Acadiana (Chinatown, 01/07/09) - Tunks a Lot!!!

The attorneys from my summer associate class had been itching to have a little reunion dinner – something we used to do much more often, and a tradition which I certainly miss. They are good people, all of them. So on Wednesday night, we decided to go to Acadiana, an upscale New Orleans-style, low-country place in Chinatown (sort of). Acadiana is the most recent addition to Chef Jeff Tunks’ line-up of DC restaurants which also includes DC Coast, Cieba, and, my favorite, Ten Penh. I like his places. Truly. They can all have their off days (one specific visit to Ten Penh with a few colleagues two years ago comes to mind), but they generally serve really good, interesting food at a price that doesn’t completely break the bank. They’re not cheap, but we’re not talking Citronelle or Komi prices here.

Anyway, as we had arrived with a fairly large party, we were seated at a big table in the back of the restaurant. I recognized our waitress immediately as a former bartender from Sorriso. It seems the money of working downtown had drawn her away from my favorite DC haunt. But she was quick to offer us some of the new “Obama Inauguration” drinks that had just been added to the menu, and, intrigued, we ordered. J and I both opted for “The Spirit” – a concoction of Moet, white grape juice and elderflower. It was lovely. Girly and sweet and all that nonsense. But I enjoyed it thoroughly and J said it was “the best drink [she had] ever tasted!”

As we sipped our cocktails, the waitress delivered the taste that is probably most loved by Acadiana regulars – biscuits and honey butter. Now I’ve been to Acadiana many times. We’re probably hitting double digits at this point, given the number of summer associates who like to take us working stiffs to this place for lunch. And I will admit that I am, consistently, more excited for the biscuits than anything else on the menu. The biscuits themselves are soft, always right out of the oven, and sweet and salty with the flavor of buttermilk. But it is the honey (I think?) butter that really puts these puppies over the top. It is rich and gooey, buttery and sweet. In other words – the perfect compliment to the biscuits. I limited myself to one, but I could have easily eaten the whole basket.

Moving to appetizers, I made what was probably the weakest of my decisions that evening. Though the trio of deviled eggs (with caviar) stared me in the face, and the gas station boudin balls whispered in my ear, I’m trying to eat a little healthier. So warm spinach salad it was for me. Now, to be fair, the salad has bacon and macadamia nuts – not exactly the lightest salad on the planet. But the bacon is in the vinaigrette dressing which is conveniently served on the side, so I went very easy on it. The salad was fine – the shitake mushrooms probably standing out most. But there’s just something a little weird to me about a warm salad. It’s like when you pick up a glass of what you think is water and it turns out to be Sprite. The taste isn’t unpleasant; you just don’t expect it.

Luckily, I think that my choice for main courses fit the bill as being both healthy(ish) and incredibly tasty. I went with the roasted grouper, and, I have to tell you, it was really fantastic. To be honest, most fish that I get in restaurants tends to be pretty bland – especially white fish. Most chefs seem so scared to season fish that, on its own, has a nice but very mild flavor. But when I’m out to dinner, I don’t want to just marvel at how good your fish monger must be to get you that great piece of fish. I want to taste something. The grouper was dusted with nice, robust low-country spices, and the texture of the fish was just perfect. I don’t think I’ve had such a good piece of fish in years – and this is coming from someone who is intent on not being that “I love everything” food blogger guy.

As good as the fish was, I think the star of the plate was the oyster stuffing. Lord. As you can (hopefully) see in the picture, the stuffing was served in a hollowed out, baked onion. It includes whole oysters and a truly fantastic stuffing mixture. I can’t begin to tell you what was in it other than parsley and some type of acid (I’m guessing lemon juice), but it was g – o – o – d. The sautéed cauliflower served with the dish added not only a great flavor, but a nice crispy texture which was needed in the otherwise-soft dish.

As for dessert, the waitress brought us a few plates of samples from the kitchen. I don’t know if they were just trying to get rid of them, if it was a special night, or if they give everyone that treatment. I’m sure it was good. I didn’t eat any. I’m trying to be healthy, dammit.

Overall, I’m going to put this Acadiana experience at the top of my Acadiana experiences. The service was great, the drinks were fun and interesting, the food was outstanding and the company couldn’t be beat. The drinks made the experience a little more expensive than originally anticipated, but overall, it was a perfect evening. I’m excited to go back again sometime.