Louisiana Restaurant

1708 Alicanna Street
Neighborhood - Fells Point
http://www.louisianasrestaurant.com/index.html
410.327.2610

We've passed this restaurant a handful of times and always were curious about what it had to offer. The menu looked appetizing but we never got around to going. Louisiana has gotten a few awards, but looking into the place, it never seems busy. Well, finally last night we made the leap of faith. Actually, our first choice had an hour wait, so we decided to check Louisiana out since we figured that the place would be open. As we had suspected, they didn't have a wait and they welcomed us in. We felt a bit out of place because the group in front of us were all dressed fairly nicely and we were just in jeans and a t-shirt. Plus, we were about half the age of the other folks. Anyway, we walked through the narrow hallway into a massive ballroom dining area. There were many tables, all surrounding a large hanging chandelier. On the other side of the room was an elegant staircase leading to upstairs seating area. We were amazed with the size of the dining area and decor. All fitting the southern creole style.

The menu offers three courses with a few classic dishes scattered within it. Mrs. BTM ordered the Crab Bisque and the Catfish while I ordered the Shrimp and Grits for a starter and the Pork Chops as my main course. We also ordered a bottle of one of our favorites, the 2006 Willamette Valley Vineyard Pinot Noir. The wine came out first and to my surprise, it was corked! Blah! The waitress apologized and brought out another bottle, which tasted delicious. She confirmed that the other bottle was corked and said that was her first time having a corked bottle.

Our starters came out. The Shrimp and Grits were amazing. Nicely seasoned. Probably the best grits that I have had. Mrs. BTM's Bisque was good and savory. I think she liked my dish better than hers. So far so good. Then we waited....and waited...and waited some more. Our waitress said that our food was on its way, but it never showed. After 40 minutes, she came up and apologized. She said that there was something wrong in the kitchen and offered us desserts on the house. *Sigh* After a long wait, our main courses came out. Even with the wait, the dinner did not dissapoint. My pork chops came with an artichoke risotto and apple bourbon demiglace. It was well cooked and the dish was flavorful. The portion was huge and I had left overs. Mrs. BTM's catfish came with collard greens and mashed potatoes. The catfish had a pecan crust and was nicely done. A pretty solid version of this classic. For desserts, I had a chocolate mousse with whip cream and rasberry sauce. It was good, but a bit thick for me. Mrs. BTM had the apple beignets with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Wow. It was warm, sweet, fried...all what you could ask for in a dessert.

Overall, the meal was impressive and left us wanting to try more of the menu. Everything was nicely prepared, well seasoned, and exemplified high quality southern comfort foods. The only hiccup was time. Dinner took just over 3 hours. If we we had all four courses and drinks, then the time would have been appropriate and enjoyable, especially in the ambiance of a grand ballroom. This is probably not a place for casual dinners, but we'll definitely be back, most likely with family. We look forward to another tasty meal.