Deanie’s

Sunday, January 22, 2023

In 2019, our boys took an eating trip to New Orleans and had a wonderful meal at Deanie’s. I think Alexander had a mountain of fried catfish and Benjamin had the dinner for six (or something like that). They raved about the place and Keith and I tried it out during our eating trip later that same year.

Keith was working today, because it was supposed to be rainy. It was drizzly for a bit of the morning. I was reading menus for all the restaurants in the area and shouting out possibilities. At one point, he asked about lunch. I responded that I was working on it (I thought the restaurant possibilities I was giving him was a pretty significant clue). After several hours of reading and suggesting, and of him working, I asked if he was ever going to pick something so we could eat (It was 2pm and I was on the edge of hangry). He said, “Oh. I thought you were looking for somewhere for dinner.”

Huh? We were just going to not eat until dinner? What kind of a really bad eating trip is this? I said no, please let me eat. He picked Deanie’s Seafood, which is just a couple of blocks away. (We were previously at the one in the French Quarter. We are officially in Uptown, which is next to the Garden District.) I had several choices of not fish at Deanie’s and was ready to eat!

You get boiled potatoes when you sit down at Deanie’s. They are boiled in the seasonings that they use to boil seafood and I found them too seafoody last time, but not this time. They were quite tasty and I had one. I had my eye on the BBQ shrimp pasta. It said it had a creamy New Orleans BBQ sauce. When you are talking about a pasta sauce and you say creamy, I think cream-y. But cream with BBQ sauce confused me. It could be a thing. Why not? I looked up a recipe while waiting for Keith. It had bacon, shallots, garlic, onion, hot sauce, spicy BBQ sauce, and cream. Huh. No real way to know if I was going to like it without trying it. I asked our waitress, Mary, about it. She said it was not BBQ sauce and she had no idea why it was called that. She said it was a butter sauce with sugar. Huh. That didn’t sound more appealing or make that much more sense, but I just went ahead and ordered it. I will admit to being strongly influenced by not wanting to report I had a burger or a chicken sandwich here. I was momentarily swayed to having a shrimp po’boy when I walked by one waiting to be served. I very much think we might have to go back to try that there.

Anyway, it was good! It was medium shell (with ridges. I think that gives it a different name) pasta that was done just right – nicely firm. There were a LOT of shrimp, most of which were big enough to want to eat in two bites. I thought they would be smaller. The sauce had a color that I thought would make a BBQ sauce and cream mixture possible. There wasn’t really any heat, so it did not have the same ingredients as the recipe I read. The sauce was a little sweet (BBQ?), but mostly just a mild. creamy sauce. They served it with a spoon (I do not like spoons. Too much touching my lips and tickling) to get all the sauce. There was a hearty topping of parmesan cheese – enough to give it added texture as well as flavor. The toasted bread served with it was dense and crisp and had plenty of butter. It paired perfectly with the pasta. I liked the meal, and there was plenty to bring some home for a snack next time I am hungry. (We had macaroni and cheese for breakfast today – still terrific!)

Keith surprised me by not even considering the many fried items that we knew came in mountain sizes. He went for BBQ shrimp and grits. Mary said our meals would be similar; his would just have grits instead of pasta. I am not a fan of grits, even though Keith tries to get me to eat them every time he orders them by saying they taste like smushy popcorn. What part of smushy popcorn does he think I am going to like? I don’t even like spoons. His review: [Keith here…] It was a large bowl of grits, covered in shrimp, and a creamy sauce with creole seasonings and butter. My first thought upon seeing it was disappointment–too much sauce. But the balance turned out just right. I loved it. I’ve had shrimp and grits at many restaurants, and this was definitely one of the favorites. I tasted Barbara’s pasta and it didn’t taste the same at all, despite the expectation from Mary’s comment. Hers was much milder than mine (maybe because of all the parmesan).

I stopped eating my meal when there was still enough to take some home, because I wanted to get in on dessert. There was a coconut custard bread pudding with hazel creme anglaise that looked very promising. I convinced Keith to order it (why would he need convincing? And he thought we weren’t going to eat until dinner? Oh my God, he is an alien) (I just went over and whisper-asked him if he was an alien. He said no, BUT HE WOULD, WOULDN’T HE, if he was an alien. Then I made him answer difficult questions and he seems to check out. But…hmm…) and it was incredible. My first taste I thought it was going to be too squishy, but it wasn’t it. It was more like a cake soaked in stuff than a bread pudding. The sauce was lick-the-plate delicious, but the winning bit was the generous portion of almond slices covering the whole thing. What a great taste and texture added to cake soaked in something sweet and delicious, covered in something sweet and delicious.

Oh, no. Daniel said I should strive to only use each adjective once per review. I did not do that at all. Darn. Tomorrow I will be more creative.

While I was reading menus, I looked at a place called Houston’s, which we walked past last night. It was a little higher priced than I would normally go for (even on vacation), but more interesting than their menu were their rules. No cells phones in the dining room. (That seems fair.) Children are allowed, but vocalizing children should be calmed outside of the dining room; no seating for children is provided and strollers are not permitted. Tank top, flip flops, sports attire are not permitted. Reservations should be for two people, although some tables can accommodate 4. Larger parties will not be served. If large parties book several reservations hoping to be together, they will not be served. Adjustment to the meals will be considered, but are usually not permitted. I thought it was pretty great. They are putting it out there – if you don’t want to play by their rules, don’t come.

Keith forgot his hearing aid charging cable, so we went to Walgreens to buy a new one. I bought Munch bars (the BEST candy), Red Vines (the BEST licorice), hot tamales, and milk duds (buy 3/$5). I found Honey Nut Cheerios for only $4 (just in case he goes nuts again and doesn’t want to eat until dinner). They had no milk. While we were wandering around, a homeless person (self-identified) asked for some money. We said we had no cash (fact) (Deanie’s credit card internet went out and we literally had to use all the cash we had to pay). He asked if we would buy him something. There I was -arms full of a big box of cereal and candy – not knowing what to say. I want to help everyone, all the time, but I have read not to give to those asking – to go through agencies helping people. I said no, and he walked away. I think it is hard.

We went to another convenience store and got milk and Cajun pie. It was like a spicy little meat pasty. Nice.