Coronado Boat House - Coronado, CA

Not all reviews can be good...

For my annual work reward trip, we stay at the Hotel Del for 3 nights. For our reward dinner, we usually go to the Coronado Boathouse. It is very convenient (right across the street) and has a good view of the marina. But, I'm going to suggest a different place next time for the below reasons.

1) Not enough help. Our waters were never refilled. Food was delivered by our waiter with no assistance.



2) The food was not good. The lobster bisque was hugely over salted. I had a filet, which was cooked to the appropriate doneness but not seasoned. The lobster tails, were not seasoned either. By the way, it shouldn't need to be seasoned, but the flavor was baked out of them. My wife had the Macadamia Nut Crusted Halibut. It was extremely dry and needed a "ton" more sauce to make it enjoyable. The NY cheescake was one redeeming (albeit not redeeming enough) dish.

3) Incorrect order/billing. I ordered the Filet with Lobster Tail and Rice pilaf. I received Filet, Crab Legs and Mash Potatoes. The waiter then corrected the error and brought the Lobster Tail and Pilaf. (Funny enough, the crab was better than the lobster.) Then when it came to billing, we had 3 separate checks which were completely incorrect and took way too much time to correct. The split was simple, not complicated.

This review was fairly simple to right and just as easy as a good or wonderful review. I wasn't being picky, it was just very simple things that most restaurants get right, be it Olive Garden or Wolfgang Puck. If they miss something as simple as refilling waters, or adding some salt (something that I could do) then they lose points in my book. The nice thing of it all... it was a free meal.

New Orleans Part 10 of 10 (Conclusion)

Not too long ago, Gail Simmons from Top Chef, said that her second favorite city to eat in was New Orleans.  (The first was NY.) I totally understand why she made this statement. NOLA is a town about food. Cuisine is at the heart of this town. There are so many different foods, combinations of food and different preparations that make me wanting to go back already.

Here is a recap of some recommendations from this trip:
Café du Monde
Cochon
Domilise's
Emeril's
Southern Candymakers

Next time I'd like to try:
Bayona
Herbsaint
Restaurant August

New Orleans Part 9 of 10 (Cafe Du Monde & Pralines)

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Beignets. Fried dough + Powdered sugar = Light fluffy heaven on a plate. A beignet is virtually a donut with powdered sugar. Though many places offer their version of this sweet delicacy, Café du Monde is known as the originator in these parts having established their presence in 1862.

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One evening, after dinner, we went down to the original Café du Monde location. The line for take-out was huge but moved rapidly. Like many older establishments, there were only a few items on the menu. This typically means that the restaurant has perfected those items and doesn't veer off the beaten path. After procuring our order, which consists of 3 beignets, we were off to the river which was right around the corner. As I had mentioned previously, in downtown, it's okay to drink in public. Thus we had a glass of wine and secured a bench along the Mississippi. The beignet is very fluffy inside with a nice textural contrast on the outside. The powdered sugar gives the night sweetness to bind the textures together. We would stop here one more time on our visit.

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The other delectable sweet bites we indulged in were pralines. Pralines originated in France using caramelized sugar and almonds. However, the settlers in Louisiana noticed an abundance of Pecans; thus the recipe was changed. On our first full day in NOLA, we took part in a Cajun Swamp Tour. On the way back to the hotel, our shuttle driver pointed to this building: Southern Candymakers. Nothing special at all... from the outside. He said that this was the best place to buy pralines. Several nights later, we found out that this was true. It's a candy shop as well as where they manufacture this deliciousness. There were so many options of pralines to try/buy. We sampled the Rum Praline, Sweet Potato Praline, and the Original Praline. We settled on purchasing the Sweet Potato and the Original. The crunch of the nut plus the melt-in-your-mouth-goodness of the caramelized sugar is a force to be reckoned with. One at a time is all you need, or you'll be visiting the dentist soon. Definitely a good place to go for pralines. But be careful buying for others. The pralines might not make it to their end destination. :-)

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New Orleans Part 8 of 10 (New Orleans Drinks)

NOLA is known as a party city. Thus alcohol, in various forms, is going to be found everywhere. In fact, in the French quarter you are able to drink on the streets as long as its in plastic cups. So you can literally get your drinks "To-Go." Being an experimenter of different drinks, this presented an opportunity to add some new beverages to my palate.

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On our first evening we went to The Sazerac Bar at The Roosevelt Hotel.  Many consider the Sazerac to be the world's first mixed drink. As I am a big fan of the Sidecar, this drink was easy to enjoy. Its a sipping drink for sure, but with so much bold character.

