So today, my dear friend, Sistery McBride, took me out for (another) sassy graduation celebration meal! We headed over to Lüke at 333 St. Charles. I had already experienced the restaurant & was looking forward to seeing my friend's reaction to the delicious fare. The décor is rustic, the brown wood of the tables is echoed throughout the dining room. There are--room dividers? in wood with brass railings, oddly festooned with sections of newspapers. Yes like the sports section is hanging over this brass railing with the Metro section next to it, and so forth. The table settings themselves are minimalist at best. Small water tumblers and silverware rolled up in these white kitchen rag type napkins with blue lines on them. The napkins carry a funky odor that is decidedly unappetizing, by the way. Speaking of unappetizing, there is also some kind of raw seafood display at the end of the bar as you walk into the dining room that also gives off a pretty strong odor. The last (and most unappetizing thing) was the waiters' uniforms. White, formless jackets & black bow ties. I'm sure these things cost a fortune but they are completely impractical in food service and unflattering on everyone. We were inexplicably seated right next to another couple despite there being at least a half dozen empty two tops scattered around the cozy dining room.
Our waiter brought over a carafe of water and asked if we'd like a cocktail. We declined, and he seemed a bit crestfallen, and left us a carafe of ice water. When I asked about the specials, he said "Everything's on the menu" and said he'd give us a minute to choose. When he came back, we ordered the pâté de campagne, and Sistery had the express lunch (crawfish bisque & whole roast cochon de lait with cherry mustard and stewed greens. I had the entrecôte grillée au (should have been aux on the menu) frites, (AKA a contre-filet, not a ribeye, as you might think), medium rare.
The pâté was delivered by a manageress whose name I didn't catch, who explained the accoutrements and wished us bon appétit. The pâté was rich and coarse, served with a plentiful supply of grilled (AKA slightly burnt) french bread croustades. The cherry mustard was featured with this and provided a great counterpoint to the earthy flavor of the pâté itself. While we were still enjoying our pâté, Sistery's soup was delivered. The bisque was quite brown, and according to Sistery (you know I have a shellfish allergy & can't be messin with all that), had a rather earthy, if not to say muddy, flavor. The Chatty Manageress came by to check on us and cleared our table as we talked a bit with her, pouring our own water from the carafe left on the table by the waiter. Our entrées came out just after I had swapped our empty water carafe with the half-full one left on the table next to us by a couple who'd been gone for about 10 minutes at that point. The food was announced and left on the table. I had to ask for a steak knife as one had not been pre-set. The foodrunner went to a waiter station and looked in some drawers and then a few seconds later, our waiter came by with a steak knife. I might also add at this point that no one stayed to let me cut into my steak and verify that it was cooked to my preferred temperature. Mercifully, it was cooked to PERFECTION and an utter delight to the palate. Sistery raved about how delish her cochon de lait was.
After all this savor, we had a bit of a sweet tooth. We asked for a dessert menu & that's what we got. One menu, dropped onto the table between us, making a little cloud of crumbs puff up. When we ordered an espresso and a capuccino as well as a chocolate pot de crème, the waiter then crumbed our table with the dessert menu. Charming.
The espresso machine is behind the bar (and in my direct sight) and I watched the coffees being made and then...the dessert came. Two large soup spoons had been provided as dessert spoons, and we could barely fit them into the mason jar in which the dessert was featured. Our waiter arrived a minute later with our coffees. Sistery's oversize demi-tasse cup didn't have an accompanying spoon, so she had to ask for one & then use a normal size coffee spoon. The pot de crème was sinfully rich and delicious but not as thick as I'd expected. It wasn't quite as airy as a mousse, but it was more like a parfait of chocolate pudding, topped with chantilly cream & toasted almonds & chocolate slivers. Outstanding.
The waiter dropped off the check and this is when that table next to us finally started to get bussed. Yes I am serious. I might also add that it was around 3 in the afternoon and not crowded. The check before tip was $72 and we had to pour our own water. Sistery and I have both been in the service industry and we understand a lot of stuff that maybe the average diner doesn't, but honestly I've received friendlier, better service at Clover Grill. It's a real shame that such stellar food is so poorly presented.
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