Roux Tampa

Dinner at 

the new Tampa hot spot... last night proved to be a good evening out.  This was test menu night.  There were four of us in attendance.  We would have liked to try everything on the menu, but alas our stomachs would not allow it.  But I will tell you what we did have.  

Off the appetizer menu, we ordered the Roux Cornbread, if you are a big fan of cornbread this is an item for you.  Everyone at our table loved it.  The next one we tried was the abita-beer-battered crab beignet, to die for, love, love, love this one.  Then we tried the char-grilled oysters, presented just as they would be in New Orleans.  I'm not such a big fan of oysters but I did like these, our friend Mimi who likes oysters any way you serve them, loved these. Next on the our menu was the smoked duck & andouille gumbo, Andrea tried this one and thought it was very good, she would have that again.  Mimi tried the mumbo, jumbo, seafood gumbo, she said her dish was delish.  I did try a bit of it and I thought is was pretty tasty.   I tried the roasted beet salad, which I thought was very tasty.  I wanted to try the mirliton & green apple salad, but they didn't have it for last nights test run.

Moving on to the main courses; Anne had "not your ordinary shrimp & grits"  it was love at first sight for her.  Andrea had the bayou bolognese,  she loved the sauce, they used angle hair pasta, it was supposed to be pappardelle pasta which she would have preferred.  I had the wild mushroom ravioli, which they touted as their vegetarian dish for the evening.  The absinthe-laced cajun tomato cream on the ravioli was very good. 

We tried a couple of cocktails from the bar which they are calling Toula's, French Quarter cocktails meet trendy mixology creations.  Anne and Mimi tried the Sazerac, which they've had years ago, and they really enjoyed remembering.  I tried the Pink Fairy, that was a wow from me.  I will definitely have that drink again.  I don't remember all what it had in it, but it did  have elder flower liqueur and I believe muddled basil. 

We all had the the Pinot Noir house wine with our meal and it was very nice. smoked duck  & andouille gumbo

There were a few mishaps, the service was reaaaally slow, but  the waitress was very pleasant, then the oven hoods went down and the place filled with smoke, but after it aired out, and the smoked cleared out we had a pleasant evening.  The interior was very New Orleans style with the red brick and the lighting.  They did a very nice job on the decorating that gets an A+.  I really shouldn't comment on the service, because it was a trial run and I'm not sure they have all the details worked out.  So we will definitely give them a second try.  It will be fun to have another good restaurant in the neighborhood. #rouxtampa