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 The Ramos Gin Fizz is a very unique libation that would be difficult to find outside of NOLA. It was one of Governor Huey Long's (no relation... that I know of) favorite drinks. It combines gin with cream and egg whites; a weird combination, I know. The drink was not my favorite. It didn't have a bad taste... it just didn't have hardly any flavor at all. It tasted like I was drinking meringue. 

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A nice assortment of "bar snacks was provided which were very tasty.

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Another popular and ironically named drink in NOLA is the Hurricane. Back in the 1940's there was a surplus of rum. The staff at Pat O'Briens began experimenting and came up with the fruity concoction known as the hurricane. It is a very sugary drink, so one is plenty. Splitting it may even be a better option. On a side note, my wife loves spicy food. I thought it appropriate that she should try her first Bloody Mary. She thought this version was just okay as it just tasted like spicy V8. So if it didn't have alcohol would it be called a Virgin Mary?

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Lastly, we tried a Mint Julep. Though I'm not the biggest fan of mint, the Bourbon really helped balance the mint. It was very refreshing and perfect to enjoy in the Piano Lounge.

There are a few other NOLA drinks that we didn't get to try including Pimm's Cup, Brandy Milk Punch and Absinthe Frappe. Maybe next time.

New Orleans Part 7 of 10 (New Orleans School of Cooking)

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While searching through various website travel guides for New Orleans, we stumbled across the top rated attraction: The New Orleans School of Cooking. This school teaches Cajun or Creole dishes, depending on the day, as well as a nice history lesson. We made reservations well in advance, and thus were the second on the list when role call was announced. Coffee, iced tea and water were served immediately with Lemonade and Abita beer (locally brewed) being brought out during the meal.

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Barbara was our instructor for the session. (10am - 12:30pm.) She already had several components cooking upon our entry and explained what they were.

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The first piece of food that we were presented with was a biscuit. We were instructed to try it with molasses which added a great sweetness to the savory biscuit.

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After about 2 hours of cooking and lessons, we began tasting the dishes. Up first was the gumbo. It had really good flavor especially with the sausage.

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Up next was the Jambalaya. This was very similar to the gumbo, but it contained cooked rice. This course was very delectable with just enough seasoning to make a tasty dish.

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For dessert we were presented with a bread pudding and a praline. The bread pudding had great texture with just enough sweetness. The praline was a great couple of sweet bites to finish off the meal.

We really enjoyed our stay at the New Orleans School of Cooking and we look forward to trying the recipes here at home. As an added bonus, if we take pictures of our dish and send it in, we will receive a Certificate that we went through the course. We hope to complete that portion of the class soon.

New Orleans Part 6 of 10 (Acme Oyster House)

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On one of our only free nights in NOLA, we decided to get some Oysters. After some research (thanks fellow Yelpers) we settled on Acme Oyster House.

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We started off with (1) oyster shooter each. It was our first experience with these. Its vodka, a raw oyster and some hot sauce. It gave a very warm feeling on delivery. Quite interesting and though we didn't do a second round, we would still try it again.

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Next up was what Acme Oyster House is known for, Char-Grilled Oysters. They lived up to their reputation.

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Next up was a New Orleans classic: Red Beans & Rice with Grilled Sausage. The sausage was very juicy while the red beans and rice had lots of flavor. It did require hot sauce which led us to a new found favorite: Chipotle Flavored Tabasco. It's not too hot, but has a wonderful smokey aroma and taste.

The Acme Oyster House is a tourist spot, but the food is good enough for a visit.

New Orleans Part 5 of 10 (Emeril's)

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No trip to New Orleans would be complete without a visit to one of Emeril Lagasse's restaurants. All 3 establishments (Delmonico, Emeril's and NOLA) had similar menus but because I found a few more interesting dishes at Emeril's, we dined there. Since I finished work at 5pm on Sunday evening, we made reservations for 6pm. It would have been about a 10-15 minute walk, but as soon as we went downstairs it started pouring; taxi it was. As soon as the taxi pulled up, there was a gentleman to greet us at Emeril's with an umbrella. Nice welcoming. As we had made reservations, (why anyone wouldn't use Opentable is beyond me) we were immediately taken to our table.

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We were quickly introduced to the 3 staff members that would be taking care of our table. Our water glasses were always filled and we were refreshed on our bread plate a couple of times during the evening. The options included a sweet potato bread, cornbread muffin and a roll. All were fresh and had good flavor though our favorite was probably the sweet potato bread.

