"Where-To-Wednesday" Adventures: August 2011

It’s not every day you dine at a restaurant where whilst sipping on your glass of wine, you nibble on pieces of alligator. And, while we’re at it, it’s also not every day that an alligator dish will entice a vegetarian to switch sides for the night, and venture on over to where the wild things are. Well, on our latest Where-To-Wednesday adventure on 8/3 to Boxing Room selected by moi with Terra, Elizabeth, Amanda, Becky, Lindsey and Melissa, we checked those two puppies right off our list. And the verdict from the latter, in case you’re wondering? Two enthusiastic thumbs up. We’re proud of you, Terra. It tastes like ~~chicken~~ veggies, right?? This latest extravaganza for the Where-To-Wednesday crew was bitter sweet, for as we dined on deliciously unique dishes with every bite, we lifted our wine glasses (holding equally delicious wine) to cheers not just another exciting adventure together, but the last adventure with Amanda before she moves to Seattle. Amanda – you are a Where-To-Wednesday regular and we will miss you on our monthly adventures together but we hope you can join us on another trip down. I mean, if Terra can push carrots aside to try alligator…anything can happen, right? Read on you vicarious armchair traveler you, and check out if the Boxing Room really was a knock-out. 0/10 scale…with 10 packin’ the punch.

Ambiance 7.5: All in all, it’s a pretty cool space with a modern kick to it. Large windows line the restaurant, and the exposed kitchen in the back opens up to the bar area where patrons can pull up a seat at the counter. Wood walls with clean, clear edges and bright lighting really modernize this place, which seems counter-intuitive to a Louisiana speak-easy sort of establishment. Reco? Dim the lights a bit. Come on, we all have a few flaws. They had a good mix in seating with bistro tables, counter seating, booth nooks, and larger tables to cater to larger parties. Which brings me to…drumroll please… the inaugurating “Seriously?” segment of Where-To-Wednesday. With all of this seating available, our first request for a table of 10 was rejected. Seriously, Boxing Room? Flat out. No substitute option provided. Do not pass go, do not collect your seating. Thank you reservation specialist, you were most helpful (insert sarcasm). I was told under no condition in any way could a 10-person party be accommodated. Seriously? You mean to tell me never, ever, could 10 people round themselves up around a table? Seriously? I find that hard to believe, especially after being there and seeing all of the table options. Obviously no one table accomplishes this, but perhaps, just perhaps, putting two tables together could provide the solution? 1 + 1 is….lightbulb. There it is. As it turned out, only 8 of us were able to make it after all, and we luckily (why do I feel as though I time-traveled back to Los Angeles for this reservation: phew, we got it) secured a table for 8. Table success, rant over, moving on.

Wine 9.5: Let me put it to you this way: the food here is pretty amazing (spoiler alert) but even if we had just come here for the wine…I’d be a happy camper. I bet I’d also be a hungry camper..but the world is full compromise and for this wine, I would. The wine was fantastic. We couldn’t decide between a red and a lighter option, so..we went with both. We grabbed a Pinot Noir Copain Tous Ensemble and the lighter Pinot Noir Cep Rosé. Welcome Pinot Noir: our hero (standing ovation). The rosé was light with a bit of fruit and a kick to it, which definitely got our little W2W party started. It was the perfect complement to our appetizers, allowing the spices in the food to take precedence and filling in only where needed. The Pinot Noir was mouth-watering in itself – smooth, velvety, light-medium bodied and again, the perfect pairing with our food, and carried a perfect balance with the more heavily spiced dishes.

Food 8: This is the cheapest trip to Louisiana you will ever take. The food truly tastes authentic with hearty dishes filled with spice and fried batter. (Note to self: extra sit-ups this week). With tons of options, this place even got the nod of approval from our vegetarian. The appetizers seemed to be more of a hit amongst our group over the larger entrée dishes, but hey, you be the judge:

- Hushpuppies: If my eyes were closed, I would swear this was a donut. Well, with peppered jelly I suppose it would be a weird donut, but…you get my point. Absolutely delicious – I would gladly take this as a dessert any day.

- Cornbread Muffins: My God. Is this crème brulee cornbread? Did we start with desserts instead of apps? This may be the best cornbread I’ve ever had. Crispy outside with a hint of sugar, gives way to soft goodness.

- Deep Fried Alligator: Yes, the one we’ve all been waiting for. The head turner. The “oh-my-god-i-just-ate-alligator-someone-take-a-picture” dish. And the verdict? Delicious! It tastes like chicken! Served with a creole remoulade this is lip-smackin good. How can you ever go wrong with deep fried goodness? What was under all this fried goodness…I really couldn’t taste to be quite honest…and neither could our vegetarian. Win, win.

