the quarter. The week before we spent the day down in the quarter with my parents and my mom was asking me where different celebrities live. Of course I never bothered to look up such info. So this time I looked up Brad Pitt's place (521 Governor Nicholas St.) and also found Nicholas Cage's address (11 40 Royal St.) So we did a walk by and stopped into the bar that I read Angelina frequents. We rang both of their doorbells for shits and giggles. It was kinda corny but we had fun.
After a short jaunt down Bourbon Street which my brother found disappointing and too college-like (he was looking for good blues music) we made our way back to the Ritz Carlton to watch Jeremy Davenport play Jazz music for free. This was the highlight of the night for my brother (other than Jacques-imos). My hubby fanagled a seat right up front by the stage with another couple who just sat down. He had the Maitre'd ask them if we could join them since it was a table for 6 and there was just two of them. The couple turned out to be visitor's in town for the Georgia/Hawaii Sugar Bowl game. She was the Alumni Director for Georgia and he worked for the Board of Regents at Georgia. They were very friendly and welcomed us. I ordered the Sticky Toffee Pudding for dessert while the boys ordered way too many drinks and heckled Jeremy and the drummer. It was all good fun and Jeremy seemed cool with it - he is quite a character himself!
Then, I got way too tired. This mommy can't hang anymore. We said goodnight to our new friends the Andersons and wished them good luck at the game. I had us home by 1am and my brother graciously paid for the babysitter because he said he had a great time! Thanks bro! Nice having you here to visit too.
First stop Jacques-imos for dinner. I had never been myself but my hubby has always wanted to take me. He takes his buds there when they come into town to visit and they all rave about it every time. I finally got my chance and man have I been missing something awesome all this time! I couldn't stop saying, "Mmmmmm. That is SO GOOD!" It is one thing to be a visitor and to go crazy over the food down here, but after living here awhile you start to know what is REALLY GOOD! We each ordered an appetizer ($7.50 each and nice size portions) and took turns tasting them. They all rocked! We got the shrimp and alligator sausage cheesecake, fried green tomatoes with crawfish sauce and four huge grilled shrimp on top and the crab stuffed shrimp. All were incredible but the stuffed shrimp was our favorite.
For entrees, my hubby got some kind of fish and bro got the Grouper. I got the waiter's suggested entree - Fried chicken! I went all out and ordered my sides as cole slaw and mashed potatoes to round it out. Man, I don't eat fried chicken a lot but this was mouth watering! The coleslaw and mashed potatoes were so good too I couldn't decide which of the three to finish as it was all too much food for me. Price for my entree - $17.95. Both hubby and bro loved their fish dinners and mmmmmm'd with every bite! My brother said that was the perfect place to take an out of town visitor and just the type of place he wanted to go to. It is a winner!
The atmosphere is cool, the food is great and the prices are affordable. Go early or expect to wait. Short story: On our way out we overheard a woman tell the hostess that they had a party of 6. She said, "Six. Well, you aren't eating here tonight." The woman looked confused. The hostess said, "Honey, I got a 3 hour wait for parties of 6 or more ." The girl left very angry;-)
After dinner, we drove into the quarter. We parked at the Ritz Carlton because that is where we would be ending our night. We walked down to the Foundation Room which is a private club off the House of Blues. A friend put us on the list for the night and we enjoyed this uniquely decorated bar and relaxed awhile in the comfy seating area.
After a few drinks there we decided to take a walk around the quarter. The week before we spent the day down in the quarter with my parents and my mom was asking me where different celebrities live. Of course I never bothered to look up such info. So this time I looked up Brad Pitt's place (521 Governor Nicholas St.) and also found Nicholas Cage's address (11 40 Royal St.) So we did a walk by and stopped into the bar that I read Angelina frequents. We rang both of their doorbells for shits and giggles. It was kinda corny but we had fun.
After a short jaunt down Bourbon Street which my brother found disappointing and too college-like (he was looking for good blues music) we made our way back to the Ritz Carlton to watch Jeremy Davenport play Jazz music for free. This was the highlight of the night for my brother (other than Jacques-imos). My hubby fanagled a seat right up front by the stage with another couple who just sat down. He had the Maitre'd ask them if we could join them since it was a table for 6 and there was just two of them. The couple turned out to be visitor's in town for the Georgia/Hawaii Sugar Bowl game. She was the Alumni Director for Georgia and he worked for the Board of Regents at Georgia. They were very friendly and welcomed us. I ordered the Sticky Toffee Pudding for dessert while the boys ordered way too many drinks and heckled Jeremy and the drummer. It was all good fun and Jeremy seemed cool with it - he is quite a character himself!
Then, I got way too tired. This mommy can't hang anymore. We said goodnight to our new friends the Andersons and wished them good luck at the game. I had us home by 1am and my brother graciously paid for the babysitter because he said he had a great time! Thanks bro! Nice having you here to visit too.
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