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For an appetizer we ordered the Thai BBQ Lamb Ribs with crunchy asian pear slaw, toasted peanuts and sesame. The ribs were very succulent with the slaw adding a nice balance. Eating with our hands seemed out of place due to the upscale nature of the restaurant. That being said, the meat slid off the bone with our fork. Mess avoided.

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For my entree, I selected the special of the day: Smoked Quail & Jumbo Shrimp Curry with Carolina Rice Grits, Roasted Baby Fennel. This was my first interaction with quail. Though a smaller bird, it was still full of flavor. The fennel was there for textural contrast, but could have been substituted for another vegetable as the fennel was the miss of the night for me. The shrimp and grits were very delightful.

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My wife had the Saffron-Chili Dusted Jumbo Shrimp with Sweet Potato-Smoked Corn Grits, Skillet Beans, Benton's Bacon and Mango Chow Chow. She found her dish highly delectable.

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While our stomachs were quite satisfied, it was almost a requirement (I felt) that we order dessert. We settled on the Chocolate Chip - Blackberry Crumble Tart with Coffee Ice Cream and Cocoa Nib. The balance of flavors, the tang of the blackberry and the smoothness of the  coffee, created one harmonious dessert.




The balance of great (not suffocating) service and brilliant cuisine made for a great dinner experience. It's quite understandable how Emeril came up with his trademark saying: BAM!

New Orleans Part 4 of 10 (Cochon)

Deemed “the Oscars of the food world,” by Time magazine, the James Beard Foundation Awards are the country’s most coveted honor for chefs. During our visit in New Orleans, we were able to dine at Cochon where Stephen Stryjewski had won the James Beard Award for Best Chef in the South. It was easy to see why he was given this prestigious honor.

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I arranged for a group of my clients to join us at Cochon for a late reservation. This worked out really well, because the menu is designed with many small plates. Thus we were able to order several different plates and share in a "tapas style" manner.

We first started off with a round of drinks. The drink for me was decent, but not spectacular. All I remember is that there was watermelon in the drink. It also took a while to receive our drinks, though to the restaurant's credit, it was a packed house. (There were 20,000 librarians in town!) As I could tell that all of the menus were printed frequently, I decided to order by writing on the menu what the table wanted. The waiter said that was unique and the first time anyone had done that.

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About 15 minutes later and all of our dishes came out simultaneously. Here they are in no particular order. We have here Artichoke & crab stuffed crab. It was very tasty with the accompanying crisps (perhaps pita?) adding a nice textural contrast.

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Next is the wood-fired oyster roast. What a great preparation of the oyster, served very warm. 

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Here was the dish I was dying to try: Fried alligator with chili garlic aioli. Though the alligator is a little chewier (not rubbery, just meatier) it was super delicious. The chili garlic aioli gave it a wonderful tang that I can still taste two weeks later. 

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One small plate was simply named hushpuppies. That being said, there was nothing simple about them. They we're phenomenal. The sauce accompanying it was fantastic! One of my clients does not like hushpuppies at all, but fell in love with this version. Everyone also loved the sauce, wanting to have it bottled up. By the way, we loved the hushpuppies so much that we ordered a second round.

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Cochon is french for pig. Thus a visit to Cochon wouldn't be complete without trying some pork. Thus we ordered the boucherie plate. I don't recall all the various pieces but it did include the following: 

Headcheese - My first experience with it and the texture is off-putting to me personally, though it had good flavor.

Pork Rillette - Again, a first for me. A rillette is a paste that is put on bread. The problem was that we didn't get enough bread. On its own, again it had flavor, but it needed the bread.

House Made Bread & Butter Pickles - This is my favorite type of pickle and...WOW... just WOW! They nailed the pickles. Perfect amount of tang and bite. Could've eaten a jar of them. 

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One of my clients ordered a zucchini salad. Huh?, I thought. A Zuchinni salad? At a restaurant with pig as its name?.... I'm glad they ordered it. It really helped to balance the meal. Most of the other dishes we ate were warm dishes. This salad, which had so much wonderful flavor, was a cool dish and thus added a great balance in temperature. Lesson learned: don't knock a salad at Cochon.

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 About 5 minutes after we submitted our "menu order" to our server, he came back and said that the "spicy grilled pork ribs with watermelon pickle" (another anticipated dish) was gone for the night. In lieu of the ribs, our waiter suggested the Pork Cheeks with lima beans. They were enjoyable and still tasted similar to braised ribs.

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The third dish I was personally anticipating was Rabbit and dumplings. This was another first for me. (Do you notice a pattern emerging?) The rabbit was juicy and succulent. With the accompanying gravy it was very similar to turkey in taste and texture.

