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This quote by Rat in another thread

ratcheese wrote:Except for the original Brennan's and Commander's Palace, he could do a wholesale drive-by on the entire Brennan Chain imo--make it a two hour Ramsay/Brennnan extravaganza...

had me thinking about how many "New Orleans" establishments get a pass because of just that. They are New Orleans establishments!

It's almost 5 years post-K so no one should have any excuses. (For sake of argument, think pre-oil leak. Damn,getting depressed just writing this!)

So it HAS been tough, no doubt. But which restaurants, new and old, get a passing grade, and which should go back to the drawing board (in the case of new restaurants) or, step aside like Deuce McAllister and be happy with what they've done for the city?

I'll start and say Acme Oyster House. I will go as far to say this (even the non-FQ locations) is a typical tourist joint. Mediocre food and bad service saved by a favorite dish: an oyster on the half shell.

I agree w/Rat except I'd include Brennan's as well.

NOLA, Napoleon House, Bacco, Arnaud's, Acme, Luke (for dinner only), Crescent City Brewhouse, Andrea's. All resounding F's.

---------- Post added at 08:10 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:06 AM ----------

I should also add any and all concepts owned by the 3 of a kind Restaurant group.

I would add a couple of neighbourhood mainstays in Mandina's and Casamento's, who have both gone downhill badly since the storm. imo

Mandina's has improved since the storm. You can argue quality but it by no means deserves an F.

Tony Angelos (aka Chef Boyardee).

---------- Post added at 08:54 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:52 AM ----------

IMO, that glop they call turtle soup gets an F.

bam bam wrote:NOLA, Napoleon House, Bacco, Arnaud's, Acme, Luke (for dinner only), Crescent City Brewhouse, Andrea's. All resounding F's.

---------- Post added at 08:10 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:06 AM ----------

I should also add any and all concepts owned by the 3 of a kind Restaurant group.

Bam: I'm glad you mentioned Luke as bad at dinner only. I've had two good lunches and one good breakfast there in the last couple of months. A friend who was a hostess there tells me they have a best crew on at lunch due to the crowds.

Jonathan

I don't love Luke for lunch but it isn't nearly as bad as dinner. My take on it is that the price point for dinner there is so low that they have a difficult time getting competent staff.

bam bam wrote:Mandina's has improved since the storm. You can argue quality but it by no means deserves an F.

The only reference to an academic grading system was yours. However, if you want to consider a C on your scale as passable, then by all means, Mandina's is passable.

The OP was focused on restautrants who have gone downhill since the storm, which Mandina's has imo.

I just don't take out-of-towners there anymore. They lost their atmosphere in the renovation, the service has grown very dicey, and the food is inconsistent. jmo