RESTAURANT REBIRTH (New Orleans, LA)

I’m fully convinced that finding the perfect restaurant in New Orleans is like finding a needle in a haystack.  Wait, before I move on… Have you all ever looked at an image of a needle in a haystack?  Whoever finds it should win an award, because that s*** looks difficult. I am currently waiting on my “award” because I found this restaurant that sadly was on no ones radar that I know of.  I literally asked over twenty people to provide me with names of restaurants that I could try out while in New Orleans, and not a simple soul mentioned Restaurant Rebirth.  That’s unfortunate, because this post will do this restaurant no justice on how spectacular it is, but I’m going to try to provide you all with the right words to convince you that this restaurant is worth making a priority.

The restaurant is located on Fulton St, a couple of blocks away from the Convention Center.  It’s small in the inside and looks like it holds up to no more than 50-70 people at one time.  I thoroughly believe that some of the best restaurants tend to be the smaller ones.  One of the reasons why I came to this restaurant is because it was on no ones radar and I have a “foodie obligation” to provide you with the proper guidance that will continue to strengthen your life.  I had a conversation with a chef that stated, “those who complain about seasoning on foods, haven’t had the quality of seasoning that is needed on the foods you eat”.  I would like to say that EVERY. SINGLE. ITEM. that I ordered was seasoned to perfection.  When can you honestly say the seasoning stood out to you while you were dining?  If not, then Restaurant Rebirth will gladly guide your taste buds to heaven.

Several dishes were ordered ranging from Mississippi Style Barbeque Pork Belly, Shrimp and Egg Plant, and Surf and Turf.  Let’s start off with the Mississippi Style Barbecue Pork Belly.  Take your favorite piece of pork, that you’ve ever eaten and forget about it.  This pork belly was infused with all kinds of flavors.  They slow cook it and add a homemade barbecue sauce with it and serve it with cooked greens and hominy, and then finish it off with Fried Okra & Watermelon Relish.  This Pork Belly was meaty, juicy, fatty (which it should be), with a crunchy exterior.  The glaze that was provided on the meat was sweet and savory and the Greens that were on the bottom of the pork belly were juicy and tender.  They provide you with four Fried Okra balls, but the only thing about that is everything taste so good, you end up wanting more.  I’m not sure if I should’ve asked for a side of fried okra or just left the dish the way it was.  This is by far the best Pork Belly I’ve ever had in my life.  There are so many things I can say about this dish, but you’d have to try it to fully understand how flavorful this dish was.

The next dish that was ordered was the Shrimp & Eggplant.  It consisted of Shrimp boulette stuffed Jumbo Gulf Shrimp wrapped with Japanese eggplant, lightly battered and deep fried, Cajun boiled pine nuts, and Creole tomato glaze and braised pork belly “cracklin” tossed with a sugar cane pepper jelly gastrique.  I would describe this dish as a huge jumbo shrimp, stuffed with egg plant fritters, stuffed with even more shrimp, and surrounded by Pork Belly.  The dish was tender, savory, moist, and meaty.  The tomato glaze added the perfect amount of sweetness to the overall dish and the sugar cane pepper added the finishing touches.  I had no idea that the shrimp were going to be as big as they were, but you can literally have this dish and one other appetizer and be completely satisfied.  I have a thorough appreciation for restaurants that provide a good portion size of food, because it leaves you satisfied and not wanting to get a burger afterwards.  Even if a restaurant provides you with a lot of food, you still have the option to take it home with you.

Last but not least we have the Surf and Turf.  This consisted of a 16 oz veal T-bone, Herbsaint creamed spinach, fried oysters, jumbo lump crab, and Bernaise Sauce.  This was absolutely without a doubt, the best Surf and Turf I’ve ever eaten in my life.  The flavors definitely stood out with this dish.  It taste as though the fried oysters were seasoned with Old Bay Seasoning, Seasoned Salt, and just the right amount of flour.  The jumbo lump crap was literally lump crab meat and not an ounce of imitation was provided to this dish.  I opted to also have my Veal Chop cooked Medium and it was cooked to perfection.  The creamed spinach added with the Bernaise Sauce sent my taste-buds to another planet.  The Veal Chop was cooked to perfection and it was so tender, I honestly don’t remember using a knife to cut it.  If I had any recommendations about what to order at this restaurant, don’t shy away from the Veal Chop.  Veal isn’t something that’s ordered at restaurants so I wanted to put a highlight on how well it can be prepared with the right amount of seasonings.  It taste similar to steak, and it’s derived from calves.  If you’ve never had it, now would be the perfect opportunity to try it!

Overall, I’m thoroughly frustrated with the thought of no one telling about how great this restaurant is.  The service is great, the food is amazing, and you can literally walk off your food by walking a couple of blocks to visit some art galleries.  No words can describe how pleased I was with this restaurant.  As always, when you go to this restaurant let me know what you think!  If you’re not satisfied, I’ll pay your bill.

OVERALL RATING : FIRST CLASS EXPERIENCE