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Instead of our typical trip to Vegas to celebrate our delayed Anniversary, Mother Dear gave us the chance to explore a long dreamed of locale, NOLA. We had an almost perfect trip and New Orleans is all it’s purported to be. All of the downsides to any large city exist, but are clearly outmatched by the upsides. And then there is the food, my GOD, the food. We ate ourselves stupid, and regretted it a couple of times immediately afterward. But looking back, I wouldn’t have skipped anything.
It was
our first trip, so it was a touristy trip. We tried the things you
see on tv over and over instead of trying to find hidden gems.
Especially shocking was how good SO MANY of the classics turned out
to be. Only twice was I disappointed, and by disappointed I mean the
place was only good. Much more often I was surprised by how much
better the place was than expected, a rare treat repeated and
repeated in the Crescent City. If you are from our neck of the wood,
or anywhere else than NOLA, it is a completely different world, and
one worth experiencing for multitudinous reasons. Vegas is a
different world but it is a calculated and manufactured experience, New Orleans
has evolved in a storied and historic manner into what it is, you
can feel it everywhere you go. Nothing like it. True Dat. |
Heard about Deanie’s from a few sources. Planned to go the original
Bucktown location on Lake Ponchatrain (sing Power of the Ponchatrain).
Time limits keep us in town and we dine at the French Quarter
location. I imagine they have to be really similar in product which
made me glad we didn’t make it to Bucktown. Deanie’s provided us
super fresh loads of seafood, but I had expected them to kick it up
a notch (NOLA pun fully intended), which didn’t happen. Some of the
additions were spectacular, as were the building blocks, it’s just
the middle that suffered. |
Things started off, well, awesomely. Odd server guy didn’t bring us
a loaf of Leidenheimer’s bread but instead brought us a bowl of
wrinkled red skin potatoes. They are out of the crab boil, they are
coated with the seasoning from the boil, they are steaming and
fluffy inside, they come with do it your self butter, salt & pepper,
and hot sauce. Glorious. Crystal is a great sauce when you are
looking for all of the flavor with some restraint in the heat
department and a few splashes running into the melted butter on crab
boil taters is a confluence you couldn’t create in a lab.
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Surprise Here Are You Crab Boiled Taters |
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We got a bowl of corn and crab chowder and a salad, which were both
stupendous. The salad was topped with a sweet and warm creole honey
mustard dressing they make in house which really stood out. The soup
was almost as thick as a congee and just as full of the sweet
flavors of corn and crab. Nothing in New Orleans was really spicy,
but everything has a little kick of it, especially the things you
wouldn’t expect to have a little fire. The soup was no exception and
the light layer of spice was perfect. Then the two entrees arrived
and so did a bit of disappointment. |
Love The Creole Honey Mustard |
Crab & Corn Bisque Is Excellent |
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The half seafood platter (I can’t imagine what the full one looks
like!) consists of fresh shrimp, catfish, oysters, stuffed crabs and
crawfish croquettes. Good things. It's enormous, the seafood IS
really fresh and fried well. For me the downside was the coating, it
didn’t manage much in the texture or flavor department. Just a
little salt or some crunch would have made a world of difference.
They do an incredible business, people seem to love them, it’s just
not for me. The crawfish croquette was unusual, almost molten in the
center with a unique seasoning blend. It was alright. The stuffed
crab I would have passed on, it did nothing for me. Meh.
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No Shortage Of Great Seafood, But A Shortage Of Flavor & Texture For Me |
This Is Part Of The Platter As Well |
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What I was most excited about trying were the barbeque shrimp. Jumbo
head-on shrimp sautéed in a unique blend of seasonings which are
whipped into about a pound of butter. The shrimp are huge, I knew it
was going to be a mess fest, some things are worth it. I popped the
first head off the shrimp, gave it a squeeze and downed dark, right
and slick awesomeness. I pulled off the legs, peeled the tail,
dipped it into the pool of delicious in the bowl and WOW, what
flavor. At one point I actually had to pull a six inch long antenna
back out of my mouth, I was undeterred by that. Steph not so much.
It was on the second shrimp I realized they had not been cleaned or
depurated. The flavor was worth all the work. I didn’t find it worth
having to scrape the poop chute out with my fingernail. There are
ways to leave the shell on and clean the little buggers, or depurate
them. |
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The Long Awaited BBQ Shrimp |
A Pile Beneath The Bread (And A Pile Inside, Unfortunaely) |
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The Shrimp Are Huge |
Seriously Huge, Big Appetite I Guess |
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I finished them a little bitterly. Dipping the little loaf of bread into the bowl ameliorated my bitterness; that was divine. I dipped some of the fried fish, the fried shrimp, and the fried oysters in as well. Things were better then, gave me a plan for the future. Take new people to Deanie’s. Tell them they absolutely have to get the BBQ shrimp, order anything else, dip it into their flavor bomb while they are doing tiny colectomies. That I could do.
Mother
Dear was crying/laughing watching the juices run down my fingers and
arms and pulling legs and antennae out of my mouth, and at Steph's
bit of a situation...until odd server guy asked if we had room for
dessert. After Luke,
Willie Mae's,
Dookie Chase's, and the mountain of
seafood, she wasn't laughing anymore. I can't remember a more
emphatic no. |
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The Whole Thing Was Hysterical |
But We Were Too Full To Take It Any Further |
Ratings | |||||||
Food |
Service |
Ambiance |
What's Best |
What's Worst |
Overall |
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D | C- | C | B+ | F | D | ||
Free Taters &
Seasoned Butter |
Sh^#%&y Shrimp |