Maison Soule – French Quarter, New Orleans

The French Quarter is packed full of dining options, but I think my favorite place we ate (besides my birthday dinner at Muriel’s) was Maison Soule. Tucked away on a cross street in the French Quarter between the riotous Bourbon Street and the gallery-packed Royal Street is Maison Soule, an unassuming hotel with a small bistro on the ground floor. When we found it, it was almost empty, and gave us a quiet place to get our bearings and plan our night out.

Yue ordered a crawfish etouffe: shellfish served over rice with a roux sauce, it’s name coming from the French word for “smother”. The salty red sauce was quickly absorbed by the rice once mixed in to help balance out the flavors of the dish. It’s a distinctly Creole dish, rarely found outside New Orleans, and Yue and I are always up for trying some of the local flavors.

I chose something a little less overtly NOLA, but still with its roots heavily in colonial French cuisine. Ever since having a wild boar crepe on a family trip to Quebec nearly a decade ago, I’ve always had a soft spot for savory meat-based crepes, so when I saw a duck crepe with raspberry vinaigrette on the menu, I knew I had to order it. The side of garlic fries was an unexpected but welcome bonus, especially when I realized I could dip them in Yue’s etouffe.

The red drink in the background of the crepe picture is a sazerac, a particular pride and joy of New Orleans, and reputedly the original American cocktail, made of whiskey, bitters, sugar, and just a bit of absinthe. It’s said that the sazerac was created in pre-Civil War New Orleans by a local bar owner with bitters imported by a local apothecary, the sort of man who would prescribe you the cocaine you needed to get the demons out of your blood, or however they balanced your essential humors back in the 19th century. It’s a simple cocktail, not entirely unlike a Manhattan, making it well suited for drinking along with dinner, or for a stroll down Bourbon Street, where the blood alcohol levels are made up and open container laws don’t matter. As a fan of whiskey-based simple cocktails, this became my New Orleans drink of choice, though now that I’m back up north, I’m quite content to slide back into my Manhattan-sipping ways.

For dessert, we had the old New Orleans staple of bread pudding. Unlike the one we profiled for Muriel’s, Maison Soule’s pudding is firmer, and their drizzle is caramel rather than rum based. Yue was less than impressed with the texture, preferring the softer pudding, but I had no qualms with Maison Soule’s, nor with their presentation.

Petit Robert Bistro – South End

Yue and I have a lot of date nights, and try a lot of incredible food. But Valentine’s Day calls for something a little more special than usual, so this Wednesday we managed to get a table at one of our favorite South End spots, Petit Robert Bistro. Located on Columbus Ave just a short walk from where we work in Back Bay, Petit Robert offers fine French food in an intimate space.

Their Valentine’s menu was a three course prix fixe, and so slightly different from their usual fare. For our first course, Yue chose the tuna tartar, while I indulged with some foie gras. The foie gras was served over caramelized apples, adding a hint of sweetness to the dish, while Yue’s tartar was served beneath an avocado puree, offering something light and refreshing before the heavier fare of the later courses.

The main course was roasted salmon with red potatoes and scallions for Yue and a rack of lamb with mashed potatoes and green beans for me. The lamb was breaded with mustard, and served with a wine reduction, and while I was wary at first of the small portion size, it was the perfect amount to fill me up without leaving me too full. The potatoes were light and made to perfection, while the lamb was tender and fell off the bone with a touch. I can’t really speak for Yue’s salmon (I’ve never been big on roasted fish), but if it was anything like my entree, it was delicious too.

Our final course was, naturally, dessert. It was a difficult choice, but Yue opted for the passion fruit creme brulee, while I settled on the chocolate mousse. Passion fruit is a bit too sweet for me, but the mousse was full-bodied and rich, the perfect treat to cap of a Valentine’s dinner.

Petit Robert blends the best of French cuisine with South End charm, and in the summer they offer al fresco dining. While it’s hardly the time of year for it now, Yue and I had our first trip to Petit Robert over the summer, where we sat outside and watched the sun set over the buildings of Back Bay while we did some quality people watching (and more importantly, dog watching). If you’re looking for something a little more upscale for date night without all the pomp and circumstance, Petit Robert should definitely be on the table.