A Silver Celebration at Stella!

(Unfortunately, Stella is no longer open.)

Beyond breathing, loving my family, and believing in God, I haven’t done many things for twenty-five years.  So the celebration of twenty-five years of marriage was very important. 

And in honor of the occasion, my husband and I had a splendid meal at Stella! in New Orleans.  While the exclamation point is part of the restaurant’s name, I think it’s well-placed and well-deserved.

Before booking the reservation, I had checked out the restaurant’s web site and found they offered only a 4-course prix fixe or a 7-course tasting menu.  But that didn’t deter me because the selections sounded inventive and intriguing.

I’ll admit to some second-guessing after I noted that some diners had made some negative comments on-line  about the restaurant’s lack of an affordable wine list, small portions, high prices, and snobby service.  

But after our quite remarkable meal, I can say the positives far outweighed the negatives.  Yes, the prices, particularly for the wines, were high, but the portions were more than adequate, and we found the wait staff friendly and knowledgeable for the most part. 

We chose the four-course prix fixe and opted for the wine pairings to eliminate any guesswork or bad selections—we are not wine connoisseurs.  One or our waiters was a sommelier, but although he knew a lot about the wines, he might have commented more about why and how the wines worked well with our dishes. 

Beyond that small quibble, this was a fantastic meal, one we’ll remember for a long time. 

Pre-Dinner

We were seated immediately and were struck by the quiet, understated elegance of the restaurant.  The restaurant was busy, but not at all crowded—it was the weekend after Thanksgiving.  One of our two waiters took our cocktail order, offered us a choice of water types, and a serving of bread.  

Soon after our glasses of champagne arrived, we were presented with an amuse-bouche of a bite-sized serving of salmon tartar with a foam (I was so dazzled by the visual presentation, I didn’t listen closely to the description.)

1st Course

I ordered the “Deviled Egg, North Star Caviar & Champagne Gelée.”  I admit to loving caviar, not that I have it often, but I especially like “little” eggs, and these were perfect.  The saltiness of the caviar was perfectly matched by the “big” egg—the deviled egg.

I’m not a real liver fan, but the foie gras in my husband’s “Foie Gras Torchon, Satsuma Compote, Pickled Persimmon, Pistachio, Brown Butter & Cacao Nibs” was so creamy!  All of the components of his dish were in little “piles” which allowed him (us) to make our own flavor combinations.

2nd Course

I admit I would have liked just a little more of my “Gnocchi with Duck Prosciutto, Chanterelle Mushrooms & Burgundy Truffle,” but if I had eaten more I would not have made it to the end of the meal.  Each of the elements was wonderfully chewy and just lightly bathed in a creamy sauce. 

I didn’t get to try much of my husband's “Crispy Veal Sweetbreads with Andouille, Whole Grain Mustard, Hubbard Squash Purée & Duck Egg” because he’s very territorial about his sweetbreads.  The egg was a puzzle, but a delicious one.  It appeared to be in a deep-fried crust, and when it was pierced with the fork a yolky sauce flowed out.  When the waiter tried to explain the cooking process, he lost me at “liquid nitrogen.”  Maybe some culinary secrets are best kept secret.

3rd Course

I admit when I chose the “Prime Beef Tenderloin, Bone Marrow, Charcoal Roasted Carrots, Brussels Sprouts, Oyster Mushrooms & Pomme Dauphine,” I was a little nervous about the marrow part.  The last time I ate bone marrow, it entailed a long-handled spoon, and I only ate it because I was in Paris eating with French relatives who were paying for the meal.  

But here the marrow appeared mixed into a crumbly topping on my perfectly cooked medium-rare piece of tenderloin and also in a demi-glace sort of reduction that glazed the bottom of the dish.  Plus I think I fell in love with Brussels sprouts!

My husband is such a duck lover that I knew he would choose “Tasting of Duck 5 Ways.”  He was in duck heaven with the Asian flavors of the duck broth, sliced breast, lacquered leg, foie gras-stuffed wanton, and a Peking duck-style pancake. 

4th Course

To be honest, I decided on my dessert choice at the beginning of the meal:  “Olive Oil & Thyme Cake, Cured Lemon Saffron Ice Cream, Candied Ginger and Olive Oil Jam.”  It turned out to be an excellent decision.  The ice cream was tangy, and the cake had a rustic texture.  But what had captured my imagination in reading the description on the menu also captured my taste buds’ attention—the olive oil jam.  It glazed the top of the cake, and tasted just like, well, olive oil jam—with just a hint of sweetness.  Wow!

Surprisingly, my husband chose the “Selection of Artisanal Cheese.”  He enjoyed it, but although I’m a Wisconsin girl, I’m not a cheese lover.

But wait—there’s more!

I’m not sure if this was something offered to all guests or if it was in honor of our anniversary, which I had noted on the reservation, but at the end of the meal, we were presented with a dessert “sampler” which included two small chocolate-ginger truffles, two tiny macaroons, two miniature cream puffs, and two each of a couple of other bites.  

What a sweet ending to a stellar meal at Stella!  Here's to another twenty-five years!