Rickey's Bar and Grill - Bay St. Louis, Mississippi

Rickey’s Bar and Grill

Highways 90 and 603

Zuppardo’s Plaza

Bay St. Louis, Mississippi

228-463-0540

Tuesday-Thursday: 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. and 5-8 p.m.

Friday: 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. and 5-9 p.m.

Saturday: 11 a.m. – 9 p.m.

Closed Sunday and Monday

By Jane Feehan

O.K., so it’s in a gloomy shopping plaza and has a sign that’s pretty hard to read unless you’re just about on top of it, but the food belies the location and low-key ambiance of Rickey’s. It’s a Bay St. Louis favorite.

The expansive menu reminds one of a diner – most of us know of at least one where the eating is good. It’s really good here – and it’s several notches above a diner. I’ve been here a few times. Best to go at slightly off hours; it’s a busy place. I’ve dined on seafood and salads before and on the latest visit sampled a fried shrimp po-boy ($9.95). Perhaps one of the best I’ve had along the Gulf Coast, this po-boy was swamped in shrimp. Not just falling off the bread – they were overflowing the entire plate. The shrimp were fresh and fried with a tasty batter in clean oil.

Rickey’s serves pasta, catfish, redfish, oysters, ribeye or porterhouse steaks, filet mignon, crab and shrimp au gratin (dinners average $20), hamburgers (a local favorite), an array of traditional sandwiches, and po-boys with roast beef, crawfish and jalapeño and on and on …. Hungry?

Rickey’s is casual and serves a full bar. Service: good. © 2010 Jane Feehan All rights reserved.

Farradday's at Isle of Capri Hotel and Casino - Biloxi, Mississippi

Farradday’s
Isle of Capri Hotel and Casino
151 Beach Blvd.
Biloxi, MS
1-800-The-Isle
228-436-8749
Dinner: Sunday-Thursday 5-10 p.m.
Friday and Saturday 5 – 11 p.m.
http://biloxi.isleofcapricasinos.com/dining-farradday.aspx


By Jane Feehan

Before and right after Hurricane Katrina, Farraddy’s occupied a spot in the Isle of Capri overlooking the water – a great vista with a friendly bar. Since then, it’s moved to another part of the hotel without a view but that can be forgiven. The staff tries to please here and the food is good. Lots of locals dine at Farradday’s for special occasions.

On my last visit I supped on seafood: Wahoo interestingly wrapped in strips of paper thin potato and set atop a bed of fresh asparagus - good. I passed on a salad this time; salads here are oversized - enough for two. If you’re tempted by bread, Farradday’s delivers some tasty morsels in three different varieties. Nice start to a meal.

I usually order garlic mashed potatoes and wish I had stuck to that routine. Instead I asked for the sweet potato casserole. It was overloaded with chopped pecans; I couldn’t find the potatoes for the nuts. Forget that dish. I’ll also pass on their southern dessert concept of fried strawberries in a Melba sauce. The berries were juicy but the batter was crusted in far too much sugar - solid white - and topped with so-so whipped cream. This dish may have been much better with an undressed batter coating.

A few stumbles at Farradday’s on this visit but I’ll be back. The food is usually good and the service is terrific. They serve steaks, prime rib, chicken, pork, and lobster ($17-35) as well as a great choice of appetizers (about $10-14) to make an entire meal from. Diners are welcome at their very attractive granite-topped bar.

If you self park, don’t get turned off by the dirty garage lobby and elevators. Otherwise valet park. There’s no excuse for dirty floors and carpet as a way to greet clientel. Clean it already, Isle of Capri, or paint the walls and replace the carpet. Geesh. It's like your customers don't matter. © 2010 Jane Feehan All rights reserved.

MiLa - New Orleans CBD

MiLa (in Renaissance Pere Marquette Hotel)
817 Common Street
New Orleans, LA 70112
504-412-2580
Lunch: Monday-Friday 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Dinner: Monday-Saturday 5:30 -10 p.m.
http://www.milaneworleans.com/

By Jane Feehan

The cuisines of Mississippi and Louisiana, as interpreted by married chefs Slade Rushing and Allsion Vines Rushing, are presented at their New Orleans restaurant, MiLa, across the street from the Roosevelt Hotel.

