Jacques Imo's New Orleans - The Traveling Locavores

Jacques Imo’s New Orleans originally published on Food and Fond Memories on June 15, 2010 by sandyaxelrod 1 Comment (Edit)

Jacques Imo’s New Orleans

Smiling man in white shirt sitting in restaurant holding up a martini with olives

Cheers!

Steve and I had heard so much about the restaurant Jacques Imo’s when we were in New Orleans in December that we were really anxious to eat there. Because it had been the Christmas/New Year’s Holiday and the Sugar Bowl all of the restaurants were really booked ahead. We had juggled when we would go to our chosen restaurants to accommodate availability. So the only night we had had left was January 1, 2010 and Jacques Imo’s doesn’t open on New Year’s Day. We went to Restaurant Stella! for the first time that night instead, so it all worked out very well. But this time it was the first restaurant that we wanted to dine at and we had no trouble getting a reservation on an ordinary Monday night. It only took us a few minutes to get to the restaurant which must be near Loyola and Tulane’s campus because it was filled with college students and Professor types all chatting away very noisily. The atmosphere was quite macabre with dark walls and voodoo paintings everywhere. Even with all of this the place seemed really alive with a very avant guard vibe.

Floral print tablecloth set with a bowl of gumbo, a plate of alligator tenderloin and a wedge of savory cheesecake

Our trio of appetizers at Jacques Imo’s

Floral tablecloth set with a small blue bowl of mashed potatoes and vegetables along side a white plate with tuna slices fanned on plate and a citrus relish with a glass of red wine in between

The Main Course at Jacques Imo’s

Our delightful server Lauren introduced herself and gave us some seriously yummy corn muffins with garlic and herb butter which we inhaled. The menu was quite extensive with some very unique items. Everthing sounded so interesting that we decided to order three appetizers and then share a dinner and even possibly a dessert. After much discussion we finally settled on the Shrimp and Alligator Sausage Cheesecake (a specialty of the house), Duck and Andouille Gumbo and the Fried Rabbit Tenderloin with Creole Mustard Sauce for our starters. It would be really impossible to decide on which one was best. The “Cheesecake” was rich, creamy and savory. The soup which was thick with nice pieces of duck and lots of spicy andouille was really delicious. And the rabbit tenderloin was amazing. At this point we were really glad that we were sharing an entree because we were already getting full. We were thinking that it was also good that we had ordered the Seared Tuna with Arugula and Crab Garnished with a Citrus Relish because it would be light. All entrees came with two sides and salad; we chose mashed potatoes and corn maque choux and the house salad which was a spinach salad with plum sesame dressing. The salad was tasty but not very exciting. This was followed by the Seared Tuna which Steve and I agreed was a real disappointment. The fish was over cooked and kind of mushy and the Citrus Relish had almost no zip. I have made quite a few of this type of relish using recipes from several of Bobby Flay’s cookbooks and they all have so much flavor that my thought had actually been that it would over power the tuna. However both components of the dish were underwhelming. Too bad! Since we didn’t exactly devour our entree we had room for dessert. We opted for the Creme Brulee which was prepared in a very cool dish that was large, curvy and sensuous, just like the creme brulee itself. All in all we were very glad we went to Jacques Imo’s, but we probably will not rush to make a return visit any time soon.