Why haven’t we been before? Frank Brigsten apprenticed at
Commander’s Palace in 1979 under Paul Prudhomme. Then he worked for Prudhomme
at K-Paul’s for 7 years before he and his wife, Marna, opened their own place
in 1986. Frank won the James Beard Award for Best Chef Southeast in 1998. And
he is still cooking on Dante Street in an old house uptown beyond Carrollton
and his Cajun/Creole food still connects. The restaurant itself looks dated;
pleasant, not grand or chic. But the food is good. Why is he so off today’s
radar? I found an old New Orleans cookbook from 1998 that mentioned him. Our
daughter-in-law had been talking about him but we had just never gone. But last
week I couldn’t get a reservation at the hot spot, Shaya, which I love; I
called Brigsten’s. You have to call. No online or open table for them. I did
find where they are not forgotten. The ‘Times Picayune’ named them to the top
10 in 2017 along with such names as August, Commander’s, Herbsaint, Shaya,
Peche, La Petite Grocery, and Brennan’s.
We started the evening with cocktails. My husband had his
usual New Orleans’ drink, a Sazarac. I looked at the drinks menu and they had
an Aperol spritzer. I have been reading about them this summer and decided to
try. I like Campari and this is a slightly sweeter version and popular in Italy
as an aperitif I am told.
The menu is said to change daily and uses what is available.
That is not really old school, but the cooking is I think. My husband had to have
the sweetbreads which he invariably does when they are on a menu. I tried a
shrimp remoulade—on guacamole with deviled eggs and a cold mirliton corn
relish. It was a great summer starter. And I could do that one at home easily.
Maybe this fall when the mirliton come in. Our vines are the biggest and best
we have ever had---now, if they will only produce.
My husband and I both chose the seafood platter named “The
Shell Beach Diet.” It was a tasting of several dishes but not too much food.
There was a grilled drum with crawfish and jalapeño lime sauce; baked oysters Le
Ruth with shrimp and crab; crawfish cornbread with jalapeño
smoked corn butter; sea scallops with fontina cheese grits and fire-roasted
vegetable salsa; stuffed artichoke baked oysters; and a shrimp boil salad with
corn and potatoes. Sounds like a lot but it wasn’t.
I found this recipe of his on-line that I might try this
fall also when the butternut squash come in. It is one of his signature dishes.
Butternut Shrimp Bisque
3 tbsp unsalted butter
2 cups diced yellow onion
1 bay leaf
4 cups butternut squash---peeled, de-seeded, and diced into
½ inch cubes
2 cups peeled fresh shrimp
2 ¼ tsp salt
3/8 tsp ground cayenne
1/8 tsp ground white pepper
½ cup shrimp stock (heads and shells in a saucepan covered
with cold water; bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 15
minutes; strain)
6 cups heavy whipping cream
Heat butter in a heavy duty saucepan over med-high heat and
cook onions and the bay leaf, stirring constantly until the onions become soft
and clear, 3-4 minutes.
Reduce heat to medium and add squash, stir occasionally
until the squash softens, 6-8 minutes.
Reduce heat to low, add shrimp, salt, cayenne and pepper,
cook stirring occasionally until shrimp turn pink, 2-3 minutes.
Add shrimp stock, cook, stirring occasionally, 6-8 minutes.
If it sticks to bottom, just scrape.
Discard bay leaf; puree in food processor.
Return puree to saucepan and add cream, whisk until blended,
bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, 2-3 minutes.
