[lafcadio]

Shades of K-Paul's! Jacque Leonardi is opening a Manhattan version of his wildly popular New Orleans restaurant, Jacques-Imo's, in late Feburary or early March. Steve Manning, long time chef at Bayou on Lenox Ave, will head up the kitchen in this new venture. Julia Reed's story on her favorite Big Easy dining spots in Feb. Food & Wine gives kudos to Leonardi and his New Orleans staff.

[jogoode]

Welcome lafcadio!

Thanks for the info. I've never been Louisiana, so I'll look forward to it.

Have you been to his Louisiana restaurants? Do you think his menu or style will change whewn he comes to NY?

[Rachel Perlow]

I hope it is a similar menu, their food was goo-ood. Here's a link to the Jacques-Imo's thread in the Louisiana forum.

[Suzanne F]

Quote

Deep Fried Roast Beef Po-Boy (because they can)

You think NYC is ready for this??? (sorry, I couldn't copy the photo)

[Pan]

Thanks for the info, lafcadio. I'll be sure to check this place out.

[Cpalms]

I've only to Jacque-Imo's once ....but for me it was a similair expierience I had the first time I had pizza at Da Michele in Naples... You've had the tastes before but not like that, nowhere near that good...If the NYC version is anything like the original, NYC is in for a treat....my prediction is in a year or so the New York Times will be writing articles on the proliferation of cajun restaurants in NYC....

[Rachel Perlow]

Anyone know the status of this opening?

[suzilightning]

and is austin leslie coming north?

that man can fry some chicken!!

[Rachel Perlow]

I don't think Austin is coming to NYC. But the chef at the helm is Steve Manning, formerly of Bayou, and he's been working with Jacques in New Orleans for months.

As Jason pointed out in another thread, NewYorkMetro.com reports on Jacques-Imo's NYC opening. I called the phone number and the voicemail says it opens tonight for Mardi Gras and is accepting reservations starting on the 25th.

Jacques-Imo's NYC
366 Columbus Avenue, at 77th Street
212-799-0150

[TrishCT]

Saw Jacques-Imo's (pronounced Giacamo's right?) on A Cook's Tour...Looks like a wonderful experience....Can't wait to try it out.

[Rachel Perlow]

Jack-ee-moe's

Me too. I don't think we'll be able to make it into the city tonight, but I certainly hope someone from eGullet does. Hint hint (NY news people). And take pictures. And order anything with fried oysters. And the chicken livers if they have them. And fried green tomatoes with shrimp remoulade. And corn maquechoux. I want to go there soon, sniff. Good luck Jacques!

[Mayhaw Man]

Chicken Livers (just don't bring any back to Jason, although Rachel might appreciate them )

Alligator Cheesecake (if they have it, the stuff is delicious-makes an excellent take home item to be ordered at the end of the meal as it reheats really well)

His desserts in New Orleans are part of the experience, and it is hard for me to imagine them being any worse in New York.

[juuceman]

i'm intrigued by the fact that Jim Goldman, of Brother Jimmy's fame, is the owner of the place.. i'm praying the food is better than BJ's.. and that it doesn't quickly disintegrate into the beer swilling, fishbowl drinking crowd that they manage to shoe in to Brother Jimmy's..

[PDC]

Oh....my.....God. This is the greatest news I've heard in weeks. Jacques-Imo's was one of the high points of my trip to Jazzfest last year, and the fact that they're here puts them at the head of the list of restaurants I must go to.

Bad thing is here in the Giuliani-Bloomberg law-and-order kindergarten that passes for a city I won't be able to have a couple Franziskaner Weissbeirs standing out on the street while I wait for a table.

[lafcadio]

Mardi Gras on Columbus at 77th. What a great opening for Jacques-Imo's in New York!

We stopped by for drinks after the Sister Gertrude Morgan party at the American Museum of Folk Art. The place was jammed with New Yorkers and New Orleanians. Menu was a special prixe fixe for Fat Tuesday only (three courses for $45). Entrees were BBQ Shrimp, Blackened Redfish, Fried Chicken, Stuffed Pork Chop, Shrimp Creole, Grilled Amberjack, Duck with Sweet Potato Sauce, Mahi Mahi, Shrimp Salad and Roasted Acorn Squash with Mixed Seafood plus 7 appetizers and 6 desserts.

There were quite a few media people (TV and print) so the buzz is on!

Belle Epoque was jumping with a Mardi Gras party until the wee hours: masks, a lavish Creole buffet and real New Orleans music courtesy of Orange Kellin and his band. Vernel Bagneris sat in (actually danced in) for a few numbers.

[Pan]

Lafcadio, what's amberjack?

[Jason Perlow]

Pan, on Feb 26 2004, 12:37 AM, said:

Lafcadio, what's amberjack?

Type of fish. JHlurie's favorite, actually.

[Jason Perlow]

lafcadio, on Feb 26 2004, 12:01 AM, said:

Mardi Gras on Columbus at 77th. What a great opening for Jacques-Imo's in New York!

