Bastards Who Brunched
My young dining companion and I gave up after a futile search for parking in Georgetown (where we were heading towards Leopold), so we escaped and headed eastbound on Pennsylvania, only to notice The Bayou. Well, why not? Bayou serves brunch 11-3 Saturday and Sunday, and we got the two-top right by the host stand.
I was dying for a cup of Coffee ($3), and Bayou’s is better than the norm. Our server told me the brand, but it was a name I didn’t recognize, and I’ve forgotten it. Still, it’s not the watered-down liquid you so often get at bar brunches – it’s respectable coffee.
We ended up splitting most everything, including a side order of Jalapeño Cheddar Grits ($3.95), and Matt got a Marigny Po’ Boy ($15.95) which was half fried shrimp, half fried oysters (you can also choose half catfish), lettuce tomatoes, pickles, remoulade, and the side of your choice – in this case, Collard Greens with Bacon (normally $5.95).
What I got sounds like a mess, but it wasn’t at all. Grand Marshal Benedict ($19.95) was a variant on a classic Eggs Benedict: poached eggs on an English muffin, fried green tomatoes, Tasso ham, fried oysters (2), corn salsa, and Cajun Hollandaise – plus, some unadvertised home fries. It was a large plate, large enough so everything wasn’t clustered together, and all the ingredients went together very nicely.
I would have cut the tomatoes a little thinner because they tended to dominate the Benedict, and I’d also add a couple less pickle chips to the Po’ Boy, but other than that, this food was pretty much as good as you could possibly expect. I’m batting 1.000 at Bayou – I’ve been here several times now, and have enjoyed it each time. In fact, Bayou may be my favorite of Bo Blair’s restaurants (which include Surfside, Jetties, etc.) – I’m not sure where Executive Chef Rusty Holman actually spends his time, but someone here is running a consistent kitchen.
Incidentally, Bayou gets added to our Half-Priced Wine Nights thread for active members of donrockwell.com.