Marigny Brasserie

For one of our last collective summer food blogs; Rachel, Dana, Jolie, and I decided to splurge and tried a fancier restaurant than our budgets usually allow so Friday we went to Marigny Brasserie. I was personally very excited about the outing. I looked forward to it all week. I confess that by the time I had gotten to the restaurant I knew exactly what I wanted having read the menu repeatedly online (usually while I was at work, sitting in my cubicle and eating my standard turkey sandwich lunch). I had built Marigny Brasserie up in my mind but even in spite of that, the overall dining experience proved to be hit and miss (especially considering how much they were charging for the food, entrées ranged from $25-35 and the sandwiches were around $15). One of the things that we were struck by was the lackluster service for the decidedly upscale atmosphere of the restaurant. Supposedly there was a special and a Fish of the Day, but our waitress never informed us of them. Also, when we were given menus, only two of us got dinner menus while the other two got the lunch menus and so we played musical menus. One of the high notes of the meal was the bread and basil butter we were given, which we ravenously scarfed down before anyone could whip out a camera.

Everyone except for Rachel abstained from a small plate.She got a strawberry walnut spinach salad with chunks of blue cheese. Based on her reports and the bite I stole, I surmised that it was relatively delicious and quite refreshing. The strawberries were sweet and plentiful.

Rachel and I enjoyed our pricier entrées, while Jolie and Dana’s more moderately priced sandwiches left a lot to be desired. I ordered the blackened redfish accompanied by what was touted as a “shaved fennel apple salad with cider lemongrass vinaigrette” on top of the fish, which rested on a base of shrimp jamabalaya drizzled with creole tomato sauce. The apple salad just tasted like a bunch of apple bits, the fish and jambalaya were very flavorful with the perfect amount of spicy kick when eaten together with a bit of the tomato sauce. My only complaint was the fact that the presentation of the dish, while aesthetic, rendered eating the towering mass much more awkward than necessary.

(Also, please note that I was the only one with enough balls to sport the headband.)

Rachel had the rich and delicious Eggplant-Forest Mushroom Lasagne which was covered in a roasted garlic bechamel, spinach sauté, and shallot preserves.

Jolie ordered the soft-shelled crab po’ boy that turned out to be pretty average. There was a classy sauce (herb aioli) that was used in place of the traditional mayo, which might have been the only one of the po’ boy’s redeeming qualities. The crab itself was soggy and a little cold.

Dana’s Wild Blue Burger was a big disappointment. Sloppy and terribly greasy, this burger did not deliver on the delicious promise made by its description. The burger seemed like a safe bet with blue cheese and applewood smoked bacon; however, it fell far short of Dana’s expectations.

Both Dana’s and Jolie’s sandwiches came with “fries” which turned out to be 3 thick potato wedges. These fries were determined to be inferior to their shoestring counterparts. When the waitress boxed up Dana’s half-eaten burger, she threw out Dana’s last bite of fry, greatly distressing Dana.

As the evening progressed the surrounding tables grew louder and rowdier. I’ll give Marigny Brasserie the benefit of the doubt that they make better drinks than they do food. We chose not to imbibe so as to minimize our bill, but the drinks sounded very tempting.

Considering the myriad of other restaurants the city has to offer, chances are that you won’t get the most bang for your buck at Marigny Brasserie in spite of its otherwise pleasant ambiance.