Celebrating 65 years of excellent service and even better dishes, the freshly-renovated Rib Room in the Omni Royal Orleans has extended their popular three-course COOLinary menu through September 30 so that locals and tourists alike can enjoy a hearty pre-fixe meal.
The grey stone floors, candlelight, and flickering faux candles in the antiquated metal chandeliers highlight the dark terracotta-colored ceiling. I adore the tall ceiling of the main room and the mezzanine secondary dining room that overlooks the room through the arched openings. Four gas lamps watch over the dining room bearing the names Belle Chasse, Bayou Goula, Venice, and Mamou. It feels like dining in the old world, especially if you are seated in one of the 15 foot-tall arched windows overlooking Royal Street. You will likely see a second line (or two) meander past at night.
The surroundings are only paralleled by the service. The warm, friendly, highly-attentive service that the best French Quarter establishments are known for thrives here. Our awesome server offered to select wines for us, and his choices were perfect. As a wine novice confronted with such an expertly-curated collection, I could not have done better. Expert advice: if you are a party of two, you can get every dish on the COOLinary menu.
The first course is a selection of French Onion Soup or Fried Green Tomatoes with Remoulade Sauce. I'm a year-round soup fan, so the easy choice was French Onion Soup. The round bowl is so filled with hot soup, bread bits, and gruyere that the liquid overtops the sides of the bowl as you pierce the cheese seal. Unlike almost all French onion soups, Rib Room's take is not overwhelmingly salty which may come as a relief to those who can't stand puckering with every spoonful elsewhere. This soup is a great balance of deep onion, nuanced gruyere dehydrated enough for a bit of chew, and bread that still retains some structure after soaking.
However, I may have been even more impressed with the Fried Green Tomatoes. This can be a tricky dish to make; without the firmest tomatoes, the proper breading, and just-right oil temperature, they can fall apart easily. I've tried to make them myself time and time again to okay results. Rib Room may have find the perfect combination. The thick and very firm slices of fresh green tomatoes had a thin and finely ground, yet crispy breading that stuck to the tomato and never fell off. I've never seen a better job! Even dunking them into the thick, tangy remoulade couldn't force the breading from the juicy tomato.
The second course is a selection of Herb-Crusted Snapper and Bourbon-Glazed Bone-In Pork Chop. I must say that the snapper here is likely the best fish I've ever tasted. I was immensely impressed by the inch-thick fillet that released steam when cut; the juiciness and delicate flavor of the fish complemented the intense herbal seared crust. It was fabulous on its own, but a swipe across the plate to capture more of the crawfish Creole sauce of butter, garlic, and white wine was another layer of famous New Orleans-born flavor. It's a dish like this that made Creole cooking travel world-wide.
The pork chop is equally remarkable in its thickness. This is not a thin-pounded pork chop like so many establishments prefer. The chop is a pretty large serving that some may need to take home to finish later. The thin bourbon glaze adds a touch of smoke and sweet, but it is not a syrupy concoction that overtakes the meat. Between big bites, pillow-soft cauliflower/potato puree and roasted potato bites can be swiped across the plate to get the pork chop drippings for added flavor which I do recommend.
Though it seemed impossible to top all of that, there is one more course for Rib Room's dinner COOLinary menu. A thick slice of Bananas Foster Ice Cream is sandwiched between butter cookies topped with whipped cream to cap off this decadent meal. These three courses combined add up to a brag-worthy, sumptuous meal for just $58. The two-course COOLinary lunch special is a fantastic deal as well, priced at $28. If your interest in this meal piqued, you have a limited time to enjoy it. Visit before September 30! You can see more details here.
