If there's one thing I love to do, it's visit a new brewpub. Even better is bellying up to the bar and discovering they have great beer. But when I find a brewpub with tasty beer and delicious food, now that’s a real treat indeed. Such a treat is Crescent City Brewhouse, located on Decatur Street in New Orleans’ French Quarter.

I knew I was in for a treat here when I saw Crescent City featured on Food Network during a segment on New Orleans eating places. I was not disappointed, because the winning combination of head chef Mark Latino and head brewer Wolfram Koehler is sure to satisfy both your thirst and your appetite.

Atmosphere

As soon as you walk through the doors, you can tell this is a class establishment. From the tastefully decorated walls to the hardwood floors, Crescent City just oozes class. Fine art adorns the walls, plants hang from the ceilings, and soft lighting bathes it all in an effervescent glow. The shining copper brewing equipment is located just behind the bar. Live jazz is performed from 4 to 7, so be sure to get there early.

Crescent City has been in business since 1991, so you know they must be doing something right. And indeed, the place was packed when we visited. It was a Monday night, and we still had about a ten minute wait for a table. But that was OK. I just enjoyed a beer at the bar. So without further ado, let me tell you about the beer.

The Beer

To be sure, Crescent City offers a full service bar and a decent wine list. But you shouldn’t miss the freshly brewed, German style beers that make this place so special. Don’t expect a stout or an IPA, either, because you’ll be disappointed. Wolfram is a German brewer and he brews German style beers: four year-round favorites and a seasonal specialty.

The beers are a bit pricey at $6.00 each, but this is New Orleans after all. They’re all served in large portions, too. Your beer will come in a towering logo wheat beer glass, which you can keep as a souvenir for $4.00 more. Growlers to go are sold for $14.00 each. If you prefer, you can try a sampler of all the beers for about six bucks.

I enjoyed several brews among them:

Black Forest: This was my favorite. A rich and delicious Munich style dunkles with a dark brownish-black color, a soft creamy head, and a sweet coffee nose. Though clean of esters, the beer was full of soft flavors: coffee, toasted nuts, chocolate, molasses, and a hint of caramel. Creamy in the mouthfeel and the palate is well.

The brewery says:

A full-bodied dark mahogany beer, with a rich malty texture. It is sparsely hopped, in the traditional Munich style.

Food As good as the beers were, we were even happier with the food. Crescent City offers everything from sandwiches to burgers to local favorites like gumbo and crab cakes. There are salads and wings, ribs and steaks. We were tempted by the STUFFED SOFTSHELL CRAB ($16.95), their description: Louisiana soft shell crab stuffed with crawfish and fontina cheese, served with angel hair pasta and eggplant toast; sauce of garlic tomato and red pepper flake courtbouillion.

The SHRIMP PAPPARDELLE ($18.95) also looked great. Jumbo gulf shrimp pan sautéed with crispy bacon, peas, and mushrooms in a creamy sauce of fresh basil and parmesan cheese. In the end, however, Barbara went for the Filet Mignon ($24.95). It was melt in your mouth tender, cooked to perfection and seasoned with a lemon veal glaze, peppers, and portabella mushrooms. This was accompanied by asparagus spears, an onion romaine salad and house potatoes.

The salad was incredible, served in a delightfully tangy dressing. It was a surprise how much flavor emanated from such a simple salad. The potatoes might have been the best part of the meal, sort of a variation on mashed with soft lumps of red potato. They were creamy, buttery, and perfectly seasoned with just the right blend of herbs.

I chose the Grilled Tuna Orleans ($19.95). A generous portion of grilled Mahi Mahi tuna was flaky, moist and delicious. It was topped by a sweet onion chutney, pan seared tomatoes, and succulent jumbo shrimp, all served on a bed of crisp ginger-spiced fresh snap beans. Everything was delicious, and the spices worked wonderfully together. A hearty loaf of crusty French bread rounded out our meal nicely.

Even the presentation was something special. My meal was presented in a large but shallow bowl, while Barbara’s came on a rectangular platter. Both meals were beautifully arranged.

It Gets Better

Though the food is pricey, we actually got a