Met friends on a Saturday evening after seeing a show at the Benedum.\n\nInterior was nice, exposed brick walls, deep red walls, pictures of NOLA, fleur de lis, Seated right away.\n\nFried Green Tomatoes. Looking at the menu description now, I realize I should have figured out these would be deep fried because the description says 'abita batter' but at the time, I was very disappointed because in my experience, fried green tomatoes are not dipped in batter and deep fried. They are coated in bread crumbs/cornmeal/flour and fried in some oil/bacon fat/butter in a skillet. I've always had breaded fried tomatoes, not battered & deep fried. I thought this dish was just OK, kind of disappointing. I am still so very much in love with fried green tomatoes after our honeymoon in the south and I get very excited when I see them on a menu, but these were a letdown for me. Plus, they were incredibly filling. I didn't have much room for my meal.\n\nCrispy Fried Alligator: I didn't try any. Two in our group had the alligator bites and enjoyed them, but they both noted that pretty much anything would taste good coasted in the slightly spicy breading and deep fried the served with the spicy aioli. \n\nCrab Bisque: I expected a light pink kind of color, not this dark red-brown color. G liked it, said it was spicier (more heat) than he expected, it was good, but that overall, he prefers the creamier, lighter colored versions. \n\nSeafood Jambalaya: G liked it but didn't love it. The scallops were cooked nicely, but the chicken was dry and tough. \n\nShrimp & Grits: I didn't really like this version. There were only seven shrimp and they were not especially large shrimp.There were a lot of bacon bits. The grits were nice and creamy. But I could swear our server mentioned that the barbecue like sauce was more sweet than hot and while I am a spice wimp, I found there to be just too much heat for my liking. I drank all my iced tea and some water, which rarely if ever happens, and when it does, it's because something is too hot for me or too salty. \n\nBeignets: They are very liberally coated in powdered sugar. That means I ended up covered in powdered sugar, even after shaking a bunch of it off. They also were served with three scoops of ice cream (coffee, cherry, and carrot). I don't know if I was just too full or if I found the beignets a bit bland or a bit heavy, but I ended up enjoying the ice cream much more than the beignets. Except for that carrot ice cream - interesting idea and I could taste a bit of cinnamon, I think, in the tiny taste I tried, but overall not a flavor I would suggest. The coffee ice cream was my favorite and everyone else thought the cherry was the best. \n\nOf the four of us, three of us had never before dined at NOLA. I had the impression from a previous restaurant conversation that the person who had dined there before thought it was just OK but was willing to return so the rest of us could try it. After dining there, I can see why that person thought it was just OK.\n\nWhile we were seated right away, a few minutes before our 5:45 pm reservation, it took a while for our server to make an appearance and we did not get out of there until 8 pm. R&S had to ask for their check when dessert was served to make sure they had enough time to get to the show at 8 pm. They rushed through dessert and left while we lingered a bit over dessert. Maybe it was poor planning on our part, but we were surprised at the pace of the service. \n\nOur server was fine. He offered lots of suggestions/opinions on several menu options. I thought that was nice, although it seemed to take quite a while, and others felt it was too much and unnecessary.\n\nNothing was glaringly awful, well maybe the slow service which was kind of annoying, the food was all just sort of fine or kind of disappointing, but for what we spent ($100+ after tax & tip, no alcohol) it was very disappointing. We can easily name other places where we like the food more and will spend less, and so for that reason, I have to say I doubt we will ever return, but it's possible after we exhaust the other post-show dining options and see where everything rates, but with only two shows left and us not sure if we will renew for the next season...
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