New Orleans Guide: Red Fish Grill
Address | 115 Bourbon St, New Orleans, LA
At the beginning of 2020 just before lockdown, my buddy of 20+ years (we were opening Chefs at Spago Beverley Hills together), happened to be in NYC. We went out for drinks and bites with my wife and had a great time, making plans to head to his neck of the woods, New Orleans, in the near future. Fast forward to 2022 when lockdown was over, we were vaccinated, and some free time opened up, we decided to finally head to New Orleans to explore and meet up with our friend, none other than Red Fish Grill Executive Chef Chris Vazquez. Located in the heart of the French Quarter on Bourbon Street, Red Fish Grill is part of the Ralph Brennan empire. The cuisine is Creole and Chef Vazquez brings unique updates and a fresh forward spin to these classic dishes. For the evening we did a “Chefs Tasting Menu”.
This soup of the day—broccoli— was bright and fresh. It was my wife’s starter but I easily downed half of it, I couldn’t help myself. The stock was excellent.
Alligator Sausage & Seafood Gumbo—Rich dark roux, onion, bell peppers, celery, fresh herbs
A classic, a had to try to alligator sausage and seafood gumbo. I really appreciate the consistency of the sauce of this gumbo. Often gumbo is too heavy and thick for my tastes but this was perfectly balanced and to use my buzzword for this post yet again, it was fresher than some traditional gumbos I’ve had. If you haven’t had alligator, don’t be shy, it tastes great. The sausage was lightly spicey and added a nice kick.
Famous BBQ Oysters—Flash fried, crystal BBQ sauce, housemade blue cheese dressing
This is another signature dish of Red Fish Grill. My wife is pescatarian and really appreciated a take on wings that didn’t involve cauliflower. A New Orleans favorite, the fried oysters were tasty with a nice crisp outer layer. The zippy BBQ sauce and blue cheese dressing made a great flavor combo.
Shrimp Creole—heirloom tomatoes, fennel, mirliton, celery, onion, bell pepper, basil, served over quinoa
Again, as you can see in the photo, this is not your typical shrimp creole. It was prepared in a way that allows the taste of each ingredient to stand out and be appreciated. Served with quinoa rather rice kept the dish a little lighter and brighter.
Wood Grilled Gulf Fish—roasted asparagus, fingerling potatoes, Louisiana crab hollandaise.
At this point in the meal, I was really feeling full and satisfied. Fortunately, the portion sizes were perfect and I had no trouble enjoying this well composed delicious dish. I love the taste of wood grilled fish and this was excellent.
Double Chocolate Bread Pudding—a rich dark & semisweet chocolate bread pudding with white & dark chocolate ganache & chocolate almond bark.
Okay, dessert! Wow. This was everything in the description. Over the top, indulgent, and tasty. Our serve—try to get seated in Ike Jackson’s section!—gave a great show for this dessert (I’ll share on my YouTube channel) which made the experience even better.
