Gautreau's IS Worth It; Three Fitz Stars For China Rose

Rene Louapre returns to Blackened Out this week to find out if Gautreau's is worth it (duh, of course it is): "When I want to be pampered, when I want service that matches a $30 entree, and when I want to actually dine in splendor, I head to Gautreau's." With a close look at Sue Zemanick's "savory work," Louapre finds an abundance of artful dishes from "tender and crispy baby artichokes" to this:

A plate of sweetbreads were soft on the inside, crispy on the outside, and surrounded by pearls of sweet crab meat, green spinach, smoky bacon, and a hard-boiled quail egg whose yellow interior blazed like a sunflower. A bite of this salad encapsulated the flavors of universal understanding.

There is food porn, by the way, to back up such claims. If you're looking for an elegant and thoughtful dinner, this is your place. If you're searching for simple roast chicken which Louapre calls the "daiquiri of the food world," this is also you place. Enjoy. [BlackenedOut]

Tom Fitzmorris doles out THREE WHOLE STARS to Metairie's China Rose this week, applauding them for their authentic Chinese cuisine, but rolling his eye at the "smug customers," including, "young" people, drawn in by the special menu. Yes, the special menu, originally written in Chinese for their Chinese-American clientele, is now available with English translations for all the post-Katrina smug hipster types that come for "intestines, duck feet, tripe" or other "whiffs of authenticity," meaning thangs that smell stank until they be cooked, okay? "You have come for the Chinese menu," T-Fitz writes to the world of smug hipsters out there, "so go for it."

But then a strange thing happens, T-Fitz actually joins the ranks of the smug with a little pep talk? "be brave and try the dishes on the Chinese menu"? and then awarding a "cold black fungi" the #2 spot on his Essential Dishes list, along with the elusive +2 HIPNESS POINTS. But the old Tommy Boy comes back to play when #9 essential dish is revealed: salt and pepper squid. Fried Calamari by any other name would taste as sweet, but, erm, it is still fried calamari. [CityBusiness, subscription required]

· Gautreau's: Is It Worth It? [BlackenedOut]
· China Rose brings Authentic Far East Flavors to Metairie [CityBusiness, Sub Req]
· All Week In Reviews [-ENOLA-]