Elizabeth’s Restaurant is a funky little shack in the Bywater area of New Orleans serving up some great food and a lot of taglines. Walking up to the front door, you’re greeted with one of them; “Eat here or we both go hungry” is drawn on the side of the building luring people in. If the art doesn’t get you though, maybe their menus will, starting with what is arguably one of the most talked-about appetizers these days – praline bacon!
I’ve been scoping out Elizabeth’s for some time now. The praline bacon alone has been generating quite a bit of buzz and while it is really one of those “why didn’t I think of something so simple” creations, I didn’t…the chefs at Elizabeth’s did. Originally in the plans for a breakfast or brunch, we went there the other night to celebrate both the wife’s birthday and my own (who would have thought our parents planned our births to be only two days apart).
The atmosphere has a lot of character to it, and tables are placed close together amidst a kaleidoscope of hand-painted signs, murals and knick knacks. It’s as if you’re in an art gallery and each piece is distinct, irreverent, and/or colorful… just my type 
of place.
We kicked off the meal with a round of appetizers: praline bacon, Beer BQ oysters, fried-chicken livers with pepper jelly and a salad to share. First off, this was no ordinary salad. Described as Smoked Crispy Hog Jowls, Golden Raisins, Baby Spinach with a Maytag Blue Cheese and Sherry Vinaigrette, it was amazing. Very similar to a salad I make that I’ve talked about before, but this was my first time having the jowl of a hog and it was delicious! Small crispy bacon-like slivers of pig cheeks were scattered throughout the salad and added the perfect touch.
Next up, was the praline bacon. Crispy bacon coated in a praline glaze and then the glaze was most likely broiled on for extra stickiness. It was just as you would imagine it being, too. The Beer BQ oysters were ordered on our server’s recommendation and they were also great. A spicy yet sweet sauce upon which the flash fried oysters were placed to dip and soak to the level of flavor you chose. While the chicken livers received rave reviews from those in the party that enjoyed liver, I am not one of those, so let’s just say they get a thumbs up for effort from me on that appetizer.
Entrees were the Campfire Smoked Rib-Eye Steak with Hollandaise, Elizabeth’s Dream Burger with Praline Bacon and Blue Cheese, the Hanger steak with red wine mushroom reduction sauce, smoked scallops, and lobster avocado salad and soup combo.
My smoked ribeye was awesome. While I am usually not a huge fan of Hollandaise, this was just to my liking as it was not abrasive with the lemon juice, and it by no means covered the fact that the meat was indeed smoked. I’m a sucker in general for smoked food, and luckily I fell for this dish. Did I mention you get two sides and my red beans and rice were a standout? Two thumbs up.
Running through some of the other dishes, the burger was fabulous, and really it had no other choice than to be that way being that it was draped in the praline bacon and covered in Maytag Blue Cheese. The Hanger steak was very tender and was enjoyable, but the ribeye wins the battle of the beef here. The scallops were fresh and had a delicious taste to them and the wife’s lobster avocado salad was akin to a guacamole with chunks of lobster, which to her was absolute heaven, but I was left asking “where’s the beef?”
Of course, the parents informed the server (who was excellent by the way, even joining in the conversation about Snake and Jake’s Christmas Bar at one point) that it was our birthdays’, and they graciously brought out two desserts. The standout was the “Ooey Gooey cake with sweet cream.” It was one of the sweetest things I have ever put in my mouth, but it was wholly addictive. Tasting like the cake batter ice cream at Cold Stone, the cake was dense and moist and the consistency of a chess square, topped with a creamy sweet custard spooned over it. Cue visions of Homer Simpson chasing a donut…
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