atchafalaya restaurant

0 by marc smith on 22 may, 2015 where to eat/drink share this post if you are looking for an escape from the party atmosphere of the french quarter for your saturday or sunday morning brunch, may i recommendatchafalayarestaurant on louisiana ave. here you will find a tranquil home-like setting serving contemporary creole cuisine and a self-serve bloody mary bar . that got your attention didn’t it. ask any of the locals and they will tell you thatatchafalayais one of the best places to go for brunch in new orleans. it’s casual, friendly, and they even have live music playing while you eat. this is quintessential new orleans, and i can’t wait to taste some good old comforting creole food.atchafalayarestaurant new orleans first i think you need a lesson is how to say atchafalaya. i got it wrong the first few times until a waiter corrected me. when you say it, the R

praised by many for dinner, but moreso by locals for brunch,atchafalayarecently extended the weekend-morning meal to include both thursday, friday as well as monday morning service, the always-packed restaurant at 901 louisiana avenue already generating a small line at 10am with the dining room and bar both three-quarters filled on thursday by noon.

no longer the “hidden neighborhood gem” it once was, a creative menu of creole inspiration from chef chris lynch enticing diners in a room of reclaimed woods and artifacts post-katrina, those with the foresight to book a table atatchafalayawill find warm greetings at the hostess stand overlooking a diy bloody mary bar beneath articles touting accolades, the full-bar opposite ready to supply those in search of alternative beer, wine or spirits.

seated comfortably at a mid-size four top, sleep-eyed service a bit tight at first but improving as the meal went on, it was from a well-culled menu of brunch plates that decisions were made, a small plate of warm cornbread muffins served with whipped butter ready to whet appetites alongside rounds of spicy alligator sausage plus a cup of creamy yellow soup that offered almost as much fresh-picked crab as it did the pureed corn it was mixed in.

deciding to choose atchafalaya’s classics as entrees, though a few recent specials were also quite tempting, the challenge was one of deciding which was best as all three plates offered something different and delicious, the fried chicken surely the most straight forward and perfectly crisp with good gravy while the pain perdu was a custard soaked masterpiece that ate deceivingly light, the hash spinning tradition on its head by adding fruit to crispy duck with rich hollandaise balanced by the salty and bright vinaigrette.

new orleans brunch is a supposed rite of passage for any louisiana native who loves food. it took me 24 years but i finally managed to scratch this one off of my dining to-do list. i made reservations online, opentable.com is a great source by the way, foratchafalaya10:15 this past sunday morning. we arrived early with a healthy appetite and were ready for some delicious food.

there was already a line out the door when we walked up shortly after 10 o’clock. it appeared as though a few parties were attempting to procure a table before the mid-brunch rush. i took this as a good sign, as i often do with restaurants. in a city as culinarily diverse as new orleans, why else would people clamor to eat somewhere if it wasn’t viewed pretty favorably?

the staff is an interesting assortment of characters, much like the new orleans population.atchafalayais located on the corner of louisiana avenue and the relatively quiet laurel street. like many garden district restaurants, it feels like a neighborhood establishment that many nearby neighbors walk to for a meal. in fact, there were a number of individuals passing by while in the midst of a midmorning stroll.

we decided to sit outside and enjoy the louisiana sunshine. the sun quickly grew hot, but that was an afterthought given the beautiful surroundings. our curbside table was flanked by a row of beautiful, blooming flowers and we beheld a number of beautiful homes situated along louisiana avenue. sitting outside proved to be a popular choice as a number of diners soon joined us at the nearby tables.

the service throughout the meal was quite attentive. my water glass was constantly refilled and we didn’t wait long for our food to arrive.

as for the food, we ordered the bananas foster french toast and one of the sunday specials. the special was comprised of a half-rack of pork ribs covered in a port wine reduction and adorned with a medley of mandarin oranges and other edible accoutrements and was served with a side of cheese grits.

the french toast was perfect. its hands down the best i have ever had. the perfectly cooked toast, topped with powdered sugar and ripe banana slices formed a trifecta of sweetness that just amounted to a wonderful experience. but what made this dish truly perfect was the presence of the accompanying rum sauce, which is offered on the side in abundance rather than drenched on the toast when it arrives. personally, i am all in favor of preserving the french toast and preventing it from becoming excessively soggy. the sauce was sweet, rich, and…perfection.

the special on the other hand was a little underwhelming. firstly, i was extra critical of the dish because i desperately wanted to order the oh so appealing duck hash. however, my date coerced me into ordering the special and so it appears as though the duck has will now haunt my dreams like some cruel, fleeting temptress until i can unite with it someday. secondly, i have determined that i am not a ribs-before-noon kind of guy, at least that’s what i discovered after this meal.

