A few weeks ago, I had THE weirdest dining experience at Restaurant New Orleans on Fulton (nr. S. Portland). A friend I dined with took the time to summarize:
Last weekend, though, we went out to dinner with some friends, R. and W., with the intention of grabbing dinner before seeing “There Will Be Blood”. I suggested Restaurant New Orleans, a restaurant on Fulton not to far from BAM where were going to see the movie. I’ve passed by this place numerous times walking back from BAM and it always intrigues me. It is decorated like someone’s parlor, but half the time its empty and sometimes we’ve passed by around 10pm and its been dark, with a woman sitting at a computer in the window.
Anyway, we decided to meet at 7, figuring it would leave us plenty of time to catch the 9pm movie. We sat down and browsed the menu while the man who sat us looked for a bottle opener and glasses for the bottle of wine we brought with us (byob). This took about 10 minutes, and the glasses we got were sherry glasses. When the waitress came to take our order, she nearly forgot to take W’s order.
And then the fun started. R and W had ordered crab cakes and we had ordered shrimp cocktail as appetizers, but after about 20 minutes, only the crab cakes came out. After a few minutes, we tracked down our waitress (who was astonishingly hard to track down in a place that was also the size of a parlor), she said our appetizer was on its way. But then out came my catfish (which Sam and R had ordered as well), with a sweet potato on the side. I had ordered spinach and something else. The waitress said they were out of whatever sides I had ordered but they could make some nice garlic brussels sprouts. Sure, why not. About 5 minutes later, out came Sam and R’s catfish as well. R’s grilled catfish looked exactly the same as our blackened catfish. And they didn’t have any sides. And there was no sign of W’s gumbo. And it was about 8:30. The brussles sprouts never appeared.
We reminded our waitress about the appetizer, though we told her to just forget about it since we were already eating our main course. And then, about 5 minutes later, the reason for the missing shrimp cocktail became clear – they “were having a problem with the shrimp”. And so they couldn’t make the gumbo either. But they offered to make W a nice salmon fillet instead, on the house. She brought out a bowl of red beans and rice on the house too (we still never received any sides other than my sweet potato), so W ate those while waiting for the salmon, which came around 8:50. So we asked for the check too and paid that while W ate.
They felt so bad for all the trouble, so they comped us for two of the entrees and also offered us free brunch (though they didn’t give us anything in writing indicating this). And they seemed so genuine that we weren’t really upset about the service, mystified was the better word for our state. I mean, if they didn’t have shrimp, they could have told us an hour earlier. Or the whole issue with the sides. W’s dish came with collards, which both Sam and R had ordered but never came. How the place stays in business was the biggest question – its been there since we moved to the neighborhood I think. The food we did get was very good, but it just seemed like such a haphazard business that it was surprising that it was able to stay open.
I admit those crab cakes were delicious! Yet the dinner couldn’t have been any more haphazard. Anyone have a similar experience?
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35 Comments
I’m more surprised that you paid BAM’s outrageous ticket prices! Shocking!
A well run restaurant tells you up front before you even order if they are out of something on the menu. Sometimes it’s the manager’s fault and sometimes it’s the waiter’s fault because they screw up your order then try to cover for themselves later.
Last summer, myself and 8 friends chose Restaurant New Orleans for our monthly supper club meeting. While making reservations, we were told to byob and that the food would be “slow-cooked.”
When we arrived at RNO at our 7:30 reservation time, we were asked to make ourselves comfortable. The tables were set up to seat 2-4 people but the place was otherwise empty so we took it upon ourselves to rearrange the tables so our party of 9 could sit together. We were offered some plastic cups for our water and wine which we accepted. Then came the “ordering.”
We were taking turns looking at a few menus when a gentlemen came out and announced “She’s offering five dollar gumbo.” Confused, some of us raised our hands to signal we’d give it a try. Another 10 minutes or so and he came out again to announce we could also choose a bisque. While this was happening our waitress began to give us our plates (paper) and utensils (plastic)!
Around this point in the evening we were perplexed enough to ask how exactly this all worked. Kathy – the very friendly owner – told us since we were such a big group we could order some entrees family style and gave us a few options. She apologized for the plates but because we were so large of group they didn’t have enough dish ware.
After this method was explained to us and we accepted this would be an atypical dining experience we were able to relax and had a great time. The entrees began coming at a steady pace and most of them were very good. By the time the dessert options were announced our party was satisfied both body and and mind. Kathy asked how we’d like to pay and came up with some math (flat rate per person of $20) that everyone agreed was acceptable.
All in all, the 3+ hour experience was unconventional but certainly enjoyable. It’s probably not a place to stumble onto, but if you are looking for something delicious and different, Restaurant New Orleans is it.