With an accent on fresh ingredients – direct from a nearby farm – the chefs successfully blend their home states’ cookery with a French touch. There’s something for any palate - rack of lamb, pan roasted grouper, New Orleans barbequed lobster, crispy skinned red snapper, sweet potato pappardelle and more. I chose cream of parsnip soup as a starter. While I was enjoying that, the server brought, complimentary from the chefs, the “Muse Trio,” of the evening. This night it was three pieces of shrimp, one wrapped in a basil leaf, another dipped in a light tempura and the third in a mild sauce. The salad, with roasted sunflower seeds, was delicately flavored with a hint of lemon, perfect for most any entrée. My choice for a main course was Roasted Young French Chicken, with pickled chantrelles (a wild mushroom), fingerling potato, cabbage, and Foie Gras emulsion. I don’t remember ever eating food this good in Mississippi … nor anywhere in the Louisiana countryside.

Take two parts creativity, mix with three parts fresh ingredients and you get MiLa, a deliciously sophisticated dining experience. Service: excellent. Good selection of wines and single malt scotches.© 2010 Jane Feehan. All rights reserved.

Jocelyn's - Ocean Springs Mississippi

Jocelyn's
1608 Bienville Rd. (Access via Highway 90 East)
Ocean Springs, Mississippi
228-875-1925
Dinner: Thursday – 5 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Friday and Saturday – 5 p.m. – Until

By Jane Feehan

Jocelyn’s is a Mississippi Coast gem, and as her tag line says, “Like this, no place.” It’s a charming eatery run by a family working together in the kitchen, dining room and bar. Twelve or so tables fill up quickly Thursday, Friday and Saturday, the only nights it's open.

The food isn’t fancy but it’s good. Jocelyn serves mostly entrees from the sea: soft shell crabs, oysters, trout, shrimp, fresh catch of the day, seafood gumbo. If not seafood, there’s chicken livers shish kebob, calves liver, rib eye steaks and chicken. When I was there last, rack of lamb was a featured special. I tried lemon fish topped with crab meat au gratin and a salad with their homemade Roquefort dressing, which needed more Roquefort. Most of their deserts are homemade – pecan pie, rum pie, bread pudding. I settled on a homemade brownie with ice cream.

Two couples sitting next to me raved about their orders of fried soft shell crabs - a solid endorsement coming from native New Orleanians.

Jocelyn Mayfield works the dining room with help from her sister and granddaughter. Her son tends bar and delivers cocktails and wine to tables while his dad puts the meals together under Jocelyn’s direction and planning. She’s owned the restaurant for 28 years after working at another in Ocean Springs for decades. If she’s not busy, Jocelyn loves to tell her story. Bring cash; CREDIT CARDS NOT ACCEPTED. Reservations recommended. Casual or for special occasions.© 2009

Copeland's of New Orleans - Slidell, Louisiana (New Orleans suburb)

Copeland’s of New Orleans
1337 Gause Blvd.
Slidell, LA 70458
985-643-0001
Sunday-Thursday: 10 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Friday and Saturday: 11 a.m.-11 p.m.
http://www.copelandsofneworleans.com/

By Jane Feehan

After driving west along I-10 from Biloxi and seeing a sign of crawfish harvesting season - scores of empty vehicles parked off the highway - I developed a taste for crawfish etouffee, something that Copeland’s in Slidell serves.

Menus with pictures of dishes tend to get this diner nervous; it screams chain restaurant and mediocrity (Denny’s maybe?). No worries at this Copeland’s, one of several in six states.

The food, if not the atmosphere presided over by loud canned rock music, is good. I wanted to sample a few things, easy to do here with a good lineup of hot and cold tasting plates ($6-$9). Crawfish etouffee: tasty but not warm enough. I should have returned it. I had more luck with a flavorful Crabmeat Ravioli, served at the same time and at the right temperature with a white sauce. Another tasting dish, Apple Almond Bleu Salad, was an excellent combination of greens, chopped apples, toasted almonds, crumbled bleu cheese, red onion, and sun dried tomatoes, doused lightly with honey vinaigrette.

Copeland’s offers a wide variety of desserts, headlined by their house-made cheesecakes. This East Coast native was a bit turned off by the thick, sugary crust of their cheesecake. They do offer a New York style version, not house made, which has little, if no crust.

