Join the Krewe

Krewe opened this summer, to a great deal of fanfare including a fantastic article in the New York Times.  But it also opened just a few days after George Floyd's murder, during the middle of a pandemic (and did not have outdoor seating until recently). One huge benefit to this summer was that we have gotten to go up to the cabin several times, and Saint Joseph is right on the way, but we've not been able to stop due to lack of outdoor seating, and take-out not being the right choice, and dogs, and reservations, and it being too far to just go for dinner and come back that night. It's been there, just out of reach.

This weekend we went up to the cabin to see the colors and as kind of an early-birthday celebration for Patrick, so I pushed hard to try again. And despite all the anxiety-producing hassles — parking with a car full of stuff and 3 dogs, trying to get a walk-in reservation, etc. — the helpful host staff somehow made it happen, and we soon found ourselves sitting in a corner table on the patio, looking inside at the beautiful restaurant, with the dogs in a visible nearby spot and occasionally letting us know that they deserved cookies for waiting so patiently.

And Krewe was certainly with the wait! (and thus, my first restaurant review in forever, remember when I used to do these all the time?)

Given the weight of the news, I probably should have had one of their cocktails, which looked fantastic, but Patrick and I each had the "Krewe brew," a perfectly serviceable IPA. Beatrix, however, won the night with a tiki version of a shirley temple.

The food comes out as it is ready, so it's a good idea to eat family style if you can. Unlike a lot of New Orleans restaurants, that would actually have been possible for us, because a number of their dishes are made vegetarian (I can hardly wait to go back and try the red beans and rice!) But Patrick rightly measures authentic NOLA food by the gumbo, so he tried to have that. I don't know if you know this about Patrick, but when he has really good food, the kind that overwhelms you with how good it is, he laughs. And he could not stop laughing as he ate this.

Meanwhile, I had the Lousiana roll, which was equally fantastic. There was a slight hiccup with Beatrix's kid's meal (which I think got lost between two huge takeout orders), so we were basically done with our meals before they realized she did not have hers and got it to her (I don't think they have quite grokked the cardinal rule of "feed the kid first.") However, Beatrix was gracious about it and they handled it exceptionally well, comping her meal and bringing us an extra serving of their fantastic, slightly sweet bread, so we could eat along with her. It's a good example of the kind of individual service and attention they seem to try to give everyone, even when slammed.

We finished the night with an order of bread pudding (with bread from their fabulous sister bakery) and one of beignets that Beatrix described as *almost* as good as Cafe du Monde. Patrick and I are tougher customers than that, but given the fact we are unlikely to get the real thing anytime soon, these were good substitutes (hmm, I did not even check to see if they had chicory coffee...)

I started this review by saying we did not think Krewe was worth the drive for a single meal, but I may be wrong on that. I have the bad feeling I won't eat inside a restaurant for quite some time, but let's hope for a warm fall...