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By Manos Angelakis
Bourbon Street Bar & Grille
346 West 46th Street
New York NY 10036
Tel: (212) 245-2030
Fax (212) 245-1535
On the south side of West 46th Street, right in the heart of New York City’s Restaurant Row i.e. between 8th and 9th Avenues, a representative of the Big Easy opened a few months ago to critical acclaim.
The Bourbon Street Bar & Grille has been built to look like a typical New Orleans French Quarter structure. The first two-floors house the restaurant and the balance of the building will eventually become a boutique hotel. Internal and external balconies with wrought iron balustrades create viewing platforms where you can either sit in air conditioned splendor and watch the action at the long, mahogany bar and tables on the ground floor, or, sitting at the exterior balcony, people-watch the continuous pedestrian parade on 46th Street.
 Executive Chef Tommy Hines cut his culinary teeth in the kitchens of the iconic Commander’s Palace and Palace Cafe, under renowned chefs Dickie Brennan, Gus Martin, and Darin Nesbit. Most of his “N’ Awlins” cuisine is very authentic, but some dishes have been reinterpreted and in my humble opinion, with a much tastier result than the classic dish. A very good example is the Buffalo Alligator appetizer, which combines a classic Louisiana ingredient, fried alligator loin, with a peppery sauce and blue cheese cream and a mound of julienned carrots and celeriac (celery root). According to Chef Tommy, every morning authentic fresh ingredients from Louisiana are flown in, and that includes the wonderful chicory coffee with which I ended our meal. But… I’m getting ahead of myself.
Zydeco, New Orleans style jazz and, of course, Fats Domino play softly. The menu has mostly Creole and Cajun dishes.
In the appetizer section, Oysters Rockefeller, Shrimp Remoulade, Duck Spring Rolls, and the aforementioned Buffalo Alligator caught my eye. The Duck Spring Roll is not really a Creole or Cajun dish, but it was crunchy and tasty and I could have eaten at least two portions by myself if I did not have to leave space for the rest of the meal. The Buffalo Alligator was very tasty, a bit chewy, peppery, savory,  and as Barbara said, “tasted like chicken!” The portions were large for hearty appetites, or almost enough for two persons to share.
I ordered an Abita Purple Haze, an amber beer from Louisiana, very much like an English Ale, but considerably sweeter. It worked very well with all the dishes, especially the spicy ones. Barbara had a cocktail, Goslings Black Seal Rum topped with Ginger Beer and adorned with a slice of orange and a cherry, called “Dark’n stormy” which she enjoyed very much.
The Turtle Soup, is a classic N’ Awlins specialty, and the one at Bourbon Street Bar & Grille, is one of the best I have tasted, full of meat, with a very savory broth. The only suggestion I would make is that perhaps the sherry, a prime ingredient, should have been brought over separately and pored in the soup while serving (a traditional presentation), rather than coming premixed in the soup from the kitchen.
We also tried the Seafood Gumbo, again a classic Creole dish. Full of gulf shrimp, oysters, crabmeat and okra, served with white rice. It was very traditional and very good.
I wanted to try the Blue Cheese and Candied Walnut salad that was being served at the table next to us - as I was attracted by the fresh and very crisp baby  greens - but I was getting full and so decided to go for an entrée instead.
Our waiter, Nasser Silva suggested the Bourbon Steak and Shrimp, but I preferred to try another Cajun dish, Chicken and Andouille Étouffée. The French word "étouffée" means, "smothered" and this dish is very popular in New Orleans and the bayou country of southern Louisiana, where it is typically prepared with crawfish or chicken over rice. Chef Tommy’s version is served over “3-cheese grits” a side that Barbara thought was quite tasty. I’m more of a traditionalist, so I asked the waiter to bring mine over a little jambalaya rice and to make Barbara happy, I had them bring the 3-cheese grits for her. The base of an étouffée is either a dark brown roux or simply onions cooked down in butter. It is seasoned with cayenne pepper, onions, green bell pepper, and celery (a.k.a. the holy trinity), and garlic, and has a much thicker consistency than a gumbo.
Barbara could not resist the Combination Seafood Platter; deep-fried shrimp, oysters, and catfish served with a side of coleslaw and fries. She found it lived up to her expectations.
The menu also features a number of Po’ Boy sandwiches as well as Muffalettas. Both are typical Louisiana fare. For those not familiar with Muffalettas, but familiar with Atlantic City Subs, the Muffaletta is a Sub, but with a different kind of bread, a round one instead of Atlantic City’s torpedo-shape. The Louisiana version contains a Creole olive salad, instead of the spicy pickled pepper mix used in AC.
Being in an N’ Awlins restaurant, I had to have beignets, but the beignets we got were a bit more solid than the light ones I remember from Café du Monde. These were more like zeppoles. In France, beignet is an umbrella term for a large variety of pastries made from deep-fried dough with a fruit or vegetable filling; the plain or fruit filled ones are sprinkled with confectioner’s sugar. I asked Nasser if they have chicory coffee, since it is not indicated on the menu. He said he would check with the kitchen. He came back with a cup, and it was deeply satisfying, just as I remember it. Chicory coffee always brings to me WWII memories from occupied Greece, when coffee was unobtainable and my mother, being a citizen of a “neutral” country, was allowed a monthly food package from the consulate, which included “erzzats” coffee i.e. chicory.
One caveat: If you are a big eater and intend to order lots of food, ask to be seated at the inside balcony where they have large tables; the exterior one only has small French Café style round tables, and though sitting outside is very pleasant, there is not enough space on the exterior tables to put a number of plates. But, if you stop by for a drink, the outside balcony is great… if you can get it. There will be a beautiful large patio in the rear of the 2nd floor, but they are still waiting for their permit, so the front balcony is the only current chance of dinning al fresco. For the drinking crowd, the bar level is fun and boisterous and the place to be.
We enjoyed the Big Easy flavor of the Bourbon Street Bar & Grille. When you go, I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.
© August 2008 LuxuryWeb Magazine. All rights reserved.
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