This eatery has something for everyone: steaks, pasta, chicken, po-boys, burgers and brunch items at reasonable prices. There's also a large full service bar for socializing. Service: marginal. © 2010 Jane Feehan. All rights reserved.
Tags: slidell restaurants, dining in Slidell

The Palace Cafe New Orleans French Quarter

Palace Café
605 Canal Street
New Orleans, LA
504-523-1661
Lunch: Mon-Sat – 11:30 a.m. -2:30 p.m.
Sunday Brunch: 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
Dinner nightly: 5:30 p.m. until
http://www.palacecafe.com/

By Jane Feehan

Another Brennan restaurant, the Palace Café (located between Chartres and Royal streets), applies the well-known family formula for good food and attentive service to create a pleasurable dining experience.

One of their dishes, Crabmeat Cheesecake, is a fusion of seafood with a dessert motif resulting in a delicious appetizer topped with three fat crab claws and a savory meunière sauce. A small slice is rich enough for two – or as a meal with a salad for one.

That wonderful sauce reappears in several of their dishes including Catfish Pecan, which comes with spiced pecans and popcorn rice and was delicious even to this diner who doesn’t eat catfish. Another entrée topped with the Palace Café signature meunière, Shrimp Tchefuncte, is a sophisticated, scrumptious departure from other shrimp feasts. Desserts are made in house, including praline ice cream served in a thin shell of baked pecan flour and sugar - a cool and creamy end-of-meal winner.

Steaks, chicken, pork, pasta, salads, and gumbo are also available for both lunch (entrées $13-18) and dinner (entrées $17-$32). It gets busy here especially at night so reservations are recommended. Sidewalk dining available at this multi-level restaurant. Dress: “upscale casual.” © Jane Feehan All rights reserved.

The Dock - Gulfport, Mississippi

The Dock
Bar and Grill
12347 Seaway Rd.
Gulfport, MS 39503
228-276-1500
Open Wednesday-Sunday: 11 a.m. until close
http://www.thedockgulfport.com/

By Jane Feehan

Three bars and a large deck attract the youngish crowd to The Dock in Gulfport. With its waterside location (Gulfport Lake) reggae music, and tropical motif, it’s reminiscent of places in Fort Lauderdale frequented by the bathing-suit-attired.

There’s probably a reason for that. The Dock’s proprietor, John Dane III, is president and CEO of Gulfport-based Trinity Yachts, a popular boat manufacturer among the high-end boat enthusiasts in Fort Lauderdale. No doubt he spends time there.

The menu is good, the food isn’t bad and there’s plenty of room for large groups – and an occasional concert; the Marshall Tucker Band was a recent headliner. There’s lots of room for a variety of day time activities, including volleyball and people watching.

A fried grouper basket was unexpectedly flavorsome: three pieces of fish with a light batter, several jalapeño hushpuppies - chewier than they should have been but not a turnoff - a generous portion of better- than-average fries and a side of ho-hum cole slaw made for one huge meal - lots of food for about $11. Large burgers with a variety of toppings are also worth the visit. The Dock serves soups and salads, po-boys and appetizer items that could also serve as main courses. Fried platters, including redfish, oysters or shrimp and party platters for $21 round out the offerings.

Docks, of course, available for boaters. Service: good. 2010 Jane Feehan. All rights reserved.

Leidenheimer's Bread - Toast of New Orleans

G. H. Leidenheimer Baking Company
1501 Simon Bolivar Ave.
New Orleans, LA 70113
504-525-1575
www.leidenheimer.com

By Jane Feehan

Antoine’s, Commander’s Palace, Redfish Grill each have something in common with Johnny’s Po-Boys, Gumbo Shop, Parkway Bakery and many more restaurants in New Orleans: Leidenheimer’s bread.

Whether it’s delivered to the table in a bread basket or served as the edible envelope of a po-boy or muffaletta sandwich, Leidenheimer’s delicious bread plays an important role in the New Orleans food scene. G.H. Leidenheimer came from Germany to New Orleans and opened a bakery in 1896. Today, the company is a major supplier of bread to the city’s most popular restaurants, thus helping to define Crescent City cuisine.

Leidenheimer’s doesn’t sell retail but if you have a need for a minimum of 10 French bread loaves, they’ll sell it to you from their bakery on Simon Bolivar Avenue.©2010 Jane Feehan All rights reserved.