Chef John Besh is renowned throughout the food world, having been named one of Food & Wine magazine's “Top 10 Best New Chefs in America” and winning the James Beard Award for Best Chef of the Southeast in 2006. His new restaurant, Lüke, helps prove how he earned his reputation.
Lüke
Chef Jared Tees heads up the kitchen here, and helped plan the menu. Lüke was intended as an homage to the brasseries of old New Orleans. In true brasserie style, the restaurant is elegant without being fancy. The comfortable atmosphere is casually warm and welcoming, with cherry wood paneling, and pulley and belt driven ceiling fans for atmosphere. We were served our wine in tumblers, and our napkins resembled bar towels. The comfort continues with the wonderful food.
The Food
Lüke serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. There is an "express" breakfast, coffee, tea or juice with the daily special, such as Lüke’s Pain Perdu or poached eggs over smoked wild salmon. There is also a buffet and other breakfast combinations.
Lunch has a broad range of appetizers, including a couple of pates and a lot of raw oysters. There is a huge seafood plate, three tiers worth of lobster, crab, oysters, shrimp, mussels, clams called the “Le Grande Plateau de Fruits de Mer.” Another popular entree is the "Choucroûte Maison," which includes the famous slow-cooked Berkshire pork belly and cochon de lait.
For dinner, we enjoyed the fried oyster, bacon, romaine and avocado salad (which could really be a light meal) and the Crabmeat Maison with fresh herbs. As entrees, we sampled the Jagerschnitzel Mit Spätzle, which are paneéd veal cutlets with bacon and chanterelle mushrooms; Moules et Frites, Prince Edward Island mussels steamed with garlic and thyme; and the Steak au Poivre au Frites. Each one was scrumptious. There is also Crabmeat Ravioli, Louisiana pan-fried redfish, an enormous 10-ounce hamburger with bacon, caramelized onions and Emmenthaler cheese, and several other selections including the daily specialties.
Brunch is served between 11 and 4, when you can order either breakfast or lunch entrees.
Free Corkage
As with all Besh restaurants, there is that rarest of rare bonuses--no corkage fee!
The Bar
The full service bar has a wide selection of French, German, and Belgian beers, as well as three custom locally brewed offerings. The wine list features varieties from the Loire, Alsace, and Savoie regions of France, as well as Badischerwiens of Germany.
Important Information
Lüke is open daily from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. and is adjacent to the Hilton St. Charles, at 333 St. Charles Avenue. (504)378-2840. Visit the website.
