Beans, stars, golden spoons. Every restaurant critic uses some rating scheme, presumably so readers-in-a-hurry don’t have to wade all the way through a lengthy review to find out whether the critic thinks a restaurant is any good. I have always favored the letter-grade system myself, under which Uglesich, Emeril’s, and Willie Mae’s would get A’s; Lucky Cheng and the Louisiana Pizza Kitchen would get B’s;and Charlie’s Steak House would get a C.
But it’s all so damn arbitrary-and letter grades make me think I’m back in school again, which is not a happy thought regardless of which side of the desk I’m on. So let’s keep this simple: I’ll use the standard, world-famous Guide Michelin system: only three stars. The fatter the categories, the easier it is to come up with ratings. And it ‘works like this:
No stars: A bad restaurant, a waste of money, don’t bother. One star: Not bad, a decent value, interesting food. A respectable rating.
Two stars: Excellent, unique cuisine, creative cooking, recommended. Avery good rating. Three stars: Spectacular eats, distinguished and artful, thrilling. An exalted rating, and very rare.
Stars have nothing to do with price or decor, by the way. I don’t care too much about decor as long as the eats are fine. As for prices, some of the most creative and memorable cooking in New Orleans is served up at relatively inexpensive joints; and as for the pricey places, if the food is really great I’ll come up With the dough somehow.
Gabrielle, just down Esplanade from Whole Food, is one of those rare restaurants that’s many things at the same time-all good: intimate, gracious, informal, and elegant, with consistently fine food and prices that won’t give you indigestion afterward. It’s a perfect spot for a romantic evening with a special friend.
It’s a small room with a bar, a big mirror, and large windows that provide an airy feeling. The cuisine is what I call nouvelle creole. which means fresh, local ingredients, artfully employed to reinvent traditional dishes in an exciting and creative way.
The menu at Gabrielle changes regularly,but it doesn’t change too much. There’s usually gumbo, a grilled rabbit, a crawfish enchilada can queso and a mixed sausage grill ($6.50) made up of delicious house-made sausages and two mustardy sauces. Inevitably,there’s a variety of fish dishes,and at least one duck.
The other night the menu was same as it ever was. We started out with the Chicken, Okra and Corn Gumbo ($4). I can hardly ever resist gumbo on a restaurant menu. Gabrielle’s gumbo is nicely spicy, but a bit too salty-and the flavor balance is slightly out of whack. It tastes OK, but in a town where great gumbo is never far away I wouldn’t bother with this one.
The Grilled Rabbit Tenderloin ($5.50) is always good. It comes with wild greens, .truffle oil, and little flowers that decorate the dish. Cooking rabbit isn’t easy, since the meat is so lean, but the cooks at Gabrielle know how-the rabbit is crispy on the outside, but moist, tender and delicate inside, steeped in a sweet, brown sauce. The greens make a great accompaniment; they taste like someone’s mama cooked them.
Shrimp Pernod ($6.50) with wild mushroom gratin is another exquisite appetizer. It features plenty of shrimps and a generous helping of chewy, wild mushrooms with an exotic, earthy flavor, all served in a creamy basil sauce and topped with crunchy, toasted/roasted breadcrumbs. Two fresh basil leaves serve as a garnish.
When I go to Gabrielle I always have a hard time getting past the spectacular Slow Roasted Duck ($19). It’s really a noodle dish, since the duck arrives atop a heaping tower of oyster mushrooms, sliced and roasted red peppers, slivered carrots, and whole-wheat noodles in a rich, flavorful orange-sherry sauce. It’s so good I wouldn’t mind if they left out the duck entirely, except as a flavoring element. But they don’t leave out the duck: it’s delicious, and so tender it literally falls off the bone. The skin is removed, then fried crispy, so you can eat as much or as little of it as you like. It tastes like heavenly bacon.
The Grilled Flounder ($18)is served with a generous portion of mashed potatoes and a vegetable medley of snow peas and carrots. The flounder the other night was unusually thick and tender, with skin still on, and stuffed with crabmeat. The fish was unusually moist and tender, served in a light, basil flavored sauce.
The only disappointment of the evening was a special Snapper Stuffed with Mushrooms and Onion-leek Compote ($18). It was delicate and crispy and came ‘with the same tasty sides as the Grilled Flounder, but somehow it wasn’t as wonderful as we expected.
We tried two desserts. The Lemon Chess Pie ($5) was irresistible: smooth, creamy, and not overly sweet. It came dished with a dollop of lightly beaten, unsweetened cream. The Coconut Sorbet ($5) was dynamite, with crunchy bits of toasted coconut mixed through the ice crystals.
We were out the door-tip, tax, and wine included-for only $38 per person. Pricier than Popeye’s, but very reasonable for food this fine.
Gabrielle Restaurant, 3201Esplanade Ave., 948-6233; Tues-Sat 5:30-10:00. Two stars.
My only complaint with Semolina, the chain of international pasta bars that now stretches from Jacksonville, Florida to Houston, Texas, is that it’s not open on Sunday. At least the Magazine Street branch isn’t, and I assumed that the other branches shared the same hours along with the same tasty dishes.
I’m pleased to announce that I was wrong. True, most of the local branches (there are six now) follow form and shut their doors on Sunday. But the branch at 5080 Pontchartrain Blvd. is now open seven days a week.
I knew I’d be shirking my critical responsibilities if I failed to make sure the Pontchartrain I branch was up to Magazine Street standards, so I dropped in the other Sunday evening. I found the same silly paper mache vegetables and noodles hanging from the ceiling, the same stars painted up next to the veggies, the same menu featuring the same impressive range of international pasta specialties, and a huge crowd of families with noisy kids.
One nice thing about the menu at Semolina is that they’ll swap pasta for you. I always slop sauce allover myself when I eat spaghetti or fettuccine, so I asked for the Santa Fe Pasta ($8.75), which normally comes with linguine, to be served with spirelli (those curlycue noodles) .instead. No problem. The rest of the dish was just as I remembered it: a ‘southwestern mix of caramelized onion, red and green peppers, black beans, red chili puree, cumin-flavored chicken, sour cream and toasted tortilla strips. Yum!
We sampled several other favorites, including the Curry Chicken Linguine ($7.95), the Pasta Primo Veggie ($7.45), and the Pad Thai ($8.95). All were just as fresh and savory as ever. We ate some garlic bread and salad. We drank a couple of Bellinis, a lethal, frozen concoction of peach nectar, rum, and ,champagne, that tastes like a soft drink but isn’t. And we were out the door for $18 each, tip and tax included.
Whoever thought Semolina
up gets my vote.
Semolina, 5080 Pontchartrain
Blvd., 486-5581; Sun-Thurs 11:00-
10:00; Fri-Sat 11-11. Two stars.
