Birthday Dinner at Jacque-Imo's, We Take The Cake Steals the Show

Jacques-Imo's Cafe, one of my favorite dining spots, has been donned one of New Orleans' hippest eateries.  It's also become a bit of tradition for me to visit on my birthday.  When I mentioned in a previous post that I hoped to dine somewhere nice, I'll admit that Jacques-Imo's didn't cross my mind.  But after the expected party of two rose to eight, Jacques-Imo's seemed to fit the bill.  Truthfully, long wait times are synonymous with Jacques-Imo's, but a call to the hostess stand a few hours early yielded good results. We arrived just before 9:00 p.m. and were seated just minutes later. The gods must have been had a hand in this because never before can I remember a wait time of less than an hour.

The table had already been set with water for each diner and the customary complimentary cornbread muffins.

Jacque-Imo's Famous Cornbread Muffins

I'll admit that I'm not a huge fan of cornbread, but these are unusually good. They're sweet, with a hint of garlic and the fresh parsley provides the extra kick!  Next up was their signature Shrimp and Alligator Sausage Cheesecake.  The strange blend sounds far less appetizing than it tastes, but hopefully this will help you get over that hump-I haven't been able to pass it up since my very first visit.  It's a unique concoction that quite frankly I'd love to describe, but find myself at a loss for words.  Instead, I submit to you this:  When you go to Jacque-Imo's, NO-if you have no intention of visiting Jacque-Imo's, yet happen to be passing the place simply by happenstance, drop in and try the cheesecake! It's made fresh all day long so the odds of you showing up and not getting a slice are nil.

Shrimp and Alligator Sausage Cheesecake

After the cheesecake, the customary Spinach salads appeared before us.  It's a mixture of fresh spinach leaves, plum sesame and a plump P&J Oyster...simple, but oh so good!  In the midst of all of the eating, our server visited the table, took everyone's order, refilled the drinks and handled the table with greater efficiency than you might expect from a place like Jacque-Imo's.

Complimentary Spinach Salad w/Plum Sesame Vinaigrette

The orders placed were as follows:  3 orders of Blackened Redfish w/crab chili hollandaise, an order of Crab Cakes, Paneed Rabbit, a Fried Chicken plate, Grilled Tuna and for me, the Carpet-Bagger Steak.  I tried the Redfish and found it to be exceptional.  The three guys (who all happened to order the same dish) agreed.  On the contrary, the tuna did not quite meet my bff's expectations.  She mentioned that it was overcooked, but decided to keep the dish anyhow.  There aren't many things worse than overcooked fish in my book so I'm assuming she was either really hungry or just being a really good sport.  The Carpet-Bagger steak happens to be my favorite.  It's a filet butterflied and stuffed with with Bleu Cheese, Carmelized Red Onion, Oysters and covered in hollandaise.  I'm not sure who created this lovely piece of heaven, but I owe them a kiss.  The dish comes with two sides.  I decided on the Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Smothered Cabbage.  Both were sublime!

Although the consensus was that the entire table was full, there was cake to be served and the White Chocolate Goodness was already on its way.

The cake was as good as ever!  Fantastic texture, not too sweet, fresh as if it had just been removed from the oven...I could go on and on and still not do it justice.  So I'll say this, this cake would be on the one and only dessert I'd feel content with eating for the rest of my life.  After singing "Happy Birthday" and enjoying the cake, that "Fe Na Ne" - a special fruity, alcoholic concoction that resembled the best rum punch ever started to slow me down.

All in all, Jacque-Imo's performance that night proved its worthiness to carry the torch into next year.  While a few guests complained about the cost, I found the pricing reasonable.  The entire check for the party of eight, including tax and tip came to just under $250.  I'm sure it's evident, but I'll state it anyway-Jacque Imo's still ranks high on my list of "Places to Visit".

http://jacquesimoscafe.com/