Happy Noms

Author: Victor and Monte
Restaurant: Restaurant R’evolution
Exec Chefs: John Folse and Rick Tramonto
Website: http://www.revolutionnola.com/

Date: March 18, 2013

Notes:

Victor: The service wasn’t great. The restaurant needs to work out a few kinks; the waiter wasn’t friendly at all and kept on trying to push the most expensive dishes on us when we asked for suggestions. Also, we didn’t get our food at the end, and we had asked them to box it up!

The food was definitely well-cooked and delicious, though. It was one of those weird experiences where you enjoy the food a lot but just have an unenjoyable experience overall :(.

Food:

Amuse-bouche:
Tortilla with andouille sausage, corn, and red pepper coulis reduction

Monte: A decent amuse way to start off the meal. I wish it was served warm, since the lukewarm nacho filling seemed to take away from the juiciness of the andouille, but I enjoyed the sweet corn flavors a lot.

Bread (served with unsalted butter, salted butter, and olive oil):
-Buttermilk biscuit
-Poppy-and-sesame-seed whole wheat roll
-Fresh baguette

Monte: Don’t order the “fresh baguette.” It’s more like a stale dinner roll. Actually, it is just a stale dinner roll. The poppyseed roll was much better.

Appetizer 1:
Beer-battered Crab Beignets
With Four Rémoulades (from left to right)
-Saffron
-Salsa verde
-Roasted red pepper
-Traditional white

Monte: Wow these were crazy good and picked me up from the disappointing dinner roll. All four sauces were good, although I think my favorite was the saffron since it lent such a floral aroma to the crab fritters. The fritters themselves were hot and crispy on the outside while maintaining a juicy crab filling on the inside, all the meanwhile maintaining a lightness to it that is rare in deep fried items.

Appetizer 2:
Death by Gumbo
With Roasted Quail, Andouille, Oysters, and Filé Rice

Monte: The stew was pretty thick and rich, with a mild tone of creole seasoning throughout. The quail was perfectly fine, and complemented the gumbo well. It wasn’t too salty, spicy, or smokey – the flavors were pretty light but I actually appreciated the subtleties of this gumbo.

Appetizer 3:
“Foie Gras PB&J”
With Warm Brioche Butter, Pecan Butter, and Fig Jam

Monte: It’s a fun dish and tasted really good. I’m not sure if the rich liver was enhanced any by the pb&j sandwich, but it’s kind of like that scene in Friends where Rachel screws up the English trifle but Joey just responds “What’s not to like?”. Pecan butter is good, fig jam is good, and foie is goooood. My only quibble is that I wish the foie itself was served warmer, so that it would taste juicier on the inside.

Appetizer 4:
Venison Carpaccio
With Black Walnuts and Shaved Dark Chocolate

Monte: This dish made me think really really hard. The flavors of each ingredient were very strong and distinct, and yet I’m not sure if it melded all together. The venison carpaccio tasted like a slightly gamey beef carpaccio, but there were competing flavors of nuttiness from the walnuts, sweetness and bitterness from the cacao, and sweetness and fruitiness from the dried fruit, with the resulting amalgam confusing my taste buds. I certainly didn’t dislike it, but I’m not sure if I liked it either.

Entrée 1:
Triptych of Quail
Right: Absinthe-glazed
Middle: Boudin-stuffed, deboned, and served with quail jus
Left: Southern-fried with a buttermilk biscuit

Victor: Boudin has rice and is usually made from blood sausage. It’s very traditionally Cajun.

Monte: The absinthe glazed quail had a hint of licorice but otherwise wasn’t too special. The other two quail preparations were amazing though. The boudin was creamy and added a richness to the quail, while the fried quail was just wonderfully crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.

Entrée 2:
Red Snapper and Pork Belly
White Root Vegetable Purée, Cabbage, Caraway Seeds, and Creole Mustard

Monte: I thought the snapper was well cooked, with a subtle but pleasant mustard taste. I’ve never had mustard snapper before, so it was a pretty creative approach in my opinion. The pork belly was pretty decent, although it had cooled considerably by the time I dug my fork into it. The combination between the pork and snapper didn’t wow me in the same way that other critics had crowed about, but I thought it was good.

Entrée 3:
“Pork and Beans”
Brined, Smoked, and Braised Pork Shank; Macque Choux Crepes; Baked Beans; and Root Beer Barbeque

Monte: This dish deserves any and all praise that it gets. It is amazing. The pork is sweet and tender, after having been brined overnight. The sauce is fantastically sweet and tangy, with the sweet baked beans and corn maque choux crepes really rounding out this southern fare. It’s really heavy, but my gosh it’s delicious.

Dessert:
“Coffee and Beignets”
Chicory Mocha Pot de Crème, Beignets, and Black Fig Jam

Monte: So at this point, I was ready to have a C-section on my food baby. I did not want another bite to eat. But all it took was the tiniest nibble out of the corner of a beignet to make me perk up and devour three entire beignets while smothering them in the coffee mousse. They were light, airy, and yet crispy on the outside. It’s a really really good donut, and Cafe du Monde will never taste the same.

Petits fours:
Top:
-Chocolate truffle
-White chocolate truffle
Middle:
-Brownie
-Peanut-and-cayenne-pepper brittle
Bottom:
-Southern something (forgot)
-Chou-something pie (forgot again!)

Monte: Unfortunately, my gluttony with the beignets prevented me from trying out all the petit fours. I picked at the pie and brittle, both which were good, but I just couldn’t bring myself to consume more. The box was certainly impressive though, and did impose a certain sense of grandeur to end the meal. Despite the subpar service and lukewarm food, the restaurant has a few standouts that make it worth trying.