Among the oyster obsessed - Casamento's is close to the Holy Grail - a must stop on the NOLA circuit -
Driving down Magazine - the storefront is small - if you blink - you'll miss it - and - like any celebrity - access is almost impossible - hours are limited - lunch - tues thru sat - 11:00 thru 2:00 - dinner - thur-fri-sat - 5:30 thru 9:00 - the season is limited - they close for the entire summer - everyone wants to go - there is a line in front BEFORE the doors open -
Tried for lunch on Thursday - missed by 15 minutes - this time - had to make it -
Cut short my browse of the Royal Street galleries on Friday - jumped into the car at 1:00 - beating a path uptown - parked - walked in - took the only empty table - a two top - in the front room - settled in -
Immediate objective - a "dozen" - made the mistake of scanning the menu - Oyster Stew - Gumbo - Fried Oysters - Crab Claws - Shrimp - Trout - Platters - 1/2 Loafs - Whole Loafs - it WAS only 1:30 in the afternoon -
Stuck to my guns - One Dozen - then broke down - asked the waitress "Oyster Stew or Gumbo" - Gumbo it was -
Sipping Ice Tea - waiting for food - had occasion to access the Men's Room - "in the back - pass the kitchen" - what do they say in the Navy - "its an adventure" -
Back through the main dining room - narrow - seated maybe 30 - threaded my way through the restaurant kitchen - more like a large home kitchen - narrow counter on one side - large stove on the other - upon which rested a skillet and three large blackened pots - each of the pots filled with hot cooking oil - a spider for extracting the fried food parked on the edge of each pot - no short-order fast-food cook was going to absent-mindedly drop food into a Fyalator in this joint - outside - another counter and sink - atop which sat an oversize clay bowl filled to the brim with freshly discarded oyster shells - this was the New Orleans kitchen you saw on Food Network thinking it was pure fiction -
Back at my table - Gumbo - tomato based - mild spice - a bit on the thinnish side - all sorts of seafood - rice - different - good - not greatness -
Oysters - big - lush - absolutely fresh - can't pin it down - might have just been the batch - but preferred those at the counter at Acme - again - good - not greatness -
Did I order correctly - don't think so - I rushed - want to go back - next time dinner - Oyster Stew - Fried Oysters - which registered as extraordinary without even tasting -
by the by - 2:00 on the dot - server walked to the front - adjusted the Venetian blinds - lunch was over -
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