By Betty Epps, Retaurant Critic
Brian Blackledge has taken his success with his jazz bar, Rick's Café Americain, and applied it to his new bistro, simply named Café Americain in the shopping center at the corner of Jefferson and Lobdell.
Brian and family have completely redone the old Tallawah Lounge, a terminally out-of-place hole-in-the-wall, creating a pleasant, airy bistro. All that he kept from the old place was the beautiful old mahogany bar which he refinished.
The best of the daily lunch specials is Wednesday's delicious seafood lasagna with salad and garlic bread ($5.25). Also first rate are Tuesday's chicken and meatball spaghetti and Friday's seafood platter.
The ambitious salad menu is topped by the spinach salad with hot bacon dressing. Even the simple green salad is enhanced by the excellent house dressing, which contains feta and parmesan cheese. The shrimp remoulade is outstanding. The dark, hearty seafood gumbo and the creamy shrimp and corn soups are daily affairs.
The 10-ounce ribeye and the red snapper filet, sauteed in lemon butter, are the regular dinner specials. For dessert, ask for the Hershey pie that Brian's mother makes - a new must for chocoholics.
Blackledge fills a niche in the neighborhood for a handsome, relaxing bar and restaurant for lunch or dinner, with reasonable prices, fine dining and good service. |
