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BAM!
Bold
and Creative Flavors at Emeril’s Place
Story by Debra Kronowitz
Nestled in the heart of the New Orleans Arts District in a
renovated pharmacy warehouse is where Chef Emeril Lagasse and
his crew kick it up a notch with an occasional
Bam! here and there.
Lagasse opened the flagship eatery in 1990. From the day its
doors opened, Emeril's Restaurant drew praise.
Inside, exposed brick and large gallery windows flank one side
of the main dining room. On the other side patrons will find
local art displayed. There is a semi-circular food bar on the
open kitchen, where guests can watch Lagasse and his crew create
exciting dishes. The establishment boasts private dining rooms
which can accommodate up to 50 guests for a pre-selected menu.
The private side includes the Chef's Wine room with a wine
cellar feeling created by textures of oak and slate. Here guests
enjoy the seven-course tasting menu –
called a Degustation
– written on a daily basis
according to seasonal and specialty products available from
local growers. It is always the talk of the evening.
The Menu
The food at Emeril's is somewhat eclectic, but leans more toward
what Lagasse calls "new" New Orleans cuisine. Although the menu
often abounds with a pastiche of tempting dishes in the style of
southwestern, West Coast oriental and New England cooking, the
roots of each – as well as some of the ingredients – are usually
in the Creole genre.
Devoted to using fresh, top-quality ingredients and employing
cottage industry ranchers, Lagasse constantly invents new
recipes much to the delight of his regular customers. “Our
belief is that a restaurant has to have heart, soul and always
provide a great customer experience. Great food, great wines and
great service in an immaculately designed setting – that’s the
philosophy that drives our style of hospitality,” said Lagasse.
Both the lunch and dinner menus offer an array of choices. For
starters, try the barbeque shrimp with petite rosemary biscuit
and fresh chives or the smoked exotic mushrooms and angel hair
pasta with a homemade tasso ham cream.
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Photos by Jeffrey Green, Kerri McCaffety and Emeril’s |
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Also on the menu:
homemade andouille and boudin sausages with Southern cooked
greens, beer braised onions, whole grain mustard and Emeril’s
Worcestershire sauce; Creole marinated calamari fried and served
with a smoked tomato sauce, a New Orleans-style olive salad and
parmigiano-reggiano cheese; and crispy Gulf oysters with
manchego fondue and lemon-parsley salad.
Both menus also offer a cheese board featuring Moliterno-aged
sheep milk from Sardinia served with pear mostarda; aged raw
cows milk served with smoked almonds; and raw goats milk from
Zaragosa, Spain, served with pickled red grapes.
Whether dining at lunch or dinner, try something different and
unusual like the Moroccan spice-crusted Atlantic salmon with
Beluga lentils, frisée (herb salad and grapefruit vinaigrette)
or the pan roasted Ashley Farms chicken breast with smoked
chicken-garlic sausage on the lunch menu. Main lunch entrees
include soups/salads, fish, chicken and meat dishes.
The dinner menu offers Duck Schnitzel with roasted
shallots, confit, frisée salad, haricots verts and lemon butter
sauce; rye-crusted Atlantic salmon with brussel sprouts “choucroute,”
fingerling potatoes, smoked red grapes, mustard pickle and
Riesling-Gulf oyster butter; San Marzano tomato braised
lamb with housemade Pappardelle pasta, braised radicchio,
pinenut gremolata and parmesan; pan roasted veal tenderloin with
saffron creamed corn, baby turnips, asparagus and oven-dried
cherry tomato vinaigrette; and pan seared striped bass with
curried fennel – sweet potato hash, jumbo lump crab, Granny
Smith apple and fresh pineapple butter sauce.
Save room for dessert. The menu is vast and rich and
includes favorites like Emeril’s banana cream pie with banana
crust, caramel sauce and chocolate shavings; coconut crème
brûlée with chocolate-dipped coconutty macaroons; chocolate
truffle torte with raspberry coulis, fresh berries and chocolate
peanut crackle; apple pie bread pudding with fennel ice cream
and calvados butter scotch; blue cheese honey pear fritters with
walnut caramel and Port Pannacotta; Meyer lemon frozen soufflé
with lemon curd donuts; sweet potato cheesecake with pecan
streusel, caramel and white chocolate Bourbon sauce; J.K.’s
chocolate soufflé; and ice creams and sorbets flight.
The restaurant is located at
800 Tchoupitoulas St. and is open Monday
through Sunday for dinner, 6 to 10 pm; Thursday and Friday for
lunch, 11:30 am through 2 pm. Attire is smart/business casual.
Jackets and ties are optional; no shorts allowed and no
sleeveless shirts on men.
For reservations, call
504.528.9393. |
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