NOLA Culinary specials - Any highlights? *Pigeon & Whale recap inside*

Went to Pigeon & Whale Thursday for the first time after a long time on the to-do list. Had a stellar meal from the Coolinary menu ($58 / 3 courses), but will be back to try the rest of the menu.

Looks like they print a new menu each day, with the days open at the bottom - Day 1096 for our visit:



Glad this prediction from a 2023 Tigerdroppings thread didn't age well:

quote:

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Menu looks terrible for a restaurant on Ferret St. Won’t last six months at that particular location.

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On to the recap. We were early for a 7:00 reservation so we popped into The Husky (sister restaurant) across the street for drinks but it was slammed, with standing room only at the bar. Went back to P&W and our spot was ready. Our reserved spots were at the bar - I hadn't noticed that when making the reservation online, but it turned out well, as we sat across from the shucker. And our bartender was top-notch, friendly and helpful.

We started with cocktails and I had one each of the 8 oyster varieties in stock - from ME, MA, VA, AL, and a couple others I can't recall. All were tasty and unique. Will have to go back for happy hour and the $24 shucker's selection dozen.

Apps were tuna tacos (fried wonton, miso/ponzo vinaigrette, wasabi tobiko, avocado mash) and Seafood Dumplings (shrimp/redfish stuffing, crispy pasta shell, gochuchang cream sauce). I preferred the tuna but both were great.

Entrees were Grilled Salmon (green beans, Yukon mash, artichoke cream sauce) and Grilled Redfish (sherry gastrique and herbs de provence, butter, sauteed mushroom and tomato). We decided to swap after a couple bites, as each preferred the other's entree. Both were great, but I liked the redfish better. More subtle than the salmon, with a clear butter sauce.

Dessert was excellent. Bartender suggested When Life Gives You Lemons (lemon cheesecake, lemon curd, graham cracker crumbs) and it was legit. White chocolate shell in form of a lemon and colored yellow. Cheesecake inside was like a mousse and melted in the mouth. It sat atop a pulverized "crust." Larger than it looks in the photo below.

Wife had 24 Karrot Gold carrot cake with brown butter cream cheese icing and walnuts. Said it was the best carrot cake she'd ever had and I couldn't disagree.

Before and during dessert:




Had after dinner drinks down the street at Cure and called it a night.

As an aside, those three blocks of Freret were hopping on an August Thursday night, with outside tables at Val's on the corner still mostly full when we headed out around 9:15.

Need to try to fit in others like GW Fins, Delacroix, Galliano, Tujagues and others before Coolinary month is up.