Pepe’s Bosque Mexican Grill

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**** (4 stars)

This popular place offers good Tex Mex cuisine (on the simpler side, such as upscale fast food) at very reasonable prices. I had the number 7 lunch, which includes a beef taco, enchilada and burrito, plus a chalupa (like a tostada). That’s a lot of food for not much money. There’s little difference between the beef items except for the wrapper, but they were tasty.

Chips and salsa are good, and the guacamole was a bargain. Sangria is very sweet, but a bowl of lime wedges fixed it.

Service is attentive and food delivery was almost instantaneous.

Pepe’s Bosque Mexican Grill
10027 Central Ave
Diberville, MS 39540
(228) 396-0044
http://www.yelp.com/biz/pepes-bosque-mexican-grill-diberville

Thirty Two

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***** (5 stars)

This restaurant far exceeded my expectations. The decor is great, and there’s a lovely view across the cay toward the Beau Rivage, which is a lot nicer hotel but without this caliber of restaurant.

We started with table-side tuna tartare and escargot. Both were excellent. Our server did a masterful job with the tartare, and it was interesting to see the ingredients and proportions. The escargot was the Bourguignon variety which is sometimes too wine-based for me, but this was perfect, with a nice balance of brown butter.

Our second course was the soup sampler and lobster chopped salad. The soups were all delicious, but so rich we couldn’t even eat the small servings on the sampler. The chopped salad came with a wonderful wasabi vinaigrette, the highlight of the meal as far as I was concerned.

We finished by sharing a prime New York Strip. It was perfectly cooked and very tender. The accompanying creamed spinach was much too salty, and I didn’t feel like the goat cheese went with the side of cauliflower.

Thirty Two offers an excellent wine list, and we were fortunate to be there on a Sunday during the fall off-season, when all the bottles were half price. We took full advantage of that boon.

Service was perfect, and we had a delightful meal.

Thirty Two
850 Bayview Ave
Biloxi, MS 39530
(228) 436-3000
http://www.yelp.com/biz/thirty-two-biloxi

Oak Alley Plantation Restaurant

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**** (4 stars)

This is an unexpectedly good restaurant, much better than one expects at a tourist attraction. The food is authentic, diverse, and well-prepared. And the service is gracious and attentive.

I particularly enjoyed the shrimp poboy, which was better than any of the cajun lunch foods I had during the week in New Orleans.

If you’re planning a visit to Oak Alley Plantation, I encourage you to make time for lunch at the fine establishment.

Oak Alley Plantation Restaurant
3645 Hwy 18
Vacherie, LA 70090
(225) 265-2487
http://www.yelp.com/biz/oak-alley-plantation-restaurant-vacherie

Sylvain

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**** (4 stars)

This intimate gastropub is a great place to dine by candlelight.

The wine list is a bit limited and the selections rather quirky, but there are plenty of cocktails.

The short menu is heavy on gastropub staples like pork and beef cheeks, but they also have a good hamburger, and a fairly sophisticated scallop entree.

My favorite was the chicken sandwich, which has been voted among the top 25 in the country, and with good reason. A think, succulent slab of white meat is  sealed in a wonderful crust without being greasy at all. Served with house made pickles on a bun, with fresh from the fryer crispy fries. Four condiments elevated it even further.

The root beer float was a great dessert.

Service was friendly and attentive. Recommended.

Sylvain
625 Chartres St
New Orleans, LA 70130
(504) 265-8123
http://www.yelp.com/biz/sylvain-new-orleans

Restaurant R’evolution

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***** (5 stars)

This was our best meal in New Orleans, one of those magical evenings where everything comes together to create perfection.

R’evolution is a sprawling space in the Sonesta Hotel. Each room is decorated differently, and has a different ambience. While all of them looked great, most were very energetic, so I was happy we were seated in the more refined Bienville room.

All of the food we had was great, but I was particularly impressed by my selections. The foie gras mousses was served in a jar accompanied by toast, pickled vegetables, and four condiments, all for the ridiculously low price of $6. Quail three ways was stunning. Each quail was completely different, and all were deboned to make them easy to eat.

The 10,000 bottle wine list is full of gems, and some are at reasonable price points. There is also a dessert beverage cart with some really interesting offerings. We couldn’t pass up the 1907 Madeira, a Malvasia which might be the best Madeira I’ve had, which is saying a lot.

A tour of the restaurant and kitchen afterwards was the perfect way to end a perfect meal.

Restaurant R’evolution
777 Bienville St
New Orleans, LA 70130
(504) 553-2277
http://www.yelp.com/biz/restaurant-revolution-new-orleans-3

Emeril’s New Orleans

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***** (5 stars)

Coming from Orlando, I’ve eaten at Emeril’s at Citywalk many times, so we wanted to check out the original while in New Orleans. We stopped in for lunch, and I have to say that in all respects I found it superior to the Orlando version. The space is smaller, more nicely decorated, the acoustics are better, the food was perfectly prepared, and the service was extremely gracious.

The barbecue shrimp is a favorite appetizer, but the mini lettuce wrap taco concoctions are my new favorite. Duck wings were mighty sticky! The glazed salmon entree was great.

I would definitely go out of my way to return to this original location on future visits.

Emeril’s New Orleans
800 Tchoupitoulas St
New Orleans, LA 70130
(504) 528-9393
http://www.yelp.com/biz/emerils-new-orleans-new-orleans

GW Fins

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**** (4 stars)

I love the interior decor of this place, which is fairly intimate, even when bustling. The metallic fish room dividers are particularly cool, and the lighting is dramatic yet subdued.

There’s an extensive list of wines by the glass, mostly white. We grazed our way through six different appetizers and two entrees. The appetizers where the standouts, particularly the tuna crudo, tuna tacos, and shrimp remoulade. Cobia crudo was also good, but needed a bit more citrus drizzle.

Parmesan crusted sheepshead (the fish, not the ovine kind) was an interesting and unconventional offering.

Service was quick and helpful.

GW Fins
808 Bienville St
New Orleans, LA 70112
(504) 581-3467
http://www.yelp.com/biz/gw-fins-new-orleans-2