Located in the Garden District, a short cab ride from the Quarter, is something new for New Orleans- a counter seating with only a tasting for about 20 people. The menu changes regularly and they will work to accommodate allergies or preferences, like they did for the vegetarian that was there the night we were.  They have a small wine list and offer pairings for the courses.  It is about 15 courses of small bites all prepared in the kitchen in the room.

I got a corner seat and so had a ringside view of all as well as lots of time to chat with the chefs and service personnel. Everyone was extremely friendly and determined to see the customers enjoy their experience and it worked for me!

 

We started with a sous vide oyster covered with a powder of oyster liquor and horseradish. Good oyster taste with a nice hint of horseradish.

 

The turnips were from their garden and were buttery with a nice chew.

 

The miniature muffalatta was a little spicy and filled with flavor.  A very tasty bite!

 

The southern picnic was covered with cotton candy made of chicken and underneath were bits of chicken mousse and skin crackers. It was a less flavorful offering but the interesting textures made up for it.

 

Under the sturgeon  was a scallion cream cheese and served beside were radish, Meyer lemon and beets(rolls).  A very interesting combination and again not intense tastes but perfectly acceptable.

 

The venison tartar was served with pickled elderberry (green) and the Black trumpet mushrooms were served crispy. Also included were wasabi arugula and aioli with tarragon. I loved the crunch and the meat was velvety making a combination that really works.

 

The foie gras was served with rose hip jam and apple fruit leather. The black dots are black sesame cake batter that is baked and then dehydrated. This was excellent, a real bowl licker!

 

The sorrel was in the form of a frozen glee and the apple was a mousse. There was a spongey texture and a fairly mild taste but the little fruit had a touch of salt that brought it all together.

 

The Char was served with pureed carrots, escarole and sunflower seed paste. An interesting combination of tastes and but a tad to many soft textures however the strong tastes of the purees were a good counterbalance for the strong taste of the fish.

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The wild boar was in 2 preparations – ham and braised neck. Served with black garlic cherry puree and a sauce of the bones and green garlic. Both preparations were outstanding.

 

The duck had a honey glaze and was served with persimmon, satsuma and a slice of the heart. The sauce was a made of giblets, confit gizzard and liver bits. The duck was tender and flavorful and the various components blended well. Another winner!

 

The sticky bun was more a duck fat brioche with duck confit inside and you could use it to mop up the remaining gravy of the previous course. Very rich and a great texture – this was a perfect finish.

 

The Christmas course had pine gel, pine nuts, meringue and honestly tasted like a Christmas tree smells. No one element stood out but they all combined to really give you a pleasant taste of Christmas.

 

The squash mousse or the curry ice cream had a little spice and combined with the candied pecans it did give you the taste of pumpkin spice. A fun course.

 

More treats on the mignardises tray and they were all quite good but I’m a sucker for cannele  and this was a version I could have eaten many of!

 

I must comment on the most unusual array of dishes they served the courses in. These were not things you can toss in a dishwasher rack and expect them to last and so I wanted to introduce their most capable handler of all things delicate and some of the other staff that made the visit so enjoyable.

 

If that wasn’t enough food they had some good looking muffins to send home with you – surely not to eat that night as I was stuffed!