Galatoire's Baton Rouge
The trial that occupied my time these last few days settled this afternoon, but not before causing me to miss lunch. My partner John and I got on the road out of Red Stick today around 4:00 p.m., determined to get something to eat before braving the hour-plus ride home. We pulled into a Chili's parking lot before regaining our fucking minds and heading to the new(ish) Galatoire's Bistro off Highland Road.
Unlike the New Orleans Galatoire's, the Bistro closes between lunch and dinner service. Luckily we were in the window for "happy hour." From 4 to 7 (I think) certain drinks are only $4, but more importantly, there is a bar menu which John and I tore into.
Before I get on the road, I'm usually reluctant to eat a big meal. Because I might have to go potty, you know.* So the appetizers were a great way to get some food into our systems without risking alimentary disaster en route.
They were using the burner that they ordinarily employ to make souffle potatoes, so those were off the menu, but we did get some kick-ass frites, which were served with a very well-made mayonaise that I suppose might not have been house-made, but was good nonetheless. We also got the fried eggplant with bernaise and powdered sugar. Our bartender suggested we mix the sugar with a little tabasco for "another dipping sauce." This minor heresy aside, the eggplant was just fine - could have used a little salt, but given my cholesterol level, it was probably better as it was.
There are escargot on the bar menu (and the main menu as an appetizer) which we did not sample and also a version of barbecue shrimp served over a big piece of fried eggplant and garnished with lump crabmeat which we did. The eggplant was perfectly fried, which was impressive given the thickness of the slice. The sauce was appropriately rich and garlicky. We sopped it up with bread.
We also got a duck and boursin cheese crepe that was garnished with port-soaked dried cherries and pistachios. Man was that good. I mean damn near perfect. The duck was tender, and the cheese held everything together. The cherries and pistachios were a tart and nutty complement to the richness of the crepe. There was a little sauce - port based I figure, from the cherries - on the outside of the plate, and a little oil too, but the crepe itself was the focus and the star.
So all of these new things on the menu there at the Bistro got me thinking. Would I like to see some of these things at the Flagship on Bourbon Street? And more importantly, whether I want to see these things, would it work with the rest of their clientele?
I haven't given it all that much thought to this point, and I'm working on very little sleep and a lot of adrenaline, but my thinking is that I would order that crepe and those barbecue shrimp anywhere, including the hall of mirrors that is Galatoire's main dining room. I'd probably still end up getting broiled pompano for an entree, because a) it's awesome and one of the finest products of our Gulf, and b) Richard might have a stroke if I ordered something else; he's delicate.
Look, as far as I know, there are a few of the items already on the menu at Galatoire's. I haven't looked at a menu there in a decade or so. But I might if there was a chance I could find that crepe inside.
The restaurant is located in an upscale strip mall, and apart from an apparent lack of parking, it's not a bad space. They've obviously gone to some lengths to recreate at least the tile floors from the Mothership, and while there's no way to duplicate Bourbon Street, it's similarly inward-looking. Which is appropriate, since after all, when you're in Galatoire's the street isn't an issue. The outside world is not part of the dining equation.
The service staff at the Bistro is considerably younger than at the Bourbon Street establishment. This is not difficult. I'm not saying that most of the waiters at Galatoire's are old. Oh wait, yes I am. So the kids I saw wearing waiter/tress uniforms at the Bistro looked more like the student section at Tiger Stadium than what you'd expect at Galatoire's? So what. I didn't eat in the dining room, so I don't really know what the service is like but apparently there is a shortage of aging Cajun gentlemen willing to pick up and move to the capital for work at Galatoire's Bistro.
I AM SAYING THE WAITERS AT GALATOIRE'S SKEW TOWARDS THE OLDER DEMOGRAPHIC PEOPLE. IT IS AN EFFORT TO TEASE THEM, JOCULAR-LIKE.
Ahem.
Anyway, the food was good, the place looked nice, it gets a thumb's up as far as I'm concerned.
*What? Not funny in a "way too much information" kind of way? What if I take it back now, and pretend I never said it? Will that work? Love me!
