Restaurant Review: The Upperline
The other night I took the wife and a friend out to a place I have not been since well before the levee failure: The Upperline. I was thrilled to observe that seems to have survived and thrived unchanged. The small dining room was festooned with an array of local paintings, photos, and memorabilia that must have exceeded the surface area of actual wall space by a significant amount. The owner, JoAnn Clevenger, was her usual vivacious self as she wandered from table to table engaging the diners in lively conversation. (NOTE: you can click on any of the images in this post to be taken to a larger version with its own independent comment stream. -Loki)
In short order we were escorted to a table in the front dining room of the 1877 town house in which The Upperline delivers its unique offerings. Our server, Jenn B. as I recall, was lively and attentive as she started us off with wine and classic New Orleans coffee and chicory.
The appetizer was Spicy Crispy Oysters St. Claude which disappeared before I could sample them. The rapidity of their demise gave me momentary mental flashes of Carroll’s Walrus and the Carpenter, although the ladies I was with were far easier on the sensibilities. Their reactions to the shellfish were ones of pure culinary bliss, which I take as a good sign. I can only surmise that it rightfully earned its USA Today Top Dish in 2007…
It was also about this point in the meal when the adies and I commented on how nice it was to be someplace that had unobtrusive music rather than blaring it to cover the noise of multiple conversations. It was while we were discussing this that to my pleasure I tuned in on and recognized the sound of a favorite local band of mine, Johnny Sketch and The Dirty Notes! (You hear that, Mark? We were dining to your music!) No wonder this has always been a place where could see just as many hipsters as republicans, and that without any sense of friction.
Then came the main course. I was feeling indulgent and had the Filet Mignon. It came out a perfect medium rare, hot and pink on the inside with a well cooked exterior. The only steak I have had in New Orleans that was on a par with it is the one at the Louisiana Bistro. Serious carnivorous bliss that just melted in my mouth. For those of you reading this from outside our environs we are far from cattle country so really great steak is less common here. In New Orleans it tend to all be about the seafood.
The Garlic Port Sauce was the ideal compliment to the beautifully cooked filet. Rich and flavorful without being incredibly heavy. The simple and classic side dishes, mashed potatoes and fresh green beans rounded out the plate with lovely simplicity.
My lovely wife ordered the Drum Piquant with Hot and Hot Shrimp, which elicited another another round of oohs and ahs. This one was the USA Today Top Dish for 2006. The thing I remember most about this one is my lovely wife looking up at me and saying, ‘this is the BEST cornbread I’ve ever had!”
The minute you land in New Orleans, something wet and dark leaps on you and starts humping you like a swamp dog in heat, and the only way to get that aspect of New Orleans off you is to eat it off. That means beignets and crawfish bisque and jambalaya, it means shrimp remoulade, pecan pie, and red beans ‘n rice, it means elegant pompano en papillote, funky filé z’herbes, and raw oysters by the dozen, it means grillades for breakfast, a po-boy with chow-chow at bedtime, and tubs of gumbo in between. It is not unusual for a visitor to the city to gain fifteen pounds in a week - yet the alternative is a whole lot worse. If you don’t eat day and night, if you don’t constantly funnel the indigenous flavors into your bloodstream, then the mystery beast will keep on humping you, and you will feel its sordid presence rubbing against you long after you have left town. In fact, like any sex offender, it can leave permanent psychological scars.
– Tom Robbins, from Jitterbug Perfume
March 30th, 2008 at 5:15 am
We were sooo close to going to Upperline last night. M-I-L wanted to take us out to celebrate wife’s b-day, but we keep putting it off. Ended up putting it off again, m-i-l wasn’t feeling well. I’m going to show them your review when i make my next pitch for going to Upperline.
Also, your dinner shows why it’s always more fun to go out with 3+ people. Table for two is intimate and all, but 3+ is a better dining experience. And that, of course, is what we New Orleanians really want, not intimacy. :-)
March 30th, 2008 at 9:26 am
excellent food porn!
March 30th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
i love upperline!! well, i also have a thing for neighborhood restaurants with good food and friendly service.
loved reading this post Loki!
*went to Gautreau’s on Soniat St. recently.. it was to die for =)
March 30th, 2008 at 6:46 pm
Ooohh, Gautreau’s!! I have not been there in forever. What are the prices, lead ties needed for reservations these days?
Going to start doing more food and music stuff. You’ll still get lots of rants, but as we expand and bring more voices aboard I’m going back to the writing I really enjoy: food and music.
March 30th, 2008 at 7:33 pm
Why is my keyboard all covered in drool?
March 30th, 2008 at 7:53 pm
Because you’ve been in OR too long. Come home soon, I’ll drag you out!
March 30th, 2008 at 9:48 pm
the storm did Gautreau’s a favor. the owner (what a gem of a man) did a great job with the new renovation - it’s lovely.
the prices are very similar to Upperline but the reservations are tough. 2 weeks or more. they are booked everyday, which is a good thing - but, a pain if you’re a last minute dinner person.
keep those food and music posts rolling. =)
*another recent visit.. Rio Mar on S. Peters. OOooooooo =D
April 2nd, 2008 at 8:00 am
For those of you steeped in New Orleans history, you may know that many years ago, Ms. Clevenger’s interest in stained glass led her husband at the time, Max Clevenger, to hang her sign outside their bar, one of the first modern ones on Lower Decatur Street, The Abbey. Very soon there after, he convinced his young protege’, Jim Monoghan, to open one next door, called Molly’s on the Market.
April 2nd, 2008 at 10:40 am
I’ve been dining at the Upperline since the late 1990s. The owner had always been graceful and accommodating until my bad experience during JazzFest in 2001. We had friends in and our party of four was required to put a $50 deposit on our credit card for a reservation, which was okay but sort of threw me. When we arrived our reservation was honored and we were seated at a great table (I have never had a bad table in Upperline). The bad part began after we ordered some drinks, 3 martinis and a beer. Twenty-five minutes passed without any drinks or waitstaff. We flagged down another waiter who informed us they are out of martini glasses and it’s going to be another 15 minutes. We landed up getting drinks and beer 30 minutes after ordering, martinis in tumblers.beer without glasses. JoAnn was running past, I got her attention, she was pissed off and said she should have closed for the jazzfest week and will never, ever open during the fest again. Told me I should have known better than to go out to dinner during jazzfest. No apology. Soup arrived, no soup spoons - they were all dirty. Same drill as drinks. Drink soup with tea spoons or wait 30 minutes. “we should have known better” I haven’t been back since 2001. Good food but JoAnn’s breakdown left a bad taste in our mouths.
April 2nd, 2008 at 2:31 pm
Oh. My. Dear. Lordz. My mouth is watering, and I fear I will not be fully sated for another…is it really 4 weeks away???
Jeezus. (*looking for an earlier flight*)
April 2nd, 2008 at 6:21 pm
@Lord David Thanks for that great bit of trivia!