Mardi Gras Grill

I ate a whole basket of battered and deep-fried pickles.

I didn’t mean to. I certainly didn’t start dinner Thursday night with such a thoroughly unhealthy intention. I didn’t even harbor much of an appetite and had no plans to blog about the meal. (Then again, when has lack of hunger ever prevented me from eating? Plus, it's so rare that I actually get any kind of hunger pangs!)

CabbageLover and I went to Mardi Gras Grill for boiled crawfish. (Boiled crawfish is one of my favorite things about living in Houston.) It was my third time at this joint. The first visit last year resulted in a lame, overpriced experience, when I mistakenly ordered a bland-tasting, unsatisfying entree of crab-stuffed shrimp. I remember leaving and thinking: I would’ve been so much happier with a Sourdough Jack or some Popeye’s Chicken. The second time I went, I was joined by a different crew, including LexingtonNative. We got a bunch of wonderfully seasoned crawfish and a few appetizers, among them LexingtonNative’s choice of fried pickle slices. Yum! She grew up eating the delicacy in Kentucky.

So this time, I knew what to get. CabbageLover and I started with a basket of pickles and two pounds of crawfish. We got two small red potatoes and two tiny pieces of corn on the cob with our crawfish. (I wish they’d give you more veggies, but I guess they don’t want you filling up on the cheap filler.) The pickles arrived first, with a mildly herbaceous buttermilk sauce (um, watery Ranch dressing, perhaps?). Wow! Crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside and not a bit oily – even better than last time! Instantly I knew these pickles would become my next food obsession. As we neared the end of our two pounds of crawfish, I proposed another pound. Then we eyed the empty pickle basket. We wanted more, but could we, in good conscience, continue this deep-fried mania?

Of course. We caved and asked for a half order. Well, Mardi Gras Grill does not do half orders, we learned, so we got a regular, full order. CabbageLover mumbled something about bringing the leftovers home, but we polished them off completely. I bet they are fantastic on a burger.

I am definitely going for fried pickles in Lexington!

menu at pesce

on monday night, my friend ellie turned a year older. and she had a small celebration (there were four of us). she wanted to eat at pesce which is a seafood tapa place in russian hill. pesce is listed as one of the top 100 restaurants by the san francisco chronicle for the past few years. the place is small. we sat in the front half of the restaurant. it was intimate without being cramped even with it's low lighting. the bar sat four. the place probably sits up to fifty or so diners. however i can see that this place gets packed and loud later in the week. the specials were written on squarish chalkboards, giving that fisherman's wharf vibe. however the decor isn't wharf-like at all. it's more... crate and barrel inspired with its dark woods interior. however their separate back room had a splash of lime green.

if you click the menu image, you'll see the items we ordered.

Drinks. i ordered a sazerac (rye whiskey and "five dashes of voodoo") which the waitress said was really strong (it was not and she never found out what kind of rye whiskey was used... didn't taste "top shelf"). i did not try the others' drinks -- a negroni and a blood orange cosmo. they were all pinkish in color including my own (sigh). i don't remember the bottle of wine we had midway. their small selection were mainly italian.

Main. all seven dishes arrived at the same time. my favorite was the smoked salmon bruscheetta. i like the horseradish kick. the baccala was plain but please note i really like cod. i think i'm gratin out. it seems like a huge food trend now to have a gratin something. or perhaps i believe that cheese and seafood don't really go together, especially something like lobster (it's a common place for chinese restaurants to do gratin oysters or lobsters). cheese just overwhelms the mild oily flavors of cod. however the gratin mussels however was not overwhelmed by the cheese. it was fairly good. so what made it different? maybe it's the puttanesca sauce. the grilled yellow tail was yummy. moist and sweet. i swear the green salsa verde on it was cilantro but it's actually artichoke. the grilled sardines was a surprise, tasting more like mackerel. the cioppino which was the night's special (not printed but on the chalkboard) was simple. instead of having every single seafood item in it... it had simply shrimp and mussels. the american italian cruise was tomato-ey and refreshing verus the creamy french bouillabaisse.

Desserts. we ordered two -- a chocolate ricotta pudding and a bread pudding. the bread pudding was nice and crunchy although no as good as ruggles. however the star of the desserts was the ricotta pudding. the ricotta was deep and rich in chocolate, surrounded by blackberries. i wish i could go into detail about the desserts but dining with three women… i barely manage to get a bite.

the night ended with only the four of us sitting around chatting until pesce closed (or they wanted to close. you can see the waitress and the manager sitting behind the bar bored and mumbling to themselves). so would i go back? yes for it's fresh (although small) seafood plates. next time i have to try their lamb shank and squid ink risotto.

for dishes from the evening, click over to this photo set at flickr.