Gourmet on the Go

If I ever get mercury poisoning, it will likely be due to the confluence of the oil spill and graduation from law school - I've ramped up consumption of seafood, mostly in various iterations of oysters, over the past month.

But I've also had a chance to branch out a bit.

Here are a few of the foods I've tried in New Orleans for the first time recently:

Softshell Crab at Clancy's

Quail with morels at August

Skate Wing at Elizabeth's

Goat at Domenica

Softshell crab is old hat, no doubt, for Nola folks, but I had been a bit wary until I ate the entire claw off a crab at Clancy's - it was strange, but surprisingly delicious.  Elizabeth's treated me to something I had never even seen on a menu before: skate wing.  Sauteed in lemon butter with capers, the large, market fresh corrugated wing proved pleasantly tasty - I would order it again.

As far as new restaurants go - I also tried Capdeville, a Nola play on an English public house, with a few friends.  Grade?  I'd give it a B for the moment.  The crowd was decidedly young, the location is neat, the prices weren't outrageous, and we all enjoyed our food, but I think the establishment is still getting its sea legs.  The waitstaff needs an anchor, some kind of mature guiding hand.  We were blasted by a high power fan directly overhead until we asked for it to be stopped.  A large group of inordinately loud and rowdy drinkers added to the acoustic nightmare in such a small place...and prevented us from even having a conversation for the first half or our meal.  I also ordered mussels, one of the main appetizers...and they were out of it.