A Hidden Gem: Enjoy your veggies at Dante’s Kitchen
When Chef Emanuel “E-Man” Loubier left Commander’s Palace to open Dante’s Kitchen a little over 10 years ago, he moved from the famed Brennan family’s sprawling Victorian mansion restaurant in the Garden District to a cozy little cottage with rustic wood floors and a sunny courtyard near the Mississippi River. But he kept a careful eye toward seasonal and local produce, a Commander’s tradition that he picked up while working under the late, famous Chef Jamie Shannon.
“I got involved with farmer’s markets at Commander’s years ago. When I opened my own place, I wanted to keep the same approach to designing menus around what was fresh and in season,” says Chef Loubier. “We get a lot of our produce from Tony Accardo near Gramercy. He grows a lot of different varieties of heirloom tomatoes, and at least 80 varieties of peppers. My cooks and I will go there, and sometimes the waiters will go with us, too. We sometimes help Tony plant and pick vegetables. We have a lot of fun.”
Accardo’s organic farm in Hester, Louisiana, is about an hour west of New Orleans. In any given season, the passionate farmer plants more than 500 varieties, including various kinds of cantaloupe, watermelon, and an uncommon array of produce that he is continually experimenting with.
On the blackboard menu at Dante’s Kitchen, you will find a list of Accardo’s fresh seasonal produce that is being used in the various dishes that evening, most recently heirloom beets, purple cauliflower, fennel, brussels sprouts, broccoli, kale, sunchokes, dandelion greens, berries, and grapefruit. On a recent visit, one of the waiters told me the staff often brings in their own homegrown herbs for the chefs. Executive sous chef Neil McClure is a wiz in the kitchen and puts out great nightly specials according to what he and “E-Man” find at Accardo’s farm that week.
Dante’s Kitchen is one of those great New Orleans restaurants that is often overlooked as a prime destination for dinner. Located in the Riverbend area on the St. Charles streetcar line, it is tucked away a couple of blocks behind S. Carrollton Avenue at the apex of Dante Street and River Road, directly across from Brigtsen’s. It is a perfect casual place to show off to out-of-town guests, especially vegetarians and those who enjoy creative Louisiana fare, from redfish to rabbit.
If you are seated outside on the tropical patio, which is beautiful this time of year, you will hear the occasional trains going by. The cool breeze blowing from the river enhances dinner under the stars and Sunday brunch (check out the alligator sausage breakfast sliders with alligator sausage, scrambled egg, mozzarella, and habanero pepper jelly on a focaccia roll; or the debris biscuit topped with a demiglace hollandaise).
The restaurant is divided into five small, intimate dining rooms that have an old fashioned feel (one overlooks the lush courtyard). The dining rooms get jammed on weekends, so it is best to make reservations for dinner, but they will accept walk-ins if possible.
Adorable miniature cast iron skillets filled with a rustic spoon bread are complimentary upon arrival, and come with delicious honey butter that melts easily into the bread. On a recent visit, I decided to go vegetarian and enjoyed the broccoli in brown butter with slithered almonds; the fabulous smothered collard greens with cane vinegar and house-made bacon, and the delicious black lentils glossed with balsamic vinegar that shone like Beluga caviar (the best I’ve had anywhere). You can order the local farm vegetable plate, but I prefer to choose my own selection of veggies a la carte.
On subsequent visits, our table ate family style. All the servings are very generous. Our appetizers included grilled shrimp, which came with a pool of stone ground grits; roasted beets with house-made pork belly lardoons and Meyer lemon and orange vinaigrette; fresh mussels Provencal that reminded me of dining in the south of France; and a “small plate” of seared diver scallops that were tender and succulent.
Recommended entrée selections include the signature redfish “on the half shell” topped with plenty of lump crabmeat and fresh herbs; slow-cooked duck breast that came with a chilled white bean salad with roasted fennel tinged with orange zest and a fabulous smoked duck confit; and a slow-cooked rabbit leg with zesty sage and black pepper dumplings bathed in a natural au jus. Order a side of Barq’s root beer candied sweet potatoes with the duck, when available.
I have been going to Dante’s Kitchen for years, and each time, I am always too full for dessert. Personal wines are welcome here (corkage fee applies). No reservations are accepted for weekend brunch, but are highly recommended for dinner. Dante’s Kitchen is a heartwarming experience and the service is friendly and attentive. Located in New Orleans at 736 Dante Street; 504-861-3121. ✦
