Bon Ton Cafe: Is It Worth It?

The interior of the Bon Ton Cafe should be required viewing for any would-be restaurateur. The exposed brick, tight spaces, and general coziness of the space fill the restaurant with warmth and bonhomie. The wait staff is all female and don white nurses uniforms with black petticoat aprons. A wall of wine anchors the back, and the tables are just close enough to allow eavesdropping. Nothing in the design of the restaurant is utilized to distract, rather the elements are used to wrap you in a bear hug of hospitality.

This is also a restaurant of another era. Of a time of sweeter liquor drinks as evidenced by the Rum Ramsey, which is a rum fueled cousin of a whiskey sour. It was too sweet for my tastes, but the Sazerac brought forth a stout glass filled with a pale red textbook version of the drink that perhaps launched it all.

Entrees are served with a house salad and your choice of side. On the table is both bread and crackers, a restaurant version of belt and suspenders. The salad gets points for including blanched carrots and spicy radishes, but the dressing was both too vinegary and applied with too heavy of a hand. The fried catfish bits which show up with a vat of Alzina's Sauce - a mayo based concoction - are crisp and greaseless and a good excuse to order a cold beer.

An over salted crawfish etouffee could be a kitchen mistake or a chronic problem. But it doesn't really matter because you should be coming here for the crabmeat au gratin. A cauldron of pearly white crabmeat floats in a spoonable bechamel. Across the top of this delicacy of brackish waters is a carpet of melted American cheese. Now you may snicker at the use of American cheese in post-Foodie Revolution America, but if Adam Biderman can use it with fantastic results at Company Burger, why not here?

Crabmeat au gratin at Bon Ton Cafe is a fantastic dish, but the rest of the menu is in desperate need of attention.

Bon Ton Cafe: Is It Worth It? For the crabmeat au gratin, yes. The rest is skippable.
401 Magazine St.
524-3386

For Lunch Today ...

It's a rainy, blustery day outside today, but it's always a raucous rebellion at the Bon Ton Cafe during lunch on a Friday afternoon. The Pierce family throws one hell of a party in the dining room, which is usually packed full with gleeful patrons. Usually if you arrive much later than noon, you will find yourself at the bar waiting for a table. But if the proprietors ever considered expanding into a larger space, all they would need to do is hire their daughters to work the front of the house and the lines would form all the way down Magazine Street.

Eventhough it's still warm outside, you should start with a cup of the turtle soup. Actually, correction: you should start with a Rum Ramsey from the bar. The Bon Ton Cafe lays claim as creator of this potent concoction: 7 parts rum, 1 part bourbon, 1 part lime juice, and a little sugar (whether or not a dash Peychaud bitters are added is debated - I say the more the merrier). An order of fried catfish nuggets serves as a nice appetizer to share amongst the table.

For the main course, you can't go wrong with the Redfish Bon Ton, which is a nice broiled piece of fish topped with crabmeat and a little butter. Simple and delicious. The Soft Shell Crabs Alvin combines two fried soft shells with a dark meuniere sauce and, yes, more crabmeat. If you are taking the afternoon off, go with the unbelievable rich crabmeat au gratin that comes covered with a generous helping of cheddar. I hear they make a good filet with burgundy sauce as well. The only disappointment on the menu is that the side dishes are pitifully minute - the "boiled potatoes" is one new potato split in half and swimming in melted butter.

For dessert, you can either order another Rum Ramsey or have a slice of bread pudding with the most lethal whiskey sauce in the city. Either one contains enough alcohol to serve as a nice digestif.