NOLA
Both my fiance and I had heard bad things about NOLA, Emeril Lagasse's second New Orleans-based restaurant. But I had also read somewhere online that it was considered by some to be his best effort. Our group's trip to the Big Easy did not include plans to visit NOLA, but Neal and I were curious enough to try it on our own. I made a lunch reservation for the Saturday we'd be in town (also the same day we planned to eat at Emeril's - a real Emerilathon!) and so we visited the French Quarter with a mission.

A simple hanging sign featuring the NOLA logo was the only indication of the restaurant's existence in the building on St. Louis at Chartres Streets. After snapping a quick photo of said sign, Neal and I went inside. We were led to a table on the second floor, one with a good view of the funky ornamental mobile/hanging artwork in the vestibule. The restaurant was unfortunately noisy: we had an loud and obnoxious Texan and his ladylove seated on one side of us. Despite the quiet couple on the other side, we had to shout across the table to be heard. A little sound-muffling carpet might be a nice addition to the decor.

As seems traditional in NO restaurants, the menus are not brought to the table immediately upon seating, but after drink orders are taken. When it finally arrived, the menu proved a veritable treasure-trove of edible goodies. We didn't know where to look first. Being that we did have a dinner reservation that night, albeit a late one, we didn't want a full-blown entree for lunch, lest it spoil our appetites. We instead went the soup and salad route, and split a pizza.

The gumbo du jour was seafood, and that was Neal's choice, while I tried NOLA's version of turtle soup au sherry. Very sherry it was, with a deep mahogany color and thick richness, containing bites of turtle meat and sprinkled with a garnish of chopped scallion green and hard-boiled egg. A fine hearty soup, the concoction would also be delectable over pasta, or perhaps napped over sauteed chicken or veal cutlets. The gumbo was orgasmic. The color indicated a fairly dark roux was used, but the broth was suprisingly delicate in texture, with none of the typical toasted flour flavor we expected. The taste was not delicate, however, but was redolent of the sea. The stock was rich with seafood flavor and chock-full of seafood chunks, including lump crab meat. It was so good, I wished I had ordered a bowl or two of it myself. I asked the waiter which of Em's cookbooks might contain this particular recipe, and he suggested Real and Rustic, the only one I do not own. Of course. Easily the best gumbo I have ever eaten.

After the soup course came our salads. Mine was of arugula with Maytag bleu cheese, crispy bacon and toasted walnuts in a balsamic/sherry vinaigrette. Wow. The arugula was impeccably fresh, the bleu cheese generously portioned, and the nuts crisp and flavorful. Along with the bacon, these ingredients were tossed in a caramel-thick dressing so delicious, I used my finger to finish the drizzles along the edge of the bowl - I didn't want to miss a drop. Neal's salad was equally divine - baby greens tossed with peanuts and a honey mustard-type of dressing.

After those two large-portioned courses, we were glad not to have ordered entrees. The deep-dish pizza was just big enough to satisfy - it was topped with onions, mushrooms, and homemade andouille sausage and mozzarella cheese. The crust was crisp, the toppings generous, and it was overall delicious.

We had to save room for dessert, of course. Good thing the menu included a creme brulee, otherwise I would not have known what to choose. Neal went for a mango and lime creme pie with ginger ice cream. It was to die for. The rich pastry cream was flavored with mango and a hint of lime, and the ginger ice cream was the perfect accompaniment. My chicory coffee creme brulee was decadent and came with three buttery shortbread fingers that tasted of brown sugar.

Everything was delicious beyond belief. Certainly we were more than pleasantly surprised, especially considering the negativity we had encountered regarding the restaurant. After all was said and done (and eaten) we decided that this was the best meal of the entire trip. Not that we had any bad meals; everything had been wonderful. What made the meal at NOLA the best was the quality of flavor - each dish was full of distinct flavors, un-muddled by over-seasoning. The cheese was rich and sharp, the andouille spicy with bay and garlic, the vinaigrette sweet with sherry vinegar. The flavors were clean and bright and distinctive - something that was lacking in other meals we shared.

Next trip to NO, we're definitely going to try NOLA for dinner, and I highly recommend it for lunch.


Emeril's Orlando || Emeril's

Emeril's Bio ||| Food of Love ||| Emeril's Restaurants ||| BAM!

This site copyright 1999 WebGoddess Web Design.
We are in no way affiliated with Emeril Lagasse, or with the Food TV Network, or their sponsors. We just happen to be big fans of the Man and wanted to pay a special tribute.
Questions? E-mail us.