333 Bistreaux

Tuesday I had the pleasure of dining at the latest incarnation of 333 3rd Street. I joined a few co-workers for a late lunch and was pleasantly surprised by the really good food at 333 Bistreaux. The restaurant has a nice outside dining area that offers both street side tables and a covered area closer to the entrance of restaurant. The service was very good and the food was better. I had the lunch special of crab au gratin served with rice pilaf. The portions were small but very much in line with the price of 7.95. The rice pilaf was moist and contained a whole host of tasty bits ranging from spinach, carrot and onion to nicely toasted pine nuts. The crab au gratin was just short of excellent. It was creamy, fresh tasting, included numerous medium sized lumps of crab and just the right amount of cheddar cheese and bread crumbs on top baked to perfection. So why was the crab au gratin just short of excellent you might ask, well that has to do with the mound of crab shell on my plate that increased with every bite. I would have thought maybe it was just my bad luck but two of my lunch companions ended up with similar piles. Lack of attention to the detail of picking crab almost spoiled an otherwise delicious dish. The lunch ended with a nice gesture from the kitchen of on the house slices of chocolate cake. While the gesture was exceptional the cake was just ok. It was a rich chocolate cake studded with chocolate chips and a chocolate genache. The taste was over powering with nothing there to balance it out. A simple dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream would have been a nice addition and would have made this a much better option for ending a nice meal. In all, I’m looking forward to returning to explore more of 333 Bistreaux’s menu.