- Pickles: Yawn. Nexxxxxxxt?

- Crispy Boudin Balls: This is basically an entrée tucked away inside an appetizer – genius! God I love surprises! These little crispy fried morsels are filled with a soupy rice consistency mixed with pork sausage – winning!

- Gulf Shrimp Creole: Yeeehaw! Get yo’ hands dirty with these little guys as you shell the shrimp and eat up their garlicky goodness. That’s right – a little work to do with this dish, but hey, it’s worth it. The garlic bread that accompanies the dish is equally as good, laden with heavy spices and mouth-watering garlic – providing the perfect tool to soak up all the delicious, spicy sauce the shrimp are marinating in.

- Smoked Chicken and Andouille Gumbo (large order): Smoky, savory and spicy with brown rice piled high; this hearty dish had a nice kick to it. Filled with chicken and big rounds of Andouille sausage, this dish is set to satisfy. Definitely not a show stopper, but come on, going to a creole restaurant without trying the gumbo? Sacrilegious.

- Southern Fried Chicken: Let’s be honest, this dinner would not be complete without fried chicken! Crispy with delicious seasonings outside, and juicy meat – really moist. Served with mashed potatoes and corn salsa on the side.

- Stuffed Mirliton and Eggplant: Ratatouille in a baked tomato sauce with tangy cheese folded into a mirilton– a unique dish that really surprised me with the heartiness of it

- Gulf Flounder a la Meuniere: Sigh. My favorite dish. We got two of these…mainly because we couldn’t count after all the wine, but I’m glad we did because it was worth going back for seconds. The flounder was prepared with a lightly crisp outside, flavored with a hint of salt and left your mouth in buttery heaven.

- Rabbit: Damnit, I can’t decide. Maybe this one was my favorite. Welcome to my food love triangle. Absolutely delicious – moist, filling and perfectly seasoned.

Dessert: In all honesty, we should have just ordered more hushpuppies. Damn those were good. The desserts were average…it was as if all the work went into the spicy dishes and then they realized they had a leftover banana and took it from there.

- Bananas Foster Cake: Maybe there were a dozen leftover bananas. This was basically an entire banana cake with what tasted like banana flavored cream cheese frosting and possibly even banana flavored ice cream. Well, maybe not, but it was definitely overly banana. Meh.

- Pralines and Cream: It’s occurring to me now that I don’t think I got a bite of the blondie (why does that sound dirty?) that was served with this, which could have made all the difference in the world. Ice cream and pralines…not really cutting it. Ice cream is fun but…hardly a dessert to order at a restaurant. Come on, we’ve all got Breyers at the corner store. Or in our freezers. Some of us have a few tubs in our freezers. But that’s a story for another time…

- Peach and Blackberry Cobbler: We’re getting warmer. Literally. And maybe that’s the key here. This dessert was much better than the other two – warm cobbler oozing with blackberries and peaches, with bits of buttery, sugary goodness melted in between. Topped with a big ole scoop of ice cream, this one was much better than the other two.

- Beignets: How do you top off a meal of deep fried dishes? Deep fried dessert! Weeeee! These warm beignets were served with both an espresso and a milk chocolate cream dipping sauce. Pretty good, but after those hushpuppies…I know, I know…I’m obsessed.

Price 7.5: At a little over $80 a person, it was a little steep. Maybe….we could have taken a trip to Louisiana afterall. Granted, that included tip but for that price we could have used some reliable tips – i.e. skip the boring peppers.

Noise Level: 9 Cue the halleluiah chorus – we could hear! Which is kind of a miracle when you take an open kitchen, crowds of people, and a large room…and can still converse.

Service: 9 In short, Shelly rocked. Great recommendations for both wine and food, and she did a great job handling our large party. I don’t think we had to stop and look for her once – she was always at our table. And we like attention. Perfect match.

All About The Area: Hayes Valley, how we love thee. With streets adorned with stores, restaurants, and bars, this area is the perfect go-to to both start-off and end your night in one go-round. In fact, we actually kicked off the evening a hop/skip/jump away at Absinthe, and wandered the 5 steps down the street to get to Boxing Room. I love when a plan comes together. This area is definitely a favorite, with great favorites to frequent along with newbies opening up all the time. You can’t really go wrong, you can’t really get bored, and you can’t find a way to avoid eating. You know you want to… hit up Hayes Valley! You’ve got our W2W stamp of approval.

Overall Grade: 8.4