Luke

There’s a big billboard - right pass the Super Dome – Lüke - A John Besh Restaurant – 10 foot high letters – my cynical New York knee jerk – Tourist Trap !! -  but - John Besh ?? - he's the  "It" chef of New Orleans – a James Beard Award winner – what’s going on –

Two days later – exploring New Orleans by car – cigar smoking – radio playing - NPR’s All Thing Considered – they interview John T Edge – a Mississippi food writer who i've read and written of before - and -  Brett Anderson – the food critic for the Time Picayune – NOLA –

"What’s new ??"... "What's hot ??" - the correspondent asked - amidst the responses – "Lüke"

Checked online – reviews from May when LUKE opened – table service "disjointed" enough to destroy the best meal – even as other reviews cited the food and flavors – ran it by the Concierge – “everything has been fixed” – drove uptown to Tulane for wife and daughter  - debate – agreement – go for it –

Only regret – we almost canceled – i.e. – what a meal !!!!

Its a very "un" New Orleans restaurant - bistro - while at the same time - absolutely in the right place - the hot App menu lists an Onion tart - immediately bringing forth an image of Andre Soltner - late of Lutece - as the absolute standard bearer - every other onion tart being judged against his perfectionist's rendition - well this one is as far from Lutece as Chef John Besh could take it -

A nine by twelve inch wooden cutting plank - atop which was a seemly free form mass of melted cheese with the faint outlines of cut marks across its surface - beneath - sweet sauteed onions - atop a super thin free form crust made chewy as it takes up the excess moisture - the flavors - the textures - all in perfect balance - you want to cancel the other apps you had been stupid enough to order -

And then rest of the food began to arrive -

Roasted oysters with wild mushrooms, bacon and aioli - good but I kept stealing pieces of my wife's onion tart -

Warm bittersweet plantation goat cheese salad, heirloom tomatoes, country ham and croutons - consumed in absolute silences - as she tuned out the world to enjoy -
12.00

Seafood gumbo á la Creole - had to try - ordered a cup - way too much food - but the taste was shared by all - smiles by all - worth going the distance

Jumbo Louisiana shrimp “en cocotte” with Anson Mills cream white corn grits and Jacobs andouille - what was tasted was amazing - but this dish fell into - too much to eat - packed it up at the end of supper - trucking it home to the hotel mini bar - which prompted "movement" of mini bar items - picked up by infrared sensors - triggering a charge which had to be corrected on the final hotel bill - still - it was a great midnight snack -

Jagerschnitzel mit spätzle - paneéd veal cutlets with chanterelle and oyster mushrooms - jumbo lump crabmeat - one of the most extraordinary dishes I have ever eaten - totally out of character with NOLA - adding the crabmeat was an act of pure decadence while bringing it all back to New Orleans - i.e. - somehow it all worked - a boneless cutlet - pounded thin until it covered the entire plate - breaded - fried - server atop spätzle with the mushrooms - crowned with a large mound of lump crabmeat - eat slow - savor each combined bite - flavors - it captured my full attention - who cared what anyone else was eating - or offering as tastes - this dish had the mojo -

Ravioli of local crabmeat - simmered with garlic, cream, lemon and fresh herbs - my daughter insisted on my tasting - i indulged - wow !!! - she's not a foodie - but flavors like this can prompt immediate conversion - interesting sidebar - in the hotel elevator later that night - someone asked where we had dinner - "Lüke" I offered - "did you try the ravioli" my fellow passenger asked - a smile was all the response necessary -

Dessert was a slight let down - Bread pudding - like a ballerina in the New York City Ballet - a star on any other stage - but at this venue - merely a member of the corps -

We were in town 4 days - three nights - ate seven "New Orleans" meals - this was hands down - the best - can't wait to go back -

Enjoy -

By the by - wine for the night was  - Dr. Loosen Berkastler Lay Riesling Kabinett 2005 - a perfect contrasting compliment for the right flavors of the night - light - flavorful - nice acid - crisp - a touch of spritz - allowing one to simultaneously clear and enhance the pallet - perfect choice - moderate price -

Oh yes - officially the onion tart is - Flamenküchethin Alsatian onion tarte with bacon, caraway and Emmenthaler cheese -

Lüke
333 St Charles
New Orleans, LA 70130
504.378.2840

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