Our second evening dinner plans took us to the Red Fish Grill, reputed to be one of those stellar establishments within the Quarter of New Orleans. Sadly, whether it was a function of the close proximity to Mardi Gras or the exceedingly high volume of business, this was one of the establishments that failed to live up to the ‘hype’. The noise level was beyond loud and at times bordered on painful. In order to accommodate all of the ‘extra’ customers, tables were added between the tables and this made the venue decidedly crowded. Now factor in the inebriation level of the clientele… well, let’s just say it wasn’t a fun experience.
As far as the food was concerned… I can honestly say that while the drinks were acceptable (Sazerac and a Mai Tai) this was the first time we were served our dinner bread in a paper bag. Not sure why they do this and it gave the meal a decidedly ‘take out’ feel… which maybe was their intent? Perhaps it was to speed the table turn-over? Moresthepity, since the bread was very good.
We both decided to forgo the appetizer and opted instead for salads, with Sheb selecting a Jerk Chicken Salad of field greens, creamy rosemary dressing, granny smith apples and roasted pumpkin seeds, which she found to be watery and a touch on the bland side. I chose the house salad of hearts of romaine with crumbled Stilton, tomatoes, red onions, and roasted pecans tossed with an apple-rosemary vinaigrette. While not very aesthetic and lacking any presentation points whatsoever, it was pleasing to the palette.
For a main course, Sheb selected the Grilled Jumbo Louisiana Gulf Shrimp with a crispy jambalaya cake, caramelized onion sauce and sautéed spinach. She found the shrimp tasty, the spinach and sauce quite good, but the crispy cake neither crispy nor enticing and left it on her plate. I chose a dozen of NOLA’s finest oysters. Yup… no BP residue here! These were excellent. 
As far as the food was concerned… I can honestly say that while the drinks were acceptable (Sazerac and a Mai Tai) this was the first time we were served our dinner bread in a paper bag. Not sure why they do this and it gave the meal a decidedly ‘take out’ feel… which maybe was their intent? Perhaps it was to speed the table turn-over? Moresthepity, since the bread was very good. 
We both decided to forgo the appetizer and opted instead for salads, with Sheb selecting a Jerk Chicken Salad of field greens, creamy rosemary dressing, granny smith apples and roasted pumpkin seeds, which she found to be watery and a touch on the bland side. I chose the house salad of hearts of romaine with crumbled Stilton, tomatoes, red onions, and roasted pecans tossed with an apple-rosemary vinaigrette. While not very aesthetic and lacking any presentation points whatsoever, it was pleasing to the palette. 
For a main course, Sheb selected the Grilled Jumbo Louisiana Gulf Shrimp with a crispy jambalaya cake, caramelized onion sauce and sautéed spinach. She found the shrimp tasty, the spinach and sauce quite good, but the crispy cake neither crispy nor enticing and left it on her plate. I chose a dozen of NOLA’s finest oysters. Yup… no BP residue here! These were excellent. 
As the dessert cart appeared we wondered if we should quit on a high not… but alas, our waiter talked us out of that option and instead pointed us to the ‘house specialty’… Double Chocolate Bread Pudding, a Red Fish Grill Signature dish. Purportedly it was a rich dark and semisweet chocolate bread pudding served with white and dark chocolate ganache and chocolate almond bark. Reality on the other hand, revealed the dish to be a tepid, soggy concoction reminiscent of damp WonderBread covered in Hershey syrup. Factor in the lack of presentation and you can easily see why this was not a stellar end to the meal. 
Perhaps one day Chez will return… but there are too many other restaurants in New Orleans to try first… so Red Fish will have to wait a very long time for another chance.
