We went to Brigtsens and to Emeril’s while we were in New Orleans

Our plans changed at the last minute and we were able to fit two evenings in instead of one. So we went to Brigtsens the first night and to Emeril’s the second. We also had po-boys at Domilese’s and at Mike Serio’s in the Quarter.

Both Brigtsens and Emeril’s were outstanding. At Brigtsens I had the Seafood Platter (Shell Beach Diet) and a Crawfish Cake served over a Crawfish Bisque appetizer. My wife had a Soft Shell Crab Amandine appetizer, a Shrimp Butternut Squash Bisque appetizer, and a salad.

The Seafood Platter was good, but not great. There were six items on the platter: Grilled Redfish with Crawfish & Jalapeño Lime Sauce, Crawfish Cornbread with Jalapeno Smoked Corn Butter (this was probably the best thing on the plate), Baked Oyster with Fennel, Baked Oyster LeRuth with Shrimp & Crabmeat, Sea Scallop with Fontina Cheese Grits and Fire-Roasted Vegetable Salsa, and Jalapeno Shrimp Cole Slaw. Again, good but not great.

My wife’s two appetizers, on the other hand, were great…probably as good a version of those two dishes as I have ever tasted. We shared a bottle of 2016 Hahn Chardonnay (Monterey, California) which was very good. And the pecan pie with whipped cream and caramel sauce we had for dessert was outstanding; as good as I’ve ever had!

At Emeril’s I had the Andouille Crusted Gulf Drum Fish. It was served on grilled local vegetables, shoestring potatoes, glazed pecans, and a Creole Meunière. I had this dish before, just after Katrina. They were using Redfish back then. If anything, it was even better this time. My wife had a pasta dish with mushrooms that were smoked on the premises, house made Tasso Ham, and a cream sauce with Pecorino cheese served over Angel Hair Pasta. It was incredible! My wife had a 2011 Au Bon Climat Syrah that was just okay. I had a 2016 Rías Baixas Albariño that likewise was just okay. For dessert we had the Banana Cream Pie and it was definitely as good as I remembered. As always, Emeril’s service was 10 out of 10.

For lunch we had shrimp po-boys at Domilese’s and they were great. The next day we went to Parkway for po-boys but the line was around the block. We then tried Killer po-boys in the Quarter, but they also had a long line. We settled on Mike Serios for po-boys. They were decent, but definitely not in the same league with Domilese’s and Parkway. I did get to chat with the owner while we waited for our sandwiches and that was kind of cool. We talked about the Bobby Flay Muffaletta Throwdown won by Serio’s in 2007, and he showed me a photo of Stormy Daniels on his cell phone. She came into the restaurant one day and he took a picture with her. He thinks she’s a skank, but he’s saving the photo.

Thanks everybody for your input on Brigtsens. I’m glad I went. The food was good and the service was impeccable. I’d definitely go back again.

And fwiw, I think the food was better at Emeril's, but I enjoyed Brigtsens more if that makes any sense. My wife said the same thing. Emeril's is so big. Brigtsens was a lot cozier and we both liked that.