The fiancee and I stepped out Saturday night for an evening in the Quarter. She was getting her hair done and I just sort of moved from bar to bar, running into friends and doing the Gambit crossword (Shortz Monday or Tuesday I think). Mostly eavesdropping on others conversations.
After a while, her hair was done and we headed over to Fiorella’s for a lil din din.
What we found was a steep decline in quality from our recent visits. Here are the facts:
1. The menu is down to a crumpled, stained piece of copy paper. Much smaller than it used to be.
2. The beer selection was down to Miller Lite and (luckily for me), Pabst Blue Ribbon. Nothing more.
3. The wine selection this night was White Zinfindal. Nothing more.
4. On a Saturday night there were perhaps six tables occupied. Nothing going on in the back. Or is that room the front? Hmmm…nothing going on on the Market side.
Now for an opinion, not ours but the couple next to us. They used to live here but are now visiting from Baton Rouge and hated, hated HATED, their dinner. They lamented the taste of everything, complained that the chicken had lost its flavor and that the mac and cheese looked like it was out of a box. Then they showed me the bottom of their cup and it did seem to have that Kraft konsistancy.
Our dinner was good. I had the Cajun burgur and she had an oyster po boy. Both were fine. But they did serve them with chips instead of fries and I don’t seem to remember that before. Could be wrong.
Also, plastic cups instead of glass which also seems new. A fine ale like Pabst is quite palpable in a bottle or glass but likens itself to stale high school keg party flavoring when served in thin plastic. It was like I was 16 years-old again.
The couple next to us finally got fed up and asked about ownership and the lil waiter fella said that the owner was turning it “more into a chicken restaurant.”
What’s a chicken restaurant again?
I mean the obvious answer is a place that primarily serves chicken but, “chicken restaurant” isn’t like “sushi bar” or “diner” or “steakhouse” or “deli” or “pizza joint,” where there is a reasonable expectation going in. “Chicken restaurant” sounds like “potato place” or “bacon spot,” no precedent ya heard?
Anyway.
The night was saved via good drinks and good shows on Lower Decatur and Frenchmen.
Just wondering out loud what’s going down at Fiorella’s other than the quality.
This town could use a good bacon spot.
Good question. The place is sinking fast. Try Mojo’s next door. It’s a Lower Decatur secret I’ll share with you.
New owners.
C and I sauntered past Fiorella’s last Sunday and smelled the aromas – glad we didn’t act on the olfactory triggers – guess we’ll keep sticking to Coop’s Place…
I stumbled upon Fiorella’s back in mid December, thinking it looked like it might be a nice, colorful, mom and pop place.
While the evening proved entertaining – the staff was about as Bohemian as it gets and the lone waiter was running around crazily – the food, the cleanliness, and the service was clearly lacking.
When trying to get drinks, the waiter basically told us “no” for every item, finally telling us “Why don’t I just tell you what we DO have.”
Pretty sketchtastic.
I wondered about this myself. Everytime I have been back in the last few years it kind of slips a bit ( although my beer did always come in plastic cups) they used to have a huge 3 page proper menu, now its a copy paper and the service is a lot slower than it uused to be ( and the mac n cheese is not as good) I did eat there night before last though and I do have to say that the fried chicken was actually excellent, better than in times past, so maybe they are just perfecting that and moving on…?