Is it worth it?
Originally started in Texas, this Pappadeux's took over where Ralph n Kacoo's stood off 280. They have been there at that location for over ten years now so they must be doing something right. The restaurant is big and I mean big. The main dining room is spacious with many tables. The adjacent room is filled entirely with a bar for patrons to just hang out, relax and watch some tv. There's also many places "outside" that you can chill as you wait for your table or just eat outside (when it's warm enough).
I am aware of how "busy" PSK can be since it's very popular, and we were a 9 top so we made a reservation for 7p especially since it was a Friday night. It was a little annonying that even with our entire party present we weren't seated till about 740.
Our server Nylah took our drink orders almost immediately. She went around the table like a pro explaining the specials and offering apps. Our water and teas arrived almost instantly but those of us who got alcohol had to wait a little longer and surprisingly Sarah's Mango lemonade took the longest.
Our mozzarella cheese sticks arrived quickly as well. These were some large cheesesticks and stacked presentation was nice. The marinara sauce was also nice... not overly tart.
Our party ordered a variety of dishes: Shrimp & Grits, Shrimp Brochette, Pasta Mardi Gras, Redfish Pontchartrain, Blackened Catfish Opelous, Crispy Salmon, Trout & Crab, and seafood gumbo.
I was expecting a long wait since we were a 9 top, but our entrees arrived in a reasonable amount of time except Sarah's Crispy Salmon. I had to ask Nylah who checked on the progress. Some of us were almost done by the time Sarah got her Salmon.
I can only comment on the dishes I was able to sample. The seafood gumbo was disappointing. When you're at a place that's supposed to elevate your dining, PSK fell a little short. Why am I holding PSK up a couple of notches? Because their prices are also a couple notches higher.
I can understand that it's a little challenging when you want to bring out 8 entrees (remember Sarah didn't get hers for awhile after ours) at the same time. Thus my Blackened catfish Opelousas was not as warm as I would've liked it to be when it arrived. The flavor however made up for it. The catfish was blackened nicely. It was covered with crab meat and mussels and served with dirty rice. Yom Yom Yom. It would've been perfect if my entree was served with (or we had some) a biscuit or bread to compliment my sauce (more on this later). My version of exceptional dirty rice leans on the edge of moist to almost dry with the rice almost steaming. This dirty rice was almost too dry albeit it had the right amount of "meat" in it.
Tammy's Pasta Mardi Gras was a little warmer than mine. The tomato cream sauce was excellent. The large jumbo shrimp and andouille sausage atop the bed of linguine made a beautiful presentation. It came with some lightly toasted bread.
Matthew's Shrimp Brochette also looked beautiful. The grilled shrimp wrapped with bacon with monterey jack cheese was on par with what I was expecting. His dirty rice was as disappointing as mine.
Everyone else seemed to enjoy their entrees and most of us enjoyed it enough to make to go boxes for later. It's been a few years since I've been to this or any other Pappadeaux's but I seemed to remember that they provided a complimentary starch such as bread or biscuit, but tonight was not the case. It perturbs me that an elevated dining restaurant like PSK doesn't do this. Come on PSK. In this market and with today's fussy foodies, if you're charging $18 for a bowl of gumbo, you can provide patrons with some complimentary bread and butter. Otherwise, Walk-Ons (and others) are nearby with a solid comparative line up.
It was a boisterous and busy Friday dinner crowd which made conversation a little challenging when talking across a 9 top, but that was expected and we had a good time. Nylah was attentive, superb and was just all around in a good mood! When you're dining at this level, there's a certain amount of preconceived expectations and after tonight, there was some room for improvement. read more