Bill and Brenda’s PlaceBY JOE BONWICH
 This is not to argue for a visit to
Lagniappe’s simply on the basis of a sympathy vote. We
found Bill to be a heck of a cook, tossing in the unusual
ingredient here and performing subtle but memorable
variations on standard preparations there, and offering
portion sizes that more than justified the mean $10-$12
entree prices. There’s a wonderful courtyard for
outside dining, and the Davids have also expanded the inside
capacity of the space (which is probably most famous as the
original location of Arcelia’s) by converting the
former second-floor apartment into several small dining
rooms.Brenda seated us on both of our visits, then
turned around and waited on us the first time (although by
the time of the second trip, Bill had apparently taken pity
on her and gotten her some help in the dining room). To put
diners in a good mood, each meal actually begins with a
lagniappe (sometimes known as an amuse-gueule or
amuse-bouche in other Quarters) — in one case, a
perfectly prepared Italian dumpling called a gnocchi,
which elicited some playful giggles as the waiter tried four
or five pronunciations; on the other, a half-a-jalapeno
stuffed with hamburger and Parmesan, a spicy little tidbit
that presaged Bill’s lack of timidity in the use of
fiery ingredients.The printed menu includes five appetizers and
eight entrees, but these were supplemented on each of our
visits by half again as many daily specials from a
chalkboard. Many items are breaded, fried or both, but Bill
has a nice, delicate touch with both procedures, resulting
in dishes that are neither over-oily nor over-doughy. One of
the nightly specials was fried spinach ($4.95), which seems
to be evolving into a local delicacy, showing up on more and
more menus lately. Fresh whole-leaf spinach is flash-fried,
resulting in a papery texture with concentrated spinach
flavor that’s best cut with a little lemon juice and
also well counterbalanced by fresh ground Parmesan. The
portion served at Lagniappe’s could easily be shared by
two.We also tried the on-menu fried portobello
mushroom ($4.95) and chalkboard-special fried calamari
($4.95), both of which showed only bare insinuations of
breading. The calamari, like the spinach, was perfectly
prepared and came in a massive portion. The portobello
portion was large (six slices of the oversized cap, arranged
in starfish alignment), although not as much so as the
previous examples, and perfectly matched with a gently
curried warm mayo.Another of the evening specials was an
appetizer/salad hybrid called shrimp Louie ($6.95), the
dressing for which Bill must have pulled out of an old bag
of tricks, because I haven’t seen it often lately. It
featured more than a dozen shelled medium shrimp over mixed
greens, served in the classic Louie (or Louis, but
pronounced the way in which locals would never say the name
of our fair city) dressing, which is basically a lightened
cocktail sauce, complete in this case with a fair dose of
horseradish.The concept of “lagniappe” appeared in
several of the entrees, most notably the fish items we
tried. For the tuna steak ($12.95), an approximately 8-ounce
steak was cooked to nicely retain its moisture, but the
little something extra in this case was a topping consisting
of a relish of capers, onion, tomato and slivers of
artichoke heart, juiced up ever so slightly by bits of
jalapeno. Meunière as a preparation generally
means “breaded and served in lemon butter,” but in
the case of Lagniappe’s catfish ($12.95), chef Bill
takes a moderate chance by adding Worcestershire to the
sauce, and the diner reaps the reward.The nightly special of blackened grouper ($12.95)
showed that Bill has an
equally deft hand with this Cajun technique, managing to
cook on a crispy, pepper-spiced coating without overdoing
the heat or actually charring the fish. The New York strip
steak Mudega ($16.95) was cooked exactly to our rare order
and came with a large portion of grilled mushrooms, but
I’m still not exactly sure what prompts the local
affinity for Provel cheese.And one more “little something extra”:
the side dishes. A touch of garlic in the butter on steamed
broccoli. Plump risotto with the perfume and subtle flavor
of saffron. It’s the kind of stuff you’d expect at
higher-end restaurants but that you’re somewhat
surprised to find in the middle level.Only one of our two visits left us with room for
dessert, and luckily we chose to split it on that occasion;
the homemade bread pudding ($3) — flavored with peach,
raisins and the gentle orange essence of a Grand Marnier
sauce — once again illustrated Lagniappe’s
penchant for giant portions.The wine list is short and cheap (under $15) and
features several oddities, including an Austrian red.
Service is pretty folksy: Brenda told us stories while
taking our order, and Bill came out to visit at least twice
both times we were there. The second time, we had a new kid
who seemed to be on his first night out, and he did just
fine as far as staging and promptness, although the Davids
might want to spend a little more time briefing him and
other new employees on preparations and ingredients. He
simply ran back and forth to the kitchen when we asked
questions he couldn’t answer, but when the place starts
to get busy, the gaps will become more noticeable.Right now the place is officially open only until
10 p.m., but Bill says he is hoping to start keeping later
hours on weekend nights if the market demands it. And well
it should, because Lagniappe’s is a lovable little
restaurant, with an incredibly hard-working couple serving
up good value and just enough surprises to please both
simple eaters and more adventurous diners. Take your
cheri or cherie, and let the nice folks do a
little something extra for you.LAGNIAPPE’S 2501 S. Ninth (at Victor) Soulard 771-2090 www.lanyaps.com. Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Entrees: $8.95-$16.95 |