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One of my clients, before ordering, asked what the "Smothered Green Beans" were smothered in. Our waiter said, bacon, wine, butter... Thus she ordered them. Bacon? YUM! They were a nice side to the meal.

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One of my low-lights of the evening was the chicken and andouille gumbo. For me, it was over salted. Two others really enjoyed it, so maybe I just got a bad batch?







One of the sad but funny things of the night was Dessert. Our waiter came and said, "I wanted to let you know that we currently have 20,000 librarians in New Orleans... and... well... they ate all of our dessert." He went on to inform us that they noticed that librarians really enjoy dessert and they had planned for an increase in food, but not as much for dessert... He did offer a few options of ice cream, but we were quire content at that point and declined.

Chef Stryjewski lived up to the prestige as a James Beard award winner. Next time we're in town, I'd like to try Herbsaint, Donald Link's (Cochon Owner) other restaurant.

New Orleans Part 3 of 10 (Domilise's)

One of the dishes you "have to try" on a visit to New Orleans is a Po-Boy. A Po-Boy is a sub sandwich, different from a normal sub due to the french bread that is used. All types of meats are used to make a Po-Boy, and are typically "dressed" with lettuce, tomatoes and mayo with pickles and onions being optional.

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We had watched several travel/food shows on New Orleans before our visit. One of them was a Restaurant War to see who had the best Po-Boy. The winner? Domilise's. They have been on many different TV shows, thus gaining lots of popularity. We talked to the owner and some of the staff for a little while and asked them about the popularity. They weren't all that happy about it. They like the smooth calm way of living. In fact, Emeril Lagasse's Origins show will be broadcasting part 2 of his NOLA visit today, 7/7/11. The staff hired 2 extra hands to help with the influx of visitors that this show (as the previous ones have) will bring.

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After a nice morning touring the Garden District, we went over to Domilise's for lunch. We split a full Po-Boy with fried shrimp and catfish. The bread was spectacular and all of the dressings and seafood worked really well together, especially with some hot sauce. Though we didn't have a chance to try a Po-Boy anywhere else, this one will set the bar from here on out. It was easy to see why they were voted the best.



-bLONG

New Orleans Part 2 of 10 (Lüke)

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Many who are familiar with celebrity chefs will recognize the name: John Besh. A Southern boy, Besh is a well-known chef throughout the city, owning several restaurants. We decided on Lüke for our first dinner. According to the website, it is Besh' "homage to the grand old Franco-German brasseries that once reigned in New Orleans."

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We made reservations for 5:30 and we're greeted and seated promptly upon arrival. Our waiter was Lee, who had been on vacation for a little while. It showed. More on that later. I decided to order the nightly 3-course pri-fixe special. My wife decided to choose her own. First off for me was seafood gumbo á la Creole. The gumbo itself had good flavor, but some of the rice was burnt and one of the oysters had a lot of grit.

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My wife ordered the Shrimp Bisque. It was very flavorful and enjoyable. With a velvety consistency.

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For my entree I had the navarin d'agneau braised lamb with gnocchi and Covey Rise vegetables. I had never had braised lamb before. It was okay, but needed more seasonings. Unfortunately, the stars of the dish were the supporting cast: the gnocchi and vegetables.

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My wife had the shrimp farci (with blood orange hollandaise, crabmeat and shrimp). It was very enjoyable with the hollandaise really elevating the dish.










Again, my meal came with 3 courses. We were both quite satiated at this point, but dessert came with the meal. The original bread pudding that came out had a hair on it. Immediately it was sent back to the kitchen. The manager apologized, and brought out two new desserts! TWO! We could only pick at each of them. The first was a “gateau basque” vanilla cake with blackberries and crème fraiche. We were split on this one; I enjoyed it, while my wife thought it was kind of boring for a dessert. The second dessert we were brought was a chocolate pot de creme. It was very enjoyable with some chocolate pieces on top adding to the texture play.

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View inside the kitchen
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As I mentioned earlier, we would come back to our waiter. Lee, though nice, would come by every 2 minutes to make sure everything was okay. The service was thus suffocating at best. We kept getting interrupted in the middle of our conversations due to him "checking up" on us. 

The food at Lüke was decent, nothing that made me say WOW! But it seems like a good restaurant. Perhaps the service problems we had was related to Lee only, but it put a bad taste in our mouth for the restaurant. Maybe next time we're in NOLA, we'll give John Besh another chance. (We hear that Restaurant August is AMAZING!)

-bLONG