Jennafoo
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 23, 2012
DINING REPORT
DAY THREE - DINNER
RALPH BRENNAN'S JAZZ KITCHEN
My daughter lives an hour outside of New Orleans, so I always stay in the city when I visit her (including this summer at her upcoming wedding!). I've had a lot of amazing meals, but my favorites have always been at the Brennan family's upscale flagship: Brennan's. Breakfast or dinner - it's always an amazing treat.
And while I wasn't expecting that level of experience, I was really looking forward to trying Jazz Kitchen. Unfortunately, between my creeping pain, feeling groggy from a long nap and having eaten WAY too much at Blue Bayou, I don't think I gave JK enough of a chance. I will definitely need a redo!
That said, it's a truly lovely space, inside and out, with courtyards, iron works and stairs that definitely remind you of NOLA. Here's the entry to my dining room through the main courtyard:
This guy played some great tunes on the piano, include several cute versions of 'happy birthday'. My only problem was he kept claiming he was from New Orleans, and pronouncing it completely wrong. At one point, I texted my sisters and mom (we grew up in Bayou Country) and said that every time he said it, I wanted to scream: "NO, YOU'RE NOT!!!"
I didn't.
My server (dressed to the nines as I'd expect at a Brennan's restaurant) was clearly new, and had to read his spiel off a cheat sheet. He did admirably though, and I gave him a big tip just because I knew he was new. (I even left a note on the receipt thanking him for the great service; I like to do that especially with new servers, because the boss sees it.)
Here are the menus:
I wasn't feeling wine or cocktails so I stuck to a Coke, and then ordered a salad as a starter. This was...not great, to be honest. First, it hardly had any mixins: just a huge pile of leaves. The dressing had no tang to it and quite honestly was mostly a slick of oil. And the weird things on the top? Those are supposed to be candied pecans but they were chopped so finely that when he set it down in front of me, my mind immediately flashed to my cat's kibble. Not appetizing. I probably wouldn't order this again.
The shrimp and grits however? As I told my sisters, they were LEGIT! The grits - which are impossible to get right in California - were amazing with a tang from the parmesan and a bit of a bite from the bits of andouille sausage. The shrimp were perfectly cooked, and swimming in a nicely textured BBQ sauce with just the right amount of kick.
I would eat this every trip if I could, and just might. I only wished my stomach had more room!
Now, my server really, really wanted me to have to dessert. I just had no room, and I had really been enjoying the various desserts in the lounge (they changed nightly), so I passed. He tried again and I passed again.
Then he brought me my check and said he'd gotten me a dessert anyway. ??? I didn't even have my button on, I don't think, so I don't know what was up with that.
Anyway, sure enough he came back with a HUGE bag of beignets. Not one beignet. At least four. I thanked him profusely, but honestly, I just didn't want them and they're not exactly good cold.
As I walked back through the entrance to the hotel, I asked the young men at the metal detectors if they could have them. They looked at the bag longingly but said they weren't SUPPOSED to...until their boss walked up and said: "Sure! Grab 'em!"
Hopefully they got to eat them while they were still warm.
DAY THREE - DINNER
RALPH BRENNAN'S JAZZ KITCHEN
My daughter lives an hour outside of New Orleans, so I always stay in the city when I visit her (including this summer at her upcoming wedding!). I've had a lot of amazing meals, but my favorites have always been at the Brennan family's upscale flagship: Brennan's. Breakfast or dinner - it's always an amazing treat.
And while I wasn't expecting that level of experience, I was really looking forward to trying Jazz Kitchen. Unfortunately, between my creeping pain, feeling groggy from a long nap and having eaten WAY too much at Blue Bayou, I don't think I gave JK enough of a chance. I will definitely need a redo!
That said, it's a truly lovely space, inside and out, with courtyards, iron works and stairs that definitely remind you of NOLA. Here's the entry to my dining room through the main courtyard:
This guy played some great tunes on the piano, include several cute versions of 'happy birthday'. My only problem was he kept claiming he was from New Orleans, and pronouncing it completely wrong. At one point, I texted my sisters and mom (we grew up in Bayou Country) and said that every time he said it, I wanted to scream: "NO, YOU'RE NOT!!!"
I didn't.
My server (dressed to the nines as I'd expect at a Brennan's restaurant) was clearly new, and had to read his spiel off a cheat sheet. He did admirably though, and I gave him a big tip just because I knew he was new. (I even left a note on the receipt thanking him for the great service; I like to do that especially with new servers, because the boss sees it.)
Here are the menus:
I wasn't feeling wine or cocktails so I stuck to a Coke, and then ordered a salad as a starter. This was...not great, to be honest. First, it hardly had any mixins: just a huge pile of leaves. The dressing had no tang to it and quite honestly was mostly a slick of oil. And the weird things on the top? Those are supposed to be candied pecans but they were chopped so finely that when he set it down in front of me, my mind immediately flashed to my cat's kibble. Not appetizing. I probably wouldn't order this again.
The shrimp and grits however? As I told my sisters, they were LEGIT! The grits - which are impossible to get right in California - were amazing with a tang from the parmesan and a bit of a bite from the bits of andouille sausage. The shrimp were perfectly cooked, and swimming in a nicely textured BBQ sauce with just the right amount of kick.
I would eat this every trip if I could, and just might. I only wished my stomach had more room!
Now, my server really, really wanted me to have to dessert. I just had no room, and I had really been enjoying the various desserts in the lounge (they changed nightly), so I passed. He tried again and I passed again.
Then he brought me my check and said he'd gotten me a dessert anyway. ??? I didn't even have my button on, I don't think, so I don't know what was up with that.
Anyway, sure enough he came back with a HUGE bag of beignets. Not one beignet. At least four. I thanked him profusely, but honestly, I just didn't want them and they're not exactly good cold.
As I walked back through the entrance to the hotel, I asked the young men at the metal detectors if they could have them. They looked at the bag longingly but said they weren't SUPPOSED to...until their boss walked up and said: "Sure! Grab 'em!"
Hopefully they got to eat them while they were still warm.
Last edited: