QUICK BITE: Commander's Palace New Orleans

Saturday's lunch he was at one of New Orleans oldest restauranrs,. Commander's Palace. This restaurant sits right in the middle of the garden district, about a 10 minute taxi ride from the warehouse district (downtown). On weekends they have a Jazz Brunch with a three course menu.  You pick a starter, a main and a dessert from a menu.  The cost of your lunch is base on the price listed for the main you choose .  There are about eight options in each category and some have an extra charge beyond the price of the main.  

I started with a New Orleans staple, Chicken Gumbo.  

This was thick and slightly spicy, made with a dark roux.   It could have been much warmer when it was served.  I also felt that the gumbo had been over reduced since it was very salty to my taste.   

Also tried the Domenixa Squash salad. 

I had nevert heard of this type of squash.Thw dish played off sweet and bitter components. The squash had been roasted which h brought out it's sweetness.  It was served with biter chicory greens and kale.  And the dressing was a raisin and brandy vinaigrette for sweetness.  While I would have done with much less dressing, I did understand what the chef was attempting.   This was tasty but I would try to get less dressing if I ordered it again.  

The best dish at lunch was the pecan crusted gulf fish.  Now they didn't lost what type of fish this was but I wiid guess redfish. Or possibly grouper.  

Delicate, flaky and most with a thin crispz slightly nutty coating.  And simply seasoned so you could really taste the fish.   It was served into of a type of succatash. Small, sweet kernels of corn along with charred kale and leeks. As good as the fish was, this was better. It is great to see dishes where the chef puts as much thought into the sides as they do the main entree.  Thinking back as the buttery cauliflower puree I had as Josephine Estellle, I would love a vegetarian main composed.of just that pureed and this succatash.  Such great flavors and textures.  

We tried two desserts. First was the apple cobbler.  

This was a very good desert.   Had all the components of a good cobbler.  Big pieces of apple, hints of nutmeg and cinnamon and a crunchy topping of brown sugar and oats. Topped with some creamy vanilla ice cream.  All the flavors were very good.

Also tried the mint chocolate chip ice cream.  

This was served in a freshly made waffle cone bowl.   Unlike.oce cream you might get at the supermarket, you could really taste the fresh mint they must have used.  And some large pieces of chocolate to offset the mint.  

QUICK BITE: Josephine Estellle New Orleans

We arrived two days ahead of the embarkation day for our NCK Breakaway sailing.  Tonight was dinner at Josephine Estellle.  It is located in the Ace Hotel.  Something interesting about New Orleans is that so many if the restaurants and bars are located inside hotels.  And you might think that those places are tourist traps it have orlverpriced, generic food. Not the case.  

We started with this delicious Sangiovese wine.from.the Toscana region. Dry with just hints of some.fruit.  

Dinner stared with an assortment of appetizers including Napa Cabbage with Prosciutto, their famous meatballs and burrata.  

The stay prosciutto was so good with the crisp.cabbage and green apples.  The meatballs had just enough breadcrumbs to hold them together but you could still taste the beef, veal and pork.  And the buratta was creamy and savory.  Just perfect with yellow beets, toasted hazelnuts and a delicious pomegranate molasses.  

For mains we want with the delicious fettuccine with veal ragout and short ribs with pureed cauliflower.  

The star was definitely the veal ragout.  Essentially like a pot roast, full of flavor and meatiness.   And perfe fly al dente pasta. 

The short ribs had decent flavor but I have had better.  They were missing the succulence and richness I associate with a great short rib.   The pureed cauliflower save the dish.  So creamy and buttery - almost like grits.  I would have preferred a vegetarian dish with this instead of the short ribs.  

Desserts were stellar.  These were a lemon semifreddo and a Peanut Butter mousse with chocolate ganache.  The semifreddo has some.smart addition of cadied lemon peel and a dark chocolate ganache. 

The peanut butter dessert was so well balanced between the creamy mousse and rich  chocolate.