Commander’s Palace has (almost) met its match
Last night we took a trek across the Ponchartrain causeway (over 23 miles of bridge) to En Provence, the last of our John Besh restaurant experiences. And we certainly left the best for last.
En Provence is more than a little out-of-the-way, but it’s certainly worth the trip. It’s a little restaurant off in the boonies in Lacombe, LA, with the look and feel of a rustic French farmhouse. Besh is raising his own pigs and chickens in the back, in addition to raised gardens that provide herbs and veggies for the kitchen.
There’s quite a story behind this restaurant, but I’ll leave it for others to tell: http://www.simonesez.com/laprovence_general.shtml. However I will tell you about eating there. In fact, I can sum the experience up in one word: fantastic.
It didn’t hurt that the evening started out with complimentary glasses of champagne, to celebrate our 20th anniversary. And it only got better from there.
Besh has kept many of the staff that were at the restaurant before he bought it in 2007, including Joyce, who has been the “mother” of the restaurant for 20-some years. She’s not a hostess in the traditional, show-you-to-your-seat way; in fact, there are other people who do that, but she is the hostess in the welcoming, friendly sense. The night we were there, she visited with every table, and made us, at least feel as though we were her personal guests in her home. She even wrote us a poem–which I intend to frame–celebrating our anniversary.
The food, service, and atmosphere has everything that was lacking at Restaurant August and Luke. It is warm, friendly, and welcoming. You feel as though everyone is really glad that you, personally, are there, and that you, personally, matter. The food was excellent; Besh has a way with salads, but the blue cheese-buttermilk dressing here was, well, to die for. I had a trio of “Wild game” including boar, venison, and house-made pheasant sausage, and I couldn’t decide which of the three I liked better, although the venison stew may have edged out the others by a hair. DH had the same thing, so I wasn’t able to compare my dinner to his. I had a cheese plate for dessert; although not something that showcases anyone’s art, it was delicious and exactly what I wanted.
And it doesn’t hurt that the prices are about half of what they are in the city.
In fact, En Provence comes pretty darn close to Commander’s Palace on my list of great restaurant experiences. Now if it can just keep up to this standard for 40 years, as CP has done, I may have a tie.
Tags: Besh, En Provence, food, New Orleans, restaurant review