I had a few items at The Bywater. Photo stream:
I was sitting at the bar, waiting for my order, and I got a whiff of very strong sewer stench. I asked the bartender about it, and she said “Oh yea, that comes up through the drainage grate on the floor behind the bar. I guess we need to flush it.” I moved to the patio.
Drinks:
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4.6/5: The Irish Channel is excellent: it’s one of the few coffee-based cocktails that I enjoy. They use nitro cold brew coffee, which gives it the apparent creamy head on top.
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4.5/5: The Pimm’s cup on a nitro tap is really good: nice balance of Pimms’s, lemon, and cucumber. Didn’t get much “creaminess” from the nitro tap, but it may vary from batch to batch.
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4.5/5: The clarified Gin Fizz Ramos is very good. They make a cream-based Ramos, then clarify it somehow.
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3/5: The Hurricane is OK. They add campari, so it’s kind of like a bitter mai tai.
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4/5: The prah-leen is a good flavor variation on a Tom Collins. But it’s not much better than a Tom Collins, and it’s $14.
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2/5: The Dauphine Street is lacking in every aspect: barely any flavor or alcohol. Satsuma-infused vodka.
Food:
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4.5/5: For weekend brunch, the shrimp in a hole with andouille is very good. The cream sauce is spicy without being too hot: I don’t know if it’s authentic, but it hit the spot.
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4/5: For weekend brunch, the cherry pain perdu is quite good. It’s a cross between bread pudding and french toast, and generally has the best properties of each. It’s inconsistent: One time, it was perfect; the other time, it was over-soaked.
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2/5: The beignets are the fake beignets that all restaurants serve: small donut holes that are not as good as actual donut holes. Nothing like what you get at Cafe Du Monde.
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1/5: Oyster po boy: terrible. Soggy, and no flavor. If there were any flavor, it would be overwhelmed by the pepper sauce. The bread was a little rubbery. I should have sent it back. In comparison, the oyster po boy at Louisiana Bistro in San Jose is a 4.7/5.
