Address: 534 St. Louis Street
Website: http://www.emerilsrestaurants.com/nola-restaurant
Type of Meal: Lunch
Shortly after
hopping off the plane, we went over to Nola for lunch, one of Emeril Lagasse’s
restaurant that takes the latest reservation. It was going to be our first
taste of Creole cuisine and would set the benchmark for meals to come. Indeed
the bar was set high as the classics we ordered were great and left us wanting
more.
Nola’s rustic
exposed brick dining room is opened and laid back. Despite arriving late into
lunch service, many tables were still occupied with glimpses of dishes to come.
To begin, we couldn’t help but order a mint julep
($10) a quintessential Southern drink, made with sweet bourbon, simple syrup,
water and muddled mint. Nola definitely doesn’t skimp on the bourbon!
Shortly after
ordering we were brought a selection of warm breads. The first a jalapeño
cornbread was delicious with specks of jalapeño and soft without being oily. The
simple ciabatta was fluffy and soft, great for wiping up the appetizer's
sauces.
The first to
arrive was the pork cheek boudin balls ($10) and is
what I’d like to think of as Southern risotto balls. Rice and sausage meat are
mixed together with a variety of spices. Deep fried so that it has a crispy
exterior and soft moist interior these were very good. Topped with sweet
marinara and a slightly spicy creole mustard aioli each ball packs a burst of
flavour.
While the shrimp in Emeril’s barbequed gulf shrimp ($12) were only
average (a bit small when it’s supposed to be the star ingredient) the sauce
shines through. It’s sweet but has a hint of spice at the end, it was enjoyable
with our ciabatta bun or the soft doughy rosemary biscuit which accompanied it.
The
shrimp and grits ($19) was amazing and a must try in my opinion! Certainly, the
grits were so well done that I was sadly disappointed when they were ordered a
second time with breakfast at another restaurant. Nola’s grits were thick and
creamy with dollops of smoked cheddar melted throughout to make the grits rich
and decadent. The dish was further topped with pieces of toasted applewood bacon
(adding salt & smoke) and small pieces of crimini mushrooms. The slightly
spicy red chili butter glazed shrimp were also delicious, its plump meat going
well with the smooth grits.
To
end we shared a trio of crème brûlée. It was a number of desserts in one as each
brûlée had another mini dessert topping it - fresh sweet berries with the
vanilla, a chocolate almond biscotti with the mocha and a coconut truffle with
the coconut. Normally, the mocha would be my favourite but this one was too
strong and reminded me of Reisin candies (something my grandmother always had
at her house and I detested). Meanwhile, the vanilla bean, made with real
vanilla pods, was nice and flavourful my favourite of the three. The coconut
added to the last brûlée is something I normally wouldn’t like but actually
turned out to be quite delicious. All in all, a good dessert for sharing.
Service
at Nola was friendly and efficient; our waitress Fallon was a pleasure bringing
out sharing plates as required. Overall, Nola was a great introduction to Creole
cooking and made us look forward to the bold rich flavours to come.
Overall mark - 8 out of 10
Like the blog? You can now follow me on twitter for notifications - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog
____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System
- Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
- 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
- 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
- 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
- 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
- 10 - absolute perfection!
