New Orleans Bistro

Preliminary report based on one Sunday brunch: this place has potential. Located in the space formerly occupied by Oodles Noodles, New Orleans Bistro has an unfortunate theme decor going — prints and masks and beads all in purple, green, and gold. Look, folks, there’s more to The Big Easy than Mardi Gras. But the decor isn’t overwhelming or in your face.

Enough of quibbles. I ordered a nice twist on a low-country classic: shrimp and cheese grits, with tasso and peppers and onions. Rich, a bit oily, but very tasty. Steve had chicken Creole, which was two small chicken breast halves in a sauce I could swear was made with Rotel tomatoes — not that there’s anything wrong (or inauthentic) about that. But it was pretty mild despite being offered at medium heat. Beignets for dessert were perfect.

Strangely enough, when I asked if they had cafe au lait, the waitress said no; seems they don’t brew chicory coffee. So I leaned in close to Steve and said, very quietly, that if I were the server I’d offer to make a faux au lait: strong coffee with hot milk, a not unreasonable substitute. And about thirty seconds later, a tall man with a baritone voice, who’d been working the room the whole time, appeared, apologized for not having chicory coffee, and offered to serve me a strong cup of regular with hot milk. I started nervously looking for the hidden mic.

Seriously, though, this guy, manager or owner or whoever, was trying hard to please people. He’d been stopping by tables the whole time we were there. He talked with us for about five minutes, telling us that they’ve has been open about three months, are on the verge of getting their full liquor licence, and will be soon stocking chicory coffee.

Now if only they’d get rid of the masks and beads...

Dinner and lunch have substantially different menus, by the way, but offer mostly the types of dishes you’d expect to see.