Dinner at Lüke, New Orleans

After a day at Jazzfest, sitting at a table with a drink in a real glass and planning the next day at Jazzfest sounds like a good idea. Lüke is a bastion of the John Besh empire, and if Chef Besh was respected before the storm, he is now held in absolute awe for the way he stepped up and kept on. More than that, he serves good, often great, food, which is really why we're here. The other thing I should mention is that the umlaut in the name of the restaurant is purely decorative and has no meaning or function. Oh well.
This is not our first time here, and the reception has always had kind of a bewildered, almost stunned quality. This time we were told that our table was just being cleared off and set up, and would be ready shortly. Sure enough, in 15 minutes, a dazed young lady led us the length of the restaurant to a corner where there were no vacant tables. "Um," said she, "I think I forgot where he said to bring you. Wait here." So we did, and soon some other kind soul found us and led us to a table up front. Which had been standing vacant and set up since we arrived. well, we came to eat, not to argue, right?
And eat and drink we did. Thirsty after a long day in the sun, I had a French 75, generously poured in a large brandy snifter, and he had a Bellini. Then:

Fried oyster salad with bacon, romaine, avocado for me (are we starting to detect a theme here?),

 and Flammenküche(Alsatian onion/bacon tart) for him. This is really for two, but as you might imagine, he had help.
And then, not being one to waste an opportunity -- why spend almost a day travelling to order something you can get home?

Not the best pic in the world but I was on the second French 75, so I'll help out--glorious spicy buttery shrimp&grits.
Meanwhile himself had been watching all these giant burgers go by to other less deserving patrons, so that's what he had.



and those French fries really deserve their own portrait.
He had bread pudding (they revoke your visa if you don't have this at least once per visit), and I finished up with what the menu called chocolate pot au crème but what was really chocolate mousse. Nice, though.
Would we come back? Of course, we always do. Maybe for breakfast.