Bardia's New Orleans Cafe, Washington, D.C...Miles From the Crescent City Lean 'n Mean 2 W/O
Written: Dec 10 '03
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Pros: Good coffee
Cons: Poorly executed renditions of tried and true New Orleans favorites
The Bottom Line: Bardia's needs to refresh their menu and their execution. A few classic dishes could promise excellence but fall flat.
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| tombarnes's Full Review: Bardia's New Orleans Cafe |
Adams Morgan has so many different restaurants that it's sometimes hard to tell them apart. The cuisine of one place blends into the next with something close to uniformity in the midst of the eclectc bazaar of restaurants.
The Restaurant
Bardia's New Orleans Cafe is a little hole in the wall of a place. Easily passed by, the tiny restaurant has only about six or seven tables in its narrow dining room. If you are looking for decor, this isn't your place. I had hoped that such an unglamorous place would at least harbor great food, as is often the case.
First Course
The small menu offers a few promising choices, among them Fried Oysters ($7.95), Andouille Sausage Canapes ($5.95) and Popcorn Shrimp. I settled for Catfish Fingers ($5.95). This is hard to ruin, but they managed it somehow. Catfish ought to be firm, delicate and generally white. The five wilted fingers of catfish revealed gray and unappetizing meat beneath their hard, yellowed casings of batter. The remoulade sauce wasn't much better. Remoulade sauce, by nature, should have a sharp tang. This was merely pink mayonnaise.
Gumbo
The standard bearer of Creole cooking is attempted here, Vegetable Gumbo ($3.95), to which chicken, andouille sausage or crawfish may be added ($6.95 chicken or sausage, $7.95, crawfish). While acceptable, the gumbo lacks the subtlety of its Creole cousins. This gumbo needs a trip back to the bayou to find its identity.
Main Course
I should have learned my lesson about ordering po'boy sandwiches outside of New Orleans. In nearly every case, the result has been an abject failure (the notable exception in Washington is Johnny's Half Shell). The ideal po'boy features a crisp, hot, fresh baguette and comes stuffed with plump oysters. These oysters were perfectly round, deep-fried discs and tasted like mud, obviously from the freezer case. The pink mayonnaise (masquerading as remoulade sauce) made its way inside the chalky bun too. Shreds of iceberg lettuce completed the not-so-pretty picture.
I might have been better off with the Chicken Pontalba ($10.95), a fried chicken breast with garlic mushroom sauce. Or perhaps not, as they have added crab and bearnaise sauce for good (or bad) measure.
Having sampled the catfish in finger form, I'd steer clear of the River Catfish as well ($6.95). As an alternative, you could try the Jambalaya (shrimp $12.95 or mixed seafood $14.95). Served with mounds of sticky white rice, the jambalaya is close to what it should be, with a dark, rich roux and lots of crawfish in the seafood version. This is possibly the best item here.
Imbibing
You could indulge in a few cans of Dixie, the New Orleans beer with the old fashioned looking cans, but why? Dixie tastes like bilge water, so you'd be better off with something else.
Service
I had planned to try the beignets, the crunchy yet soft pillows of fried dough for which the Cafe du Monde in New Orleans is famed. I never had the chance, as my bill was brought to me before I had the chance to think about dessert. The waiter was friendly enough but obviously wanted to get home early.
Cost
The best thing about this little restaurant is that their prices are little too. There's hardly anything over $14.00, even at dinner. In Washington, that's hard to find. If only the food were better....
Reservations Etc.
The restaurant is open daily from 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM. They do take most major credit cards. As for parking, you are on your own here. If you can, try to avoid bringing a car to Adams Morgan.
Bardia's New Orleans Cafe
2412 18th Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20009
Tel. 202-234-0420
Here's the link to find the other participants in Sleeper54's Lean 'n Mean II Write-Off...
http://www.epinions.com/content_3600982148
Recommended:
No
Kid Friendliness: Yes
Vegetarian Friendly: Yes
Notes, Tips or Menu Recommendations Very small place, reservations might be necessary in the evening
Best Suited For: Friends
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Epinions.com ID:
tombarnes
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 - Top 100 |
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Member: Thomas Barnes
Location: Fort Lauderdale & Washington, DC
Reviews written: 684
Trusted by: 441 members
About Me:
With Barbara in Miami, 2004
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