GW Fins, New Orleans

Our first dinner in New Orleans was at a little place on Beinville Street right in the middle of the French Quarter called GW Fins. With a new menu every night to take advantage of the freshest available catch, this is a fish lovers dream come true.

We started off there early to have a drink at the bar. Alan had a Tanqueray martini and I a glass of Belle Glos pinot. My wine as a little too warm but nice flavor. The bartender was a fun, upbeat lady with enthusiastic recommendations about the menu. I knew it was going to be a special evening when she said that whatever I ordered I could ask them to put a sauteed soft shell crab on top!

As you can see from this picture, not a large place. There are less than twenty tables in the dining room (you can also eat at the bar which has about eight seats) in a semi-circular layout. Calm colors, upbeat staff and a comfortable feel, this seems to be both a tourist and a locals hangout.

To start off, I ordered the soft shelled crab done with a simple butter and lemon. The batter was light but with distinctive tastes. The crab was phenomenal - tender and perfect...not too crunchy. I loved, loved, LOVED this dish.

Alan ordered the blue crab pot stickers with country ham and creamy pea shoot butter. YUMMY!! Nicely prepared, lots of crab...awesome sauce of butter and pea. Really, really good!!

Next round, I went with the house specialty, the smoked sizzling oysters served simply with butter and lemon. These enormous shells are heated up to over 500 degrees and the raw oyster put back on the shell right as they are served. This means there is an interesting conflict of raw and partially cooked. Super fresh, excellent texture and clean. Other than leaning too far over the plate and getting a nose full of sizzling smoke (oops) this was a great course.

Alan tried the Louisiana yellow fin tuna tartare appetizer with watermelon relish, avocado, mango, pine nuts and Wasabi cream. Very fresh with a nice combination of melon to offset the fish but also not a knockout dish. A little expected; bland.

For our entrees we both ordered fish. I went with one I'd never heard of before - Drum fish. It was lightly battered and served over creamy, whipped potatoes in a simple butter, lemon style sauce. Drum is a delicate, white fish much like flounder and local to the shallow Gulf waters. It was a nice dish - not earth shattering but good.

Alan tried the sauteed red snapper with shrimp etouffee, Louisiana jasmine rice, lobster butter. This was superb. Great flavor and the combination of etouffee gave it that Creole spin that is different from anything we get at home. I really like his dish a lot.

This was a wonderful dinner - great dishes, fun bar and the service was great (something we'd remember not to take for granted over the next few days). Alan had a cocktail with dinner called a Cancun cooler that he enjoyed quite a bit while I paired up with a Plowbuster Pinot. If we were going back this one would be on my must list. Truly enjoyable evening all the way around and not to be missed.

Zagat rating: 28-26-27
Jenn's rating: 90