We stopped by for drinks after the Sister Gertrude Morgan party at the American Museum of Folk Art. The place was jammed with New Yorkers and New Orleanians. Menu was a special prixe fixe for Fat Tuesday only (three courses for $45). Entrees were BBQ Shrimp, Blackened Redfish, Fried Chicken, Stuffed Pork Chop, Shrimp Creole, Grilled Amberjack, Duck with Sweet Potato Sauce, Mahi Mahi, Shrimp Salad and Roasted Acorn Squash with Mixed Seafood plus 7 appetizers and 6 desserts.

There were quite a few media people (TV and print) so the buzz is on!

Belle Epoque was jumping with a Mardi Gras party until the wee hours: masks, a lavish Creole buffet and real New Orleans music courtesy of Orange Kellin and his band. Vernel Bagneris sat in (actually danced in) for a few numbers.

Well, for crying out loud, how was the food? How was the space? How does it compare to the original?

[lafcadio]

Jason

I wish I knew! It was way too crowded to think about staying long enough for a table to be available; the bar runs almost the whole length of the room and people were 4 and 5 deep at the bar waiting for tables.

My impression in regard to number of chairs ? 111
My guess at number of people standing up? 222

[bpearis]

Pan, on Feb 26 2004, 12:37 AM, said:

Lafcadio, what's amberjack?

It's pretty similar to yellowtail. I've only ever had it as sushi, where i think it's called kanpachi.

[Cpalms]

stopped by last night on my way home....had jumbalaya and barbecued shrimp. both excellent, to the best of my recollection it was the very similiar to the original (but then again I was hammered when I was at the original). the menu looks to be jacque-imo's light. I spoke to jacque and he said the were starting out with the easier dishes until the kitchen figured everthing out. rachel, they had the fried green tomato's with shrimp and chicken livers though but no fried roast beef, but again that should be on its way...

A note about amberjack, its a fish that over the last 10 years or so has become much more popular on southern (a lot in florida) menu's. In my opinion its horrible. its considered by most fisherman to be a decent sportfish but a junk eating fish. unfortunalely many snapper and grouper fisheries have been fished out necessitating commercial fisherman to find alternative species, amberjack being one. I understand jacque can make it work but i would avoid at most places.

[Mayhaw Man]

I love amberjack- (much like king or spanish mackerel-Anybody who has a friend who dives the rigs to shoot fish sees lots of it, as it is a very popular shooting fish. It is great cooked over coals and even better smoked like redfish in a slow smoker. It makes AWESOME fish dip.

Lemon Fish-ling-whatever-is my favorite eating fish in the world. I love it. I could eat it every day. It is hard to find and even harder to catch(once again the rig shooters bring it to me alot). I would rather eat lemon fish than crabmeat.

[Brad K.]

I ate there on Thursday night. Been about a dozen times in New Orleans too, most recently a few weeks ago. Jacques will be there himself most of the next few weeks (his wife too). The place looks good - murals of swamps, etc. on the wall - very festive - not quite as down/dirty as in N.O., but still real casual.
The menu is about 1/4 the size of that in N.O., but it hits most of the highlights. Alligator shrimp cheesecake was awesome (it's allig/crawfish in N.O., but no diference in taste) - I could live on this - one of the best food products to come out of any kitchen anywhere. Fried green tomatoes w/ shrimp remoulade was good too (many places do it better in N.O.).
I had the pork chop which is stuffed with ground meat and shrimp and covered in a spicy, brown creole sauce. Very rich/decadent - a wonderful dish. (Funny thing, in N.O. they serve the chop on the bone and it is large enough for an army, in NYC its off the bone and not as large). Also tried the blackened redfish - very nicely cooked and served in a thick, creamy, buttery sauce that totally made the dish. Fried chicken was great too (A. Lesley is there in spirit).
They are still getting their act together (it was only the third night!) - the salads came after the entrees and were only so-so, and the corn bread while still fantastic was slightly overcooked.
They use the same phone number as Spiazzia did (can't remeber it) and they only take reservations for 5+ people.
Overall great.

[Rachel Perlow]

Does a fried oyster come atop the salad?

[Pan]

Thanks for the report. How are the prices?

[Brad K.]

Salad (included with all entrees, as are two side dishes) comes with a fried oyster on top.
The prices were about $14 for the fried chicken and 21 for the pork chop (most expensive item on menu) - most everything else was priced in the high teens and apps in the 6-$9 range.

[justinb914]

I went Saturday night (2/28/04) and had a great meal. I thought the corn bread was great. Beside the salad (w/ fried oyster on top), we also ordered the stuffed shrimp (the stuffing was made was saltine crackers and onions). I enjoyed it, but next time will order the alligator cheesecake. As my main dish, I ordered the special that night - it was a blackened tuna with brie/champagne sauce. It was very good. The restaurant and bar area was crowded, but not too crowded. At 8:00, I was told that there was a 45 minute wait. We walked around the neighborhood, went back to the restaurant at 8:40 and was seated by 8:50.
Service was good and even though it had only been open a few days, it was a great dining experience.

This post has been edited by justinb914: 01 March 2004 - 02:00 PM

[zeman]

I'm going tonight with a crowd from the Quarter so I'll let you know my impressions afterwards.

[zeman]

Eh!

[Pan]

That's all? Eh? Oh well.