BAM’s outrageous ticket prices?!
Ah yes far better to wait for the movie to come out on Netflix or to deal with the schlock that gets played at the Court Street theaters as well as the talking that goes on through out ALL movies.
Sometimes that extra buck is worth is Andrea.
Back to the matter at hand…you experience reminds me similar ones at restaurants here and it always makes me laugh when job adverts on Craigslist say “must have NYC restaurant experience”. My wife and I always take that to mean that you have to be very comfortable at giving crappy service to customers and then being really pissed when you still don’t make a 20% tip.
Limestone says: [i]schlock that gets played at the Court Street theaters as well as the talking that goes on through out ALL movies.
Sometimes that extra buck is worth is Andrea.[/i]
I’ll gladly pay my $6 at Cobble Hill or pay $8 matinee for my “schlock” at Court Street, thanks. And once I get a DVD player, I’ll subscribe to Netflix. Once theatres passed the $10 mark (and BAM is waaaaaay past that time), I say “no thanks”.
Back on topic, I tend to stay away from cheapo-fancy looking restaurants that look unattended. :/
Wow, ATTITUDE.
When I first moved to the neighborhood an old timer told me that most of the businesses were just there to launder money. Since Restaurant New Orleans is one of the old guard maybe that’s the case. No real need to be good at the restaurant business.
Andrea said:
Once theatres passed the $10 mark (and BAM is waaaaaay past that time), I say “no thanks”.
Um–you mean way past that mark? Because oh yeah, $11 is WAAAAAAAAY past $10.
Grow up.
Wow, how can you guys even compare the experience of going to BAM to Court Street?
Myself and some friends went last summer. Bizarre seems to be the norm at Restaurant New Orleans. “Ordering” consisted of a man coming out every 15 minutes or so and announcing a menu option – “she (the cook)’s offering $5 gumbo!” – which we accepted on our paper plates w/ plastic forks.
The experience was strange but the food was great and in the end we all enjoyed ourselves.
i believe the comment about these establishments laundering money. this reminds me of an earlier post about june on dekalb.
the only places that are good but always empty are cheap places making most of their money on delivery. (i.e. the crappy looking but delicious cheap thai restaurants)
Sarah,
sparked a nerve there, right? Now slowly move away from the keyboard and take a long breath.
klz,
I wouldn’t call Restaurant New Orleans old . I think it’s been there maybe 5 years or so.
I have heard about bizs as fronts. Most of those places that come to mind have closed up.
restaurant new orleans is super weird! i’ve never eaten there although after walking by it almost every day in my travels my curiosity finally got the best of me and i decided to give it a whirl. i walked in and walked right back out utterly confused by my interaction with the folks who worked there. it wasn’t negative, just… odd. anyway, at this rate it’s probably just going to have to remain a mystery to me.
Restaurant New Orleans has been in the nabe for a while. My friend who grew up in FG said that it was a good place to eat at if you had a lot of time on your hands, could deal with the owner’s eccentric style, and didn’t walk in with New Yorker attitude. Clockwork service it’s not–and i think half the stuff we ate wasn’t even on the menu. But the people are friendly, and the meal I had was pretty darn tasty.
How about becoming a member of BAM Cinemaclub, (I think it is $60 for a single membership, which if FULLY tax deductible so it effctively costs you about a third less do your math or ask your accountant…) and you pay $7 per movie? On top of that they invite you to a whole lot of sneak previews etc. AND you get into the presale of the BAM Sundance festival in June at a discounted price…)
I am sorry but nothing beats BAM for depth of programming, retrospectives, etc.)
If your employer does matching grants you can consider the Movie Mogul option and you go FOR FREE to any movie (and you get free Sundance tickets to any mvoie you might want!) for a whole year….
lol at most these businesses being fronts to launder money. That’s utter bullshit. Please stop it. They are legit businesses.
I thought it’s only been around for maybe 3 years or so. It’s not that old. My experience in the resteraunt business was most were toking a lotta reefer & Or drinking ALOT. I’m glad to hear the food is good. I gotta try it. Sounds pretty laid back if you have the time.
I think the somewhat eccentric owner of this place would best be described as a great home cook. She opens when she wants, and serves what she has on hand.
She’s definitely been around for awhile–more than five years but less than 10.
it seems to me that the place would be a whole lot better if they either printed new menus each day (seeing as they were just 8.5×11 sheets of paper anyway) or got a chalk board and put the menu up that way, rather than have a fixed menu that they don’t keep to.
