There were 9 vendors in the "Champions Club" where you get a wristband and get small plates. Here is a gist of my personal observations.
10) Pass. There were 10 items on wristbands, but no #9 existed in the booths for food. Someone step up to the "plate" please!
9) Ruth's Chris- The worst. A tiny piece of meat that fit on a roll 1/3 size of a Krystal bun (or you could have mashed potatoes). Overcooked to oblivion. A disgrace. Hopefully, Rib Room or Tujagues will see this post and come to the rescue!
8) Mr. B's - Grillades & Grits - Well, honestly, I wouldn't give a penny for any grit in the world. Have to say that I heard that these were "the best ever." Whateva! Eat mine.
7) Emeri's- Ribs and Asian Slaw-not bad. Can't say all plates would be bad, but just our two. The ribs were all bone, and mo meat. In a rack of ribs, you get some good and some not so good. The Asian Slaw was tasty, but the ribs are the luck of the draw when feeding hundreds.
That's about it for the losers. The rest were all winners.
6) Galatoire's- Shrimp Remoulade- Classic perfection. Nuff said.
5) Zea - Asian Shrimp - Asian theme runs deep in current food styles. Perfectly fried shrimp (2) atop an Asian slaw with a Hot Chili Oil. Delicious!
4) Arnaud's - Can't remember the exact name, but a cold Crawfish salad atop a fried green tomato slice. Wonderful contrast between the hot and cold. Wonderful flavors!
3) Drago's - What else but the definitive "Best single bite of food" in NOLA. Nice half dozen portion worth writing home about. Chatted with Drago about the old folks from the past. Someone talked to Tommy Saturday and he said they were grilling 5,000 oysters per day. I could have eaten half of that with no problem...
2) New Orleans Ice Cream - well, forgot about them and didn't mean to put them in this particular position, but mighty tasty. Shared the Coffee & Chickory flavor along with the Vanilla Bean flavor with wife, and both were great.
1) Outback Steakhouse - I cannot believe I am putting them in this place, as I am not much of a meat eater, but a seafood eater. However...the Pork Tenderloin was cooked to absolute perfection. Very moist & tender, no dryness at all. Cut with plastic fork. The Asian Slaw (a recurring theme) was wonderful, although loaded with Hot Chili Garlic Oil, it was a bit hot. Guess shows that some chains can come through while others cannot (i.e. Ruth's Chris). Served with about 5 slices of pork tenderloin (as opposed to 1 slice of overcooked beef from Ruth's). I was truly shocked. I actually did not plan to even try this one, but I had a heads up not to miss it from someone there on Friday. They were right. Great dish!
Sums it up. Ignore any typos/mispellings/gramatical errors. I have trouble after partying for 15 hours.
Oh! I understand that there was also a golf tournement going on while we were eating. Not sure, but that was the rumor...
Friend going to Charlotte next week for tournement there. Looked on their website about the food, and not hardly a mention at all!!!! Told him I bet the "Seafood" will probably be Mrs. Paul's Fish Sticks!:D
