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What with the Saints having a pretty good year and the LSU football team crushing everyone that stands in their way, Times-Pic restaurant critic Brett Anderson apparently decided it was time to check out the food at a couple sports bars.
He first stopped at the CBD location of Baton Rouge import Walk-On's Bistreaux & Bar, sampling the food during the Saints' recent game against the New York Giants. He was less than impressed with the experience, though, giving the sports bar only one bean. The only highlights were the service and the burger, a "hand-formed, half-pound patty [that] was grill-charred and moist at its center, juicy but not juice-spurting, held together with crisp produce by a sturdy bun that arrived with a statement-making steak knife jutting out of it."
For this past Sunday night's game against the Lions, he went to another Baton Rouge import, this time The Chimes in Covington, which contrasted favorably with Walk-On's.
Its menu, like Walk-On&'s, operates at the intersection where family-style New Orleans meets Applebee's. The Chimes performs better thanks to its recognition that playing to the masses doesn't have to be accompanied by the abandonment of taste.The ambiance was better, feeling "much less coldly mechanical," and even reminding Anderson of "supper clubs in the rural upper Midwest." But the food still wasn't good enough to get anything more than two beans.
And changing gears a little bit, Peter Thriffiley, Jr of the blog Blackened Out reviewed the high end French Quarter seafood restaurant GW Fins. Led by chef Tenney Flynn, the dishes at GW Fins are "as likely to have roots in the Gulf Coast as they are in the Far East." Thriffiley writes that the entrees tend to be "underwhelming" in comparison to the appetizers and that the dining room "feels dated." But the overall experience is still good enough to earn a birdie/par on their patented golf-inspired rating system.
· It's Game Day Every Day at Walk-On's and The Chimes, Restaurants that Cater to Sports Fans [TP]
· Walk-On's Bisteaux & Bar Has Lots of TVs but Few Memorable Dishes [TP]
· The Chimes Serves Reliable Food in a Riverside Setting [TP]
· GW Fins [Blackened Out]
The Chimes in Covington. [Photo: Facebook]
