Restaurant August -- New Orleans

I know that me saying I had a wonderful meal at John Besh's Restaurant August in New Orleans is sort of like saying, "Hey, that Shakespeare dude can write!" So what follows is meant as a “memoir” and not a review of what is probably in my “top ten” of best meals ever.

Located at 307 Tchoupitloulas Street, Restaurant August is within walking distance from the Quarter, and since we arrived about a half-hour before our reservation, we had cocktails in the Polo Club Lounge in the elegant Windsor Court Hotel that is across the street.

Restaurant August is beautiful but not stuffy. We were seated in the middle room of the long restaurant, and by the loud complaints of a table of fellow diners who said they "always" sit in the front room, we surmised that the front room, pictured above, is to be preferred.  Personally, I liked the coziness of middle room with its wood panelled walls. 

While the wait staff was attentive, they did rattle through the ingredients of each course too fast for us to really take it all in.   Also, our serving “captain” was a bit officious and dismissive, and I really missed the kind of personal interchange and friendly discussion of the food that you get at a restaurant like La Petite Grocery on Magazine Street or, my favorite restaurant of all time, Bayona in the Quarter.

We chose the "degustation" or tasting menu to eliminate guesswork and because it was my birthday!  I was intially concerned that this would be too much food to be enjoyed properly, but each course was portioned appropiately and the presentation of courses was perfectly and slowly paced.  In fact, the menu says to allow 3 hours for the meal--how decadent!

Sorry no photos, but I was too preoccupied by my food, and snapping pictures here seemed a bit tacky even for me.

Amuse Bouche

I’m not sure what this was called, but it was a fantastic start to the meal. Served in an egg shell placed in an egg cup, this “mouth amuser” consisted of a frothy sabayon and a brioche crouton topped with caviar.

Bourbon and citrus cured foie gras torchon

baby fennel, local kumquats and toasted brioche

I’m not a liver lover like my husband, but this foie gras was so creamy and seemed to have hints of chocolate. The texture was like a cross between butter and a custard. The gastrique that “connected” all the ingredients was a delightful touch.

Creamy cauliflower soup

P&J oysters and John Burke's ghost pepper caviar

The presentation of this soup was perfect. The oysters, from a local oyster company, and a few pieces of roasted cauliflower were presented in the bowl and then the soup was poured from a small silver pitcher into the bowl.

La Provence yard egg raviolo

with Jerusalem artichoke and fresh Périgord truffle

I can’t even imagine how a ravioli is made to encase an egg yolk, but the results were so rich and delicious and the truffle was a magnificent addition.

Poached Maine lobster, spiced pork belly and lobster jus

Perhaps my favorite dish of the evening. Even though lobster and pork belly are both very rich, they complimented each other so well. The jus was flavored with cane syrup and struck just the right note.

Whole roast saddle of Ellensburg lamb

lamb sweetbreads, baby turnips and pied du mouton mushrooms

We were getting full at this point, but thankfully the serving of perfectly cooked lamp was manageable. Saddle of lamb AND sweetbreads—excellent.

Bittersweet créme au chocolat

caramelized white chocolate, cocoa meringues and hazelnuts

There were so many textures and tastes floating round in this perfect finale to our meal, I had to ask our serving captain to explain it twice. “To die for” doesn’t begin to describe this luscious dessert.