Eat. Here. Now.

The New Orleans culinary scene is fierce.  From food trucks to fine dining, Creole to Cajun, & Lucky Dogs to lamb chops, the Crescent City is a foodie paradise.  I live an hour away from the city, so I never waste an opportunity to dine while I'm there.  Of course, I would prefer to dine at an establishment where I've never been, but I always make an exception for the tried & true places I love.  The restaurant, ROOT, is one such place.  I found myself in town early yesterday evening & convinced my fabulous NOLA friend, Gretchen Gibbs to join me for dinner at this trendy Warehouse District hot spot.

This is the welcome mat at the front door.  I find irony in the simplicity of the statement.  It is that incredible.  I've been to ROOT twice before last night, but it's was Gretchen's first experience at this modern, edgy restaurant. The menu is separated into sections, beginning with the meat & cheese selections.  It then goes on to list beginnings, middles, & principals.  Again, I find the beginnings & middles to be a filling meal.  They are large enough to share, which means you can pick a few dishes to split with your dining companion(s) & keep your cost down.   That is exactly what Gretchen & I decided to do.  We began our feast with the compressed watermelon salad. 

Talk about transforming ingredients....WOW!!!!!  This refreshing salad was filled with different components of earthy & light flavors.  The watermelon was sweet & chunky.  Delicate micro greens & herbs brought out the flavors in the vinaigrette.  The pieces of tuna were seasoned to perfections & lend a smoky flavor to this bright salad.  My absolute favorite part of the dish were the avocado 'dipping dots' on the top.  You know, the fancy ice cream you see in carts at baseball stadiums & shopping malls?  Yes, that's right, Chef Phillip Lopez has created that out of avocado & it is nothing short of outstanding.  I could not get over how well the flavors of this salad came together.  It was a perfect balance.

There were so many items on the menu we wanted to try, so Gretchen & I opted for a small plate & entree to continue the meal.  We chose the duck tortellini for our smaller portion.  This delight may be small in size, but the flavors are huge.  So much love goes into this dish, & you can tell.  I'm not even sure I can find adequate words to do it justice.  The broth was rich & full of delicate flavors & was reminiscent of the Vietnamese soup, pho.  The tortellini itself was buttery & melted in my mouth.  The pine nuts gave it a salty crunch & brought the dish all together.  I may ask for a giant bowl of this next time!!



Honestly, we could have stopped eating at this point from being full, but the main dish was on its way, & it was STEAK.  People tend to view steak as a 'special occassion' meal.  When you have this at Root, you will want to give this meat it's own special occasion!!!  We ordered it medium, & it was perfectly cooked.  The outside was charred & crispy, while the inside was juicy.  Absolute perfection.  Unfortunately, the meat wasn't the star of the plate.  The accompaniment was.  Fried sweetbreads.  To put it in current social abbreviation, O.M.G.  I can't even formulate a sentence thinking about those lightly fried pieces of joy.  In my opinion, they should be on the small plate list, as they could stand alone & be a best seller.  I loved the cup of house made french fries.  The fun tube of homemade ketchup for the fries really brought a touch of whimsy to the plate.  The reduction sauce on the steak brought a dash of sweetness & didn't overwhelm any flavors.  This ain't ya mama's meat & potatoes!!!

Now, I've said it once, & I will say it again:  I prefer salty over sweet any day.  I don't care much for dessert & very rarely order it at restaurants.  At ROOT, I practically beg for the dessert menu.  There are a variety of items that will satisfy your sweet tooth here, & we went for the Peppermint Patty.  The name is exactly what it is:  a homemade peppermint patty set in homemade mint chocolate ice cream.  It is surrounded by house made cocoa puffs & malted milk.  Garnished with mint, this dessert is amazing.  The malted milk & cocoa puffs really bring out the child in you. I love how Chef Phillip brings playful elements to his creations. The best thing about this dessert is that there is no overpowering sweetness.  It is simply delicious.

ROOT should be on the top of your must-do-in-NOLA list.  Not only is Chef Phillip Lopez transforming ingredients, he's literally changing the landscape of the city's food scene.  His cooking style is very progressive, you can taste the passion in every bite you take.  According to Southern Living's July issue, Chef Phillip will be opening a new restaurant in the garden district soon.  I will be there as soon as the door opens.  My mind can't fathom a meal better than what I've had from him at ROOT, but I have no doubt he will out-do even himself.  I appreciate that Chef Phillip is a proponent of the local farmer & sources as many local ingredients as possible.  That is just one more reason that you should eat her now.