Just had dinner at Galatoire's Bistro AMA

Where?

br

You want me to go there?

took two posts for you to catch on, though.

So, you going to spill the review or just wait for questions from your fans?

Uh oh. Doesn't sound good. I'm too curious to always follow Martini's Fitzmorris rule, but I usually give places a few months or so.

And, Fridays during Lent are off limits for new seafood restaurants.

Fitz is pretty stringent with that rule, unless of course the new spot is an advertiser. I was willing to break said rule just out of curiosity, and promised myself I would not negatively review it, unless asked.

I think they have a ways to go. Our salads were good, my wife had the lettuce wedge, and I had the Maison. Nothing revolutionary there.

The wine, Ramey Chard, I enjoyed but I don't often order whites, but with this being the first Friday of lent, I tried to be good.

The entrees were kind of fail. Wife's grilled fish was tremendously overcooked but she ate it. I had the fish Yvonne, and I was disappointed with it. The fish was fried, way hot, and covered in a mixture of muchrooms, artichokes, and sparse lump[sic] crabmeat that was ice cold. I could see, room temperature, but the ice cold I didn't understand, but maybe I am missing something.

I have dined at the NO location many times, and really liked the old BR location, especially for Friday lunches, and I want this location to do well. I know it is early, so I cross my fingers and wish them well. I will definitely try them again after the obligatory 6 months expire, and maybe before that for lunch.

I did have an interesting exchange with some of the waitstaff though regarding noise....

You know, I know they have the pockets to get through some lean times, that is a given. I had heard from many that the restaurant was really loud. Then, I had heard from others that the owners designed it this way to try and recreate the NO vibe.

If that is true, they need to revisit their market research, BR is much more than 80-90 miles away from NO. If this was not true, then BR would have many more great dining options.

I casually mentioned the noise to the waitstaff, watching to see what they thought. Their response was that it was way too loud and that they wish they could wear earplugs to protect their hearing and that the restaurant had plans to add eggcrate material to the underside of the tables to mitigate the noise levels. Hmmm......

Personally, I have been in louder restaurants and didn't see that much of a problem, but since they seem to be addressing it, may they are seeing that BR may not be ready for the NO Friday lunch vibe.

I think they need to worry more about the BOH first.

and............