Thursday, November 1, 2012

August, New Orleans—Restaurant Review

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My husband and I visited New Orleans a while ago.  You can read up on the places we visited in this post here.  I promised to do the hotel and restaurant reviews on the places we stayed and dined at.  I’m so sorry for the delay.  Without further ado, here we go. 

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August was one of the restaurants we dined at during our short trip to New Orleans.  August serves contemporary French cuisines that use local ingredients. The restaurant is owned by Chef John Besh, who was trained in Europe with the depth of Southern Louisiana roots.  Our server was very friendly and shared the history of the building with us.  Unfortunately, I’ve already forgotten most of them.  Yeah, my memories has been bad after having kids.  Ahem, I’m not trying to blame my forgetfulness on the kids but the timing matches.  I’m sure many moms out there can relate.  Anyway, as you can see, the building is beautiful and elegant.  Let’s just leave it like that.  I really love the wine cellar that was located right above the dining area (see picture below).  

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Here’s the Tasting Menu that both my husband and I ordered.  However, we didn’t do the wine pairing.

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I did start the evening with my favorite cocktail though, an Apple Martini.  I love the generous alcohol portion in this cocktail!  It’s a wonderful balance of sweetness and tartness in this drink.

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We were offered some warm bread as well.  Lovely crust outside, perfectly soft and chewy on the inside, served with soften butter!

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This Soft-Boiled Egg (picture below) with Caviar was perfectly done.  An exquisite amuse bouche to start a meal, complementary by the chef.

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Since California banned the selling of foie gras, my husband and I shared this Foie Gras 3-Ways, that was not on the tasting menu, just to satisfy our cravings.  Each one was so unique.  I love the foie gras tart with blueberry sauce the best.  The champagne jelly in the middle was a wonder complement to the foie gras “cake” in the middle as well.  I was hoping the foie gras flavor would be stronger in this dish though.  I guess I would need to just have a sliced of seared foir gras on its own next time when I’m not in CA. 

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Up next was the House Cured Belly of Gulf Coast Lamb, Pickled Watermelon, Fried Biskayne Peppers.  It’s light and refreshing.  The Cured Belly was perfectly done.  I love the salty and meaty bites contrasting with the fruit and pepper.

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Crispy Gulf Shrimps and Louisiana Popcorn Rice Risotto with Stewed Convey Rise Heirloom Tomatoes.  This dish came in such a generous portion.  The crispy shrimps were so flavorful and perfectly crispy, which compliment well with the creamy risotto.  As this is a very rich and filling dish, I was afraid I would get full if I finish the whole plate, I kid you not.  But I couldn’t help myself but kept going back for more until it’s all in my happy tummy!

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Roasted Breast and Slow Cooked Leg of Chappapeela Farm Ducklings, Creole Cream Cheese, Blueberries and Rapini.  The ducklings were very tender and moist.  It’s perfectly cooked and the sweet blueberry sauce was a great contrast with this savory dish.

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Cast Iron Roast Flat Iron Steak of Two Run Farm Beef, Tete Tortelli, Crushed Field Peas.  The steak was very juicy and tender as you probably can tell from the picture below.  Another perfectly executed dish. 

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Chocolate “Chess Pie”, Valrhona Feuilletine and Peppermint Ice Cream.  A nice and rich chocolate cake paired with a super refreshing peppermint ice cream.  The peppermint flavor was a bit too strong for our liking.  But the chocolate cake was wonderful and decadent.

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Assorted Mini Desserts.  Noticed there was one piece “missing” on the far right?  Yeah, I ate it before I took the picture.  It was a crunchy coconut ball with a creamy coconut filling.  So good even after all these food that we’ve consumed.  Smile with tongue out

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If you’re travelling to Louisiana and interested to dine at August, I suggest that you call and make a reservation ahead of time.  See more information below.

http://www.restaurantaugust.com/
301 Tchoupitoulas Street  New Orleans, LA 70130
(504) 299-9777

Restaurant Review Disclaimer: uTry.it restaurant reviews are solely based on our experience at each restaurant we visit.   They were just our opinions.  uTry.it and its owner were not compensated in any way to dine at these restaurants nor to write reviews.


8 comments:

  1. Great post. Thanks for sharing it. Love the pictures.

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    1. Thank you. Glad you like the post. It's always a pleasure to share my story and and food through pictures. ;)

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  2. ohhh my gosh. What do I say but that I want it ALL? Caviar, chandeliers, roasted belly?! I'm salivating x 10!

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    1. Oh yeah....you sum it all up in one sentence! ;) Have a wonderful week.

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  3. You are very polite apologizing for publishing review late. My husband published his review on this restaurant which we went in early August (and he didn't apologize for that lol)! Sounds like a very nice place to visit. The Soft-Boiled Egg sounds intriguing and Foie Gras 3-Ways is something we like to order too. Too bad the flavor wasn't too strong. It was fun checking out restaurant review! :)

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    1. hehe...that's because I have a few readers emailed me about visiting New Orleans and they might be planning a trip there soon (since I posted the last post on visiting New Orleans). :P Just feel bad delaying the review posts. But I want to publish recipes posts in between reviews....so, that's why the reviews are scattered around.

      Anyway, I always enjoy reading restaurant reviews. It's nice to see what a place offers and what other foodies think of the food before I visit. Especially, expensive restaurants. I like the reviews your husband writes on your blogs too. :)

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  4. I am so envious! I love John Besh. I had the pleasure of interviewing him a couple years ago. He is a total charmer and so genuine, too.

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    1. Oh my....How lucky that you had the chance to interview John Besh! :) Hm...I have a feeling you've interviewed all the chefs that I admired! hahaha....

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