New Orleans: Lüke
by JS
We ate at Lüke last night. A pleasing brasserie with better appetizers and desserts than entrées. Anastasia tells me that a brasserie is roughly the French equivalent of a grill, and that the primary requirement is that fries must appear on the menu. Clearly I was predisposed to liking the place.
Anastasia had the prix fixe special with a cup of crawfish bisque (pleasingly seasoned and authentically crustaceous) to start. I ordered the rabbit and duck liver pâté, served with cornichons, a wonderful marmalade, mustard, and a kind of pickled fruit (apple?). The presentation was delightful.
Our main courses (shrimp stuffed with crabmeat, pasta with veal cheeks and mushroom sauce) were unremarkable except for the deliciously prepared vegetable sides. The green beans were particularly delightful. We ended the meal sharing (to Anastasia’s later regret considering how surprisingly good it was) another order of (this time chocolate flavored) crème brûlée.
We started the meal with two sazerac cocktails. Obviously well made, and entirely outside the flavor range with which I’m comfortable. I’m a long way from my younger years, when I had the taste for flavor adventure, ingesting such indescribable bitters as straight shots of unicum. We ended the meal with half a bottle remaining of pinot noir, which, this being New Orleans, we were able to bring back with us.
