[Evelyn]

I thought I had posted about the tasting menu I had here last year, but, it seems I didn't. Just as well, as the experience was marred by very poor service. I was giving the restaurant a bit of a pass on the service issue, since staffing was difficult after the legions of workers who were still living elsewhere after Katrina.

Fast forward to this year. The service issues still dog this highend dining destination. To say the service was atrocious, would not be unfair. As a matter of fact, the server even comped my first course, as an apology for my having to wait first, to be welcomed, then to order a drink, then to receive the drink, then to receive the order...well, you get the idea.

The menu is very brief. There is a tasting menu option. I inquired whether I could order "course by course", since I had a long day and wasn't sure how hungry I really was. My server had no issues with this idea, as a matter of fact, encouraged me to do so. And, in the end, I'm glad I did. If I had ordered more courses, I might still be sitting there waiting for them.

Amuse: Truffle scented egg mousse-served in the shell with caviar-the mousse was lovely and light, flavored with truffle oil. A very good start.

A long wait ensued. Almost 20 minutes before the arrival of my first course. During this time, I finished off my first glass of wine and couldn't get my servers attention to a) get another glass or b) get water poured from the bottle I'd ordered. I actually contemplated getting up, walking across the room and pulling the bottle out of the ice bucket. Eventually, when I did get someone's attention I had them leave the water on the table. For the rest of my visit, no one bothered to pour water.

Course One: Potato Gnocchi tossed with blue crab and black truffle-The gnocchi were relatively light and dressed with a truffle scented (and my guess is "enhanced" with truffle oil) cream sauce. There was very little blue crab in this dish. At the time, I was pretty displeased. I commented on the lack of crab and just got a nod. The next day at Galatoire's, my captain mentioned that there had been storms that had made the procurement of crabs difficult and expensive. So, I'm hoping that was the case in regard to the stinginess with this dish.

Course Two: Belle River crawfish & fresh cheese agnolotti, tomatoes, Benton's bacon and early morels- Another 20 + minute wait from order to arrival and more stinginess with the crawfish and the morels. Overall, a very tasty dish. The pasta packets plentiful and nicely toothsome. A couple of small bits of crawfish and a couple of slices of morels. Normally, I wouldn't order two pasta courses, but, it was the only way to get both a shot at the local shellfish.

At this point, I'd planned to have a meat course, but, couldn't face another long wait. My thought was to opt for dessert, choosing something that would not have to be "cooked". A good thought in practice, but, not in reality.

Dessert: Pere Roux banana rum cake with Creole cream cheese frosting- Another 20 + minute wait. Finally, a large slice of cake surrounded by and topped with delicate curls of white chocolate. If you are a white chocolate fan, this is the dessert for you. Frosted with a whipped, airy version of cream cheese icing, layers of light white cake are separated with what was described to me as a puree of bananas Foster. No real discernable flavor of rum, but, that's only a minor quibble, as the cake was very good.

I just don't know why the service is so poor here. The servers are quite pleasant, but, they also seem oblivious at times, to the needs/wants of the diner. Obviously, they recognize the fact that the service is not what it should be, as witnessed by the comping of my first course. The restaurant was only moderately busy. Certainly not busy enough to justify the incredibly long waits involved. I find Chef Besh's food interesting, but, with the abbreviated menu and poor service, well, I'm just not sure it's worth the wait.

[little ms foodie]

we had almost exactly the same experience last july. the food was good but my memory of the extremely lackluster service distracts from my memories of it. waiting and waiting for our wine while the first course sat in front of us was just the start of it....

[Rail Paul]

Nice interview with John Besh in the NY Times. There's a great-sounding recipe for peppered venison loin.


Game cooking

[nuxvomica]

Nice interview with John Besh in the NY Times. There's a great-sounding recipe for peppered venison loin.


Game cooking

oh he can come over and cook it - and the truffled gnocchi (never mind the crab) - any time.

[Nathan]

I liked August a lot.

[Sneakeater]

I keep reading this thread title as "Restaurant Angst".

[Rail Paul]

The New Orleans magazine asserts this is among the finest restaurant in New Orleans...

August is one of the three or four best restaurants in New Orleans. It’s a beautifully designed space, with a classic dark wood bar at the entrance, high ceilings in the main dining room and a smaller wood-paneled room adjacent. There’s ample light from huge windows during the day and chandeliers at night. Red-patterned fabric covering the chairs recalls the brick that comprises the walls. In its décor, August would not be out of place in New York. But August is unmistakably a New Orleans restaurant.

That’s true because even Besh’s most fanciful dishes are centered on the use of excellent local ingredients. Some of those ingredients are sourced from local producers, and some come from the farm surrounding La Provence, Besh’s restaurant in Lacombe. There, Besh also raises chickens, pigs, cows and goats for his six restaurants.

via Eater

[Ron Johnson]

Besh has a cookbook out that looks really good.