I saw this on a food message board and felt compelled to respond.
Check out the full message on the Chowhound New Orleans board, or read the passage here:
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"Galatoire's
first it was not our first choice but some of group had to dine. 8:45 on Sunday night. Busy but the food ... Holiday inn at
best. sorry but the reputation can not make up for mundane food."
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Is this Alan Richman from GQ? Your likening the food at Galatoire's to that of a Holiday Inn is a bit disconcerting. Either you've had really good food
at a Holiday Inn, or you just ordered a plain chicken breast and veggies while at Galatoire's. Or, you just may hate classic
New Orleans cuisine. Pick any one.
I wish you wouldn't have had such a bad meal, because I consider Galatoire's
to be one of the best old-line classic New Orleans restaurants in the city. They've got an unbelievably good fried soft shell
crab, a fantastic trout amandine and an outstanding stuffed eggplant dish. The appetizers? I can't leave New Orleans without
having a dose of the shrimp or crabmeat maison; some of the freshest boiled shrimp or crabmeat, lightly coated with a well
seasoned mayo based sauce. It's on my list as one of the best appetizers in the city.
Before her first experience there, my girlfriend suspected that it was
a high end, fancy-pants type of complex cuisine. In reality, the food is all very simple. How can you not enjoy a piece of
fresh speckled trout, dusted with flour and pan fried golden brown in butter, then topped with fresh jumbo lump crabmeat?
It's good, fresh, simple food at its best. Classic New Orleans food is just that; simple and good. While many criticize the
city for its lack of sophistication and progression in the food world, I don't mind a bit. For some reason, I can't get excited
about avocado foam or herb "infused" gelatin. But a soft shell crab... now that puts a smile on my face.
-Kevin