our cheese grits were outstanding. they were adorned with green onions and are arguably the best i have ever had. i love cheese grits so the success of this dish thoroughly pleased me.

oh but the ribs which sounded so delicious when described by our waiter failed to capture my taste buds in the way it had captured my imagination. the toppings were quite delicious, but i’m not sure they really complimented the actual ribs. the ribs themselves were tender and smoky. they were pretty good. yet, the reason for my disappointment was the port wine reduction. man, talk about a lackluster sauce. for me, the sauce makes or breaks wet ribs. and this unstimulating sauce nearly broke these ribs for me. given that the special was several dollars more than the majority of the brunch items, i expected to be wowed but was instead left feeling a little hollow knowing that i passed up on so many other options.

damn, damn, damn my date for not being a fan of non-scrambled eggs. there were so many tantalizing egg-based dishes that i contemplated ordering, and after seeing many of them pass by our table en route to other patrons, i grew even more frustrated.

great location. great service. pleasant food with an array of appealing dishes and reasonable prices.atchafalayais worthy of a visit if you are near the garden district.

taste: 8/10

cost: 8/10

dining area/decor: 10/10

customer service: 9/10

location: 9.5/10

i had wrecked my brains for where to go for breakfast in the garden district, breakfast is damn important and it was my duty to choose the ultimate spot. i decided on a tongue twister of a restaurant with glowing reviews: atchafalaya. we foundatchafalayanestled in between historic houses on a quiet street corner just blocks away from the main shopping on famous magazine st. we sat at the very table pictured under the umbrella and waited for our waitress to come and greet us.it was a perfect sunny day and we all welcomed the sunshine after several dreary, foggy days in the quarter. it was interesting…each part of nola painted its own picture on the canvas with the weather: french quarter moody, cloudy and a tad distant; garden district: bright, sunny and welcoming.

the food ordering took entirely too long on our part. everything looked incredible and everything needed to be devoured. so we decided to each order one or 2 things and split it.

i ordered the a simple french toast that was fancied up by a bananas foster loaded on top. lilly ordered the duck hash with poached eggs, duck confit, garnished with blackberries, mangos and bacon dressing. it may sound odd but it was legendary. the combination of sweet and salty and creamy was just out of this world. we all devoured this dish with zero regret. kate ordered the eggsatchafalayaserved with lump crabcakes, fried green tomatoes, poached eggs and their signature hollandaise sauce. i for one was thankful that i did not eat seafood because i was thoroughly enjoying my french toast experience. we got up from the table and were thankful we had a walk ahead of us through the garden district. i felt pleasantly full and unnecessarily warm.

years ago, i ate dinner atatchafalayaand i loved it. i remember anatchafalayapasta that i don’t see on the dinner menu anymore, but since then, there may have revamped the menu. considering how much i loved it then, i found myself craving brunch and found my way back…

amazing service and amazing food. we were a party of 11 and it was the best experience i have ever had with such a large group. i worked directly with both owners and both were incredibly accommodating. they sat us in beautiful private room (the restaurant is in an old house and it is a really cool place). rachael, one of the owners, helped me create a pre fixe menu for the party and it was an impressive menu. tony helped us out once we got there to ensure everything went smoothly and really went above and beyond, i simply can not say enough good things about them and their restaurant. everything that we had was absolutely delicious. the free form crab ravioli appetizer really stands out but the star of my dish (pork belly and tuna) was the pork belly, it is the best i have ever had and i really enjoy pork belly so i have it frequently. i highly recommend this place to anyone and everyone. i am planning a return visit to n.o. with my wife and we will definitely be going back toatchafalaya(even if i can't pronounce it properly) maybe to try the brunch this time because one look at that menu and wow!

start and end with dessert!. a cozy, shabby chic traditional new orleans shotgun as the dining area,atchafalayadefinitely offers a great ambiance for conversation, however it did carry the volume that was distracting at times.

appetizers--
steamed prince edward island mussels--these we're definitely described as being a concoction of interesting flavors including blueberry and tarragon however we had to dip the mussels in the seemingly ordinary broth to get any flavor.

free-form crab ravioli--better in comparison to the mussel dish, however being free-form it more so resembled a large pasta like crepe rather than ravioli. included shiitake mushrooms, spinach, mascarpone and citrus burre blanc.

entrees--
sautéed drum--easily the most disappointing dish of the night. there was nothing that stood out to us about the dish, it could be replicated at any seafood restaurant in new orleans!

two run farms lamb meatballs--delicious mediterranean inspired dish with israeli cous cous, seasonal chutney and cucumber raita (yogurt based accompaniment) was delicious and satieting!