We ate there about a year or 2 ago. They basically had nothing we ordered and kept proposing substitutes, some of which also never arrived. The best part: a few times people came to the door as we were eating (or waiting to eat) and they were told not to come in because the restaurant was totally out of food!! What food we got was tasty, but I will never eat there again. Laid back is one thing; this is something else entirely. Pretty place and decent food, but not worth the trouble.
….I’m confused — this was a post about a restaurant, but most people seem to be talking about BAM. Did something weird happen in the computer and some comments go to the wrong post?
fuck all this, i’m going there today for lunch.
it’s been there at least 6 years… the last time i was there was 2002-3. a truly bizarre (and lengthy) workday lunch. they seemed shocked to have patrons and didn’t quite know what to do with us. there were a few people who were all friends hanging out, snacking, and playing music. we felt like we were truly invading in someone’s home.
Kim–
the first comment in response to this post was Andrea saying how shocking it was that lesterhead and friends paid the “outrageous ticket prices at BAM”–hence all the comments regarding BAM. Why Andrea did this is a bit unclear. Clearly she has some issues.
Sarah,
Nice reading your passive-aggressive comments.
LOL. Great stuff Lesterhead. You have a real knack for posting subjects that really fire up some of the locals.
Given the depth and breadth of the movies that BAM offers it’s a real godsend to have it in the neighborhood.
Hey if it costs me $11 (which is waaaaaay past $10) to watch a documentary on Gaudi or to hear Don Letts talk after the showing of his movie “Punk: Attitude” then I will gladly pay it.
If that’s not you thing that’s okay but there’s no need to be a hater.
I repeat what I said: become members of the BAM Cinemaclub and you will have repaid it even if you go once a month……
Ya’ll crack me up.
I actually think RNO sounds like fun – I’m going to make it a point to go there. I totally do not get the person who is affronted by going to BAM. To me, leaving so close to such a beloved landmark is AWESOME and nothing beats going to the movies there and walking home – and of course stopping at moe’s or stonehome or mullane’s on the way. Yr screwed there if you show up late, but I LOVE it. Court St. is fun for catching horror movies at midnight – those who did that knows what I’m talking about – there is nothing like watching ‘saw 3′ or ‘a history of violence’ with a toddler in their pajama’s climbing on the seats in front of you. LOVES IT.
obvs. meant to say living, not leaving
The unpredictability of Restaurant New Orleans – this is what adds to its unique charm.
Last year, my wife and my cousin and I decided to give it a try one evening. We picked up a bottle of small batch bourbon from The Greene Grape and headed on in to a warm reception from two of the staff, but some rather stoic looks from the folks at two tables that were already seated. Both tables asked for the check fairly abruptly after that and left without desert. We should have perhaps taken this as a sign of things to come. Their waiting room experience was now ours. We asked the teenage girl waiting on us for some lemonade or iced tea to mix with the bourbon, in the hope of a pseudo Lynchburg lemonade. Mango juice became our only option, but a respectable replacement nonetheless, once some ice arrived. A healthy order of house specials sat unanswered for close to an hour, except for the delivery of a side salad, until another woman appeared from the back to announce that the cook had called out sick and she had personally phoned up some assistance. 15 minutes later, a man arrived with shopping bags of ingredients and proceeded into the kitchen to get busy quickly.
Close to one and half hours after our initial order, and 2/3 of the way through the bottle (we perhaps would have left if not so sauced up), we were treated to a procession of some of the best home cooking we’ve had in a while – shrimp etouffee; red beans and rice; spicy chicken wings; caijun chicken… We were so impressed we started sharing the bourbon with the staff, even finding our way back in the kitchen to down a shot with the replacement chef. And to crown the evening – two huge slabs of homemade chocolate and vanilla cake…
Restaurant New Orleans – keep it confusing so only the true connoisseurs stick around. You rock!
Sarah:
Shhh. It was a rhetorical question; don’t let on.
I totally had one of those experiences here – my conclusion is that it’s a front for something – it has to be. My friend and I wandered in one Saturday for a late lunch, and the place was dead, I mean completely empty. In fact, I have never really seen people here, and they’re often closed. We ordered drinks, and they mentioned they didn’t have a license, but they would go down the street and pick something up for us – which they did. Then, we were told the daily special was $15 for roasted chicken. We split the chicken and ordered a few sides. Promptly after ordering, they brought over two fans to dull the heat, and mixed us up a few drinks. They ended up bringing two orders of the chicken which were enormous, not one, and a bunch of sides which we didn’t order. The whole bill came to $15 – the price for one special, and they said they wouldn’t charge us for the rest. I don’t know. Anyhow, we left a huge tip, and walked out stuffed and happy.
I’ve never been to New Orleans but I’ve looking it up online and found thatm it’s really interesting.I wanna go to New Orleans someday and visit especially the restaurants.
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