Dominique's on Magazine - Review

It was time for fancy girl's dinner out, and since several of us had never been, we chose Dominique's.

I really enjoyed the atmosphere of Dominique's. The chairs were comfortable, we were seated by the big front window, and the lighting was beautiful.

The service didn't strike me as very personable, but at the same time it was still fine.

I found the food to be fine, but it just didn't wow me. Some things were good, others...not so much.

I started out with the Baked Louisiana Oysters. On the menu, this is described as gruyere cheese, bourgeois andouille, rutabaga. What I got didn't taste bad, but it just did not work in any way whatsoever. It was 4 good sized oysters...but they were topped with what seemed like a slop of mashed potatoes. I know that was the rutabaga, but the oysters were just buried in it, and I couldn't even taste them.

A friend of mine got the Charred Rare Wagyu Beef Tartar. It was delicious, and probably the best thing I ate all night. I also tried a friend's Cobia & Gulf Octopus Ceviche. It was good, but nothing spectacular. Another friend had the Lobster and Celery Root Salad. It was good.

For my entree, I had the Seared Maple Leaf Duck Breast. This was just o.k. It was a tad bit overcooked, and the skin was a little chewy. Not bad, but not great either. The only other entree that I tried was the special of soft-shelled crab. This tasted pretty good, but was pretty small for the price.

We had two bottles of wine with dinner, and they were VERY reasonably priced. I think the mark up on one of them wasn't even 100%. Considering that a 300% mark up on wine is to be expected in most nice restaurants, I was pleasantly surprised. I was happy to find a new wine favorite...Northstar Stella Maris cabernet. It was priced at $45. It retails for $30.

For dessert, I had an Almond Nougatine with crème praline, house-made pecan vanilla ice cream. This was really good!

After all was said and done, with 20% gratuity added, we spent $80 per person. I don't mind spending $80 for dinner and some wine, as I love fine food and the experience of it all. But at the end of the night, I just didn't feel like this meal was worth it. For that price point, I'm still putting Coquette at the top of my list.