What it's like to eat at Emeril's
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Trout almondine at Emeril's. Photo: Chelsea Brasted/Axios
Emeril's flagship restaurant finally added Friday lunch to the calendar this fall, which means diners can now try out the experience at a slight discount.
Why it matters: A post-pandemic switch to tasting menus elevated the classic New Orleans restaurant into a new level of elegance, and it's worth seeing for yourself.
Catch up quick: When Emeril's reopened after the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot had changed, including the installation of the celebrity chef's son, E.J. Lagasse, in the kitchen.
- One of the changes the younger Lagasse spearheaded was the tasting menu shift.
- But the restaurant also underwent a gorgeous renovation, adding a carve-out for a wine bar with its own a la carte menu.
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The big picture: Tasting menus aren't new. But, when a chef does one right, it can make every dining experience feel novel.
- The concept presents some set number of typically-small courses and allows the chef to tailor the meal more artfully.
- That can mean, like at Emeril's, delicate flavors and tweezer food-presentations.
- But it can also mean communal dining, where a conversation with strangers is as much a part of the meal as a giant pot of gumbo, like at Melissa Martin's Mosquito Supper Club.
Between the lines: In this age of rising costs, tasting menus also create stability for a restaurant staff by taking most of the guesswork out of your customers' orders.
By the numbers: At Emeril's, dinner includes six courses for $215. An optional wine pairing is another $150.
- Lunch is priced at $125 for four courses.
- Diners can make choices between two options for some of the courses, which can up the price. On our visit, for example, I opted for a black truffle linguine for the second courses, which tacked on another $45 to the bill. (In a hilariously awkward moment, a sizable chunk of the truffle cracked off as the server shaved it onto my pasta. I wasn't complaining!)
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The vibe: During lunch on a recent Friday, we loved eying the ballet-like precision in the pristine Emeril's kitchen, which you can see through the wall of floor-to-ceiling windows.
- The dining room was all warm, wooden paneling that undulated across the ceiling, booths like half-moons and mostly quiet tables ogling each course … and the champagne cart that coasted throughout the room.
- The meal began with strips of toro tuna across boudin rice with a beautifully light hint of wasabi.
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- From there, it was nonstop showstoppers, like an oyster stew with Herbsaint overtop tapioca balls, a trout almondine that looked as gorgeous as it tasted, and the classic Emeril's beef daube glacé, with a smoky char and crunchy salt crystals on top.
- It ended with a banana cream pie that, truth be told, I had my doubts about because of the combination of mint with banana, chocolate and caramel, but it worked together effortlessly.
To close the meal, we each received a printed copy of everything we ordered as a keepsake menu, which was wrapped in a branded vellum envelope.
- It was a sweet, elegant moment just as thoughtful as the rest of the service had been.
The bottom line: It's not every Friday I can afford to spare nearly three hours for lunch, let alone the actual cost of the experience. But for the right out-of-town guest or celebration, I'd happily return.
Go deeper: With 34, Emeril Lagasse brings his heritage to New Orleans