dessert--
blueberry cobbler al a mode--mmm, so good! served in a round dish, think flan diameter and thickness. while the crust was delicate and layered, it had the perfect proportion of sea salt that rounded out the sweetness. breaking into the center a thin layer of blueberry jam like consistency greets your taste buds!

almond and chochlate semifreddo-- a delicious, rich and fancy version of a good 'ole campfire s'more! it starts out with a chilled mousse like chocolatiey marshmallow center and as our conversation continued it came to room temperature and became decadently smooth!

many staff members touted their pastry chef and they are right!! amazing doesn't begin to describe the delicious experience pastry chef karl created for us!

bottom line: good, but for the price we could have found better.

fantastic place, fantastic food. we loveatchafalaya- so much so that we ate there twice during our four night stay in nola last weekend! the food is phenomenal, the service is great, the atmosphere is comfortable, romantic, and intimate. tony and rachel are great hosts and really make you feel like family! we will be back again and again whenever we are lucky enough to visit this great city!

i’ve never been toatchafalayabefore because it’s always been packed whether i came here for dinner or brunch on the weekends. we were able to find parking easily on louisiana ave. the hostess graciously greeted us at the door and seated us immediately even though we were 20 minutes early for our saturday dinner reservations. isabelle we started off with some cocktails and an amuse bouche. my friend got the isabelle which had plymouth gin, campari, cointreau, fresh grapefruit and lemon and regan’s bitters. i tried a sip of my friend’s drink, and we both agreed that we thought the drink was a little too strong. we both had an amuse bouche from the chef, which was some sort of honeydrew concoction. the amuse bouche was like a very thick porridge and didn’t have much flavor at all to it. violeta i had the violeta drink which had plymouth gin, saint germain elderflower, fresh blueberries, lime and basil. i asked the waittress to make my drink

i'm not often compelled to write reviews, but this place deserves accolades. we shared the fried green tomatoes first; delicious. my wife ordered the boudin quail and i had the shrimp and grits; both were well-presented, perfectly portioned, and out-of-this-world delectable. we followed up with the tiramisu and coffee; the owner threw in pistachio ice cream on the house. he went out of his way to make us feel welcome in his fine establishment, and the wait staff provided exceptional service. i don't throw out a lot of superlatives when it comes to dining, butatchafalayacompletely knocked it out of the park tonight!

cafe atchafalaya. off the beaten path and all the better for it, this funky neighboorhod bistro specializes in delicious southern dishes presented in a quirky and fantastic atmosphere. two delicious appetizers are the pork belly and the crab cakes, and they also have a great sunday brunch. for a delicious and authentic experience like the locals do it,atchafalayais a great choice.

good food, cozy atmosphere, but a bit dark. my girlfriend and i had a lovely dinner at cafe atchafalaya. we both enjoyed the selections for the cheese plate. our drinks were well-prepared, and i liked their wine and cocktail menu. the pastaatchafalayawas very nice with a great flavor, but the sauce was a bit thin. their red velvet cake was fantastic, and might be some of the best in the city. the chocolate pot with blueberries was delightful as well.
the only downside is that the restaurant was so dimly lit, it was hard to read the menu or even see what all i was eating. our waitress was not bad, but she did seem to take her time.

yum.atchafalayais a small, cozy restaurant and bar. they have live music sometimes in the bar. dinner was great - the quail stuffed with spicy boudin was delicious, served over mashed potatoes and buttery mustard greens. mustard greens are not my favorite veg, i find them often to be bitter and tough but these were sweet, buttery and melt in your mouth.

what a great place for brunch after church. grillades and grits were rich, creamy and delicious. the eggsatchafalayainclude fried green tomatoes and lump crabmeat along with the eggs and hollandaise, and were eggcellent. the bloody mary bar is a nice touch. recommended.

the best date ever. a girlfriend of mine and i decided that we needed a girl's night out, away from the excessive testosterone in our lives, and decided onatchafalayafor our excursion. we went with the sole intention of ordering a round or two of cocktails and some appetizers, but once we saw the menu, that plan flew out the window. after staring in awe at the countless delicious options for a few minutes, our attentive waiter returned to our table to see if we were ready to order our drinks. we ordered a bottle of champagne for a decent price, that turned out to be a good compliment to our dinner. i ordered the quail wrapped in bacon and she ordered the flounder stuffed with crawfish. both had intense and complex flavors, that sent our mouths into orgasm. for after our entrees we ordered a bread pudding that we shared, covered in a white chocolate sauce. we couldn't imagine a better evening or a better dining experience. when we received the check, we didn't wince once. not once. everything had been so incredible that although we had both done the mental math before, we were expecting it to be much higher than it actually was. our meals were so incredible, that we enjoyed signing our checks and even wanted to write a special note, assigning a portion of the tip specifically to the chef.