A recap of some meals in the city (kinda long)

Wife and I had a conference in the city this weekend. We live in Mandeville, and rarely head over there anymore so decided to knock out a few good meals.

It's been almost a year since I first went to compère lapin and I've been itching to return. We got to the city early on Thursday so we could hit it up before the conference started.

We were the first people there, right at 11:30, and were seated in a nice corner booth. We were able to watch the staff competing in a "milk jug challenge" to see who could hold the jug with an outstretched arm the longest. Our waitress told us that chef Nina started this as a reward to the staff - the prize was a dinner for 2 cooked by her. To our delight, chef Nina herself came out of the kitchen and told the manager to let us try since we were the only ones in the restaurant. As of when lunch service started I had the longest time (1:53). He took my name and number and number down. I don't expect to hear from the manager, as this was meant for the staff, but it was a fun little experience.

Anyway, the food was just as wonderful as I remembered. We started off with the smoked tuna tartar and the whipped ricotta. The were both delicious. Also, the free biscuits themselves are worth the trip. For our entrees I had the curried goat, and my wife had the snapper. I think the curried goat is one of the best dishes in the city. I could bathe in it. At the end of our weekend my wife said that this snapper dish was her favorite of all of the fish dishes she had. It was perfectly cooked and presentation was eye catching.

We wanted to pick something up to bring home that afternoon. We decided to get pizza from Domenica. Their happy hour special is fantastic, but unfortunately you can't get it to go. So we decided we'd sit and eat a piece or two and then take the rest home. We were still full from lunch, but who can pass up pizza? We got the tutto Carne, roasted pork, and black and gold. They were all solid. The foccacia they brought before the meal was ice cold, but that didn't stop me from eating some.

My biggest plan for our weekend was lunch at R'evolution. I have always wanted to eat there. Luckily, timing worked out that we were able to get there around 1:30. I was shocked that it was almost empty. I figured with only being open for lunch 1 day it would be packed. Our waiter was very friendly and attentive, even though he was servicing all the tables there. I started with the death by gumbo, obviously, and my wife got the crawfish beignets. The beignets were incredible. I could have just ordered several plates of these and been happy. I am sad to say I was not blown away by the gumbo. I think my expectations were just too high. It was definitely a good dish, but did not reach the mythical status I have seen it built up too.

For our entrees I got the croque madame and my wife got the swordfish blt. The croque madame was very good, albeit certainly a heavy dish in combo with the gumb (which I knew when I ordered). The swordfish blt was okay, but really nothing special.

I was very disappointed with this meal. It was not a bad meal by any stretch, and the service was good. However, I just feel like the restaurant did not live up to the hype. I would like to try them again for dinner sometime though.

On Saturday, our last day there, we decided to do Peche. This was my first time eating here. I got lunch reservations just to be safe, but there actually a few open tables when we got there. This meal definitely lived up to the hype.

We started with the smoke tuna dip and snapper ceviche. They were both fantastic. For entrees my wife got the the amberjack, which was the catch of the day. It was served with risotto. It was extremely delicious. Perfectly cooked. I decided to get a few small things. I got the tuna crudo, fish sticks, and crawfish croquettes. All three were very good. The crudo was the best, followed closely by the fish sticks. The croquettes were good, but tasted just a little overcooked.

All in all it was a good few days of eating.