Our final dinner in New Orleans was at the recently opened R'evolution in the Royal Sonesta Hotel (www.revolutionnola.com)
in the heart of the French Quarter. This is a joint venture from
a truly odd couple of chefs with local chef John Folse joining
Chicago-based Rick Tramanto (Tru) in a gorgeous Creole mansion-style
setting that is truly elegant. The room we were in had Louisiana
plantations painted on the walls with deep cushy red booths and much
larger tables than anyone could want with good spaces for privacy. This
was very welcome after the tight arrangement at August the night before.
In the next room was an open kitchen and lots of white tiles, so you
can eat here several times in many different settings. When you sit
down, you know who is in charge as the Ginori-copy plates have the two
chefs name's emblazoned on them. Our servers were Maegan and Ronan and
they were very helpful as the menu is large and varied.
The
Amuse arrived in the form of a White Bean and Mussel Salad, which Sam
would have none of, but we gobbled up. The sparkling water here is
Hildon from the UK. Unsalted and salted butters aarived with Lavosh,
Buttermilk biscuits, Seeded rolls and Crystalettes (a small individual
baguette) which were all tasty.
We started with a bottle of
Bodegas Lopez de Heredia "Vina Gravonia" Crianza from Rioja which is
Vivra(a grape I never heard of) and Granatxa Blanca.It was perfect with
the two starters we shared:
BLACK TRUFFLE BEEF TARTARE with
Pickled Vegetables(turnip, jalapeno, carrot, red pepper) and Grilled
Bread and while Samuel tasted it, he was not thrilled; we adored it.
Going more local the other dish was Crabmeat-Stuffed Louisiana Frogs
Legs Nicoise with Fennel & Saffron which is a dish that will win
anyone over to this superb chicken-like protein. The legs have only one
small bone in them and were stuffed with crab and a bit of mascarpone
cheese as binder (it was not sweet) and then battered and deep fried
like giant lollipops. They were sublime.
Sam
ordered the Braised Boneless SHORT RIBS with Rutabaga Citrus Puree in
Red Wine Sauce and indeed his plated was empty after dinner save fore
the puree (he never likes purees--even mashed potatoes). His side of
fries came with Chipotle Ketchup & Lemon Aioli dips. he plates were
monstrous servings and I struggled through my 1/2 North Carolina MUSCOVY
Rotisserie DUCK with Field Pea Foie Gras Rice (that was the reason I
ordered this) served inside a Crispy Onion Ring, Pea Tendrils and
Chanterelles (yes again!). This was a superb lacquered duck with crunchy
skin and moist insides; it had everything going for it. Will ordered
the
Pan Seared PORK CHOP with House-made Italian Sausage,
Cannelini Beans, Escarole Salad & Horseradish; yes, for the English
guy who dislikes horseradish. It was a BIG (underscore) hit as again the
dish was monstrous.
Our wine was a 2008 Condoda de Haza from
Ribera del Duero that was opened and decanted for about 45 minutes at
the beginning so it had really opened up and had huge legs and
everything else a red wine could wish for; and a brilliant pairing for
both big meat dishes.
I forgot to mention that
while the menus are printed, the wine list comes on an I-pad, and I can
be technically challenged with these things; Sam helped me. The
electrical dessert menus arrived and there were may items but we settled
on the White Chocolate BREAD PUDDING CREME BRULEE for the table to
share which came with Lemon scented Apricots and Salted Bourbon Caramel
Sauce. The apricots and the sauce were divine, but this dessert was
nowhere near a bread pudding or a brulee. I explained this to our
servers (we didn't eat most of it) and we were not charged, but as this
occurred I noticed a cheese trolley. Why was this option not on the
electrical menu. It was completely left off and they said that the
electric menus don't get updated. How stupid is that!
A manager came over to apologize and I really didn't want cheese by then, but it's a shame this was not well done.
Just
as we thought we were done Maegan brought the FUN BOX, a huge chest
which had multiple compartments and platters which she opened and
distributed. These had Salted Caramel taffy, Pecan Brownies, Pecan Chili
Brittle, Blackberry AlmondTea Cake (like a Linzertorte), Limoncello
Cookie, Milk Chocolate Truffles (Sam dived for that and the brownie),
and a Toasted Coconut Macaroon with Dark Chocolate (for me!), They were
all indeed lots of fun and a great way to end the meal, although there
might be a fight over some of the items as there are not two or three of
each at every table!
Save for the dessert, we were happy to join the R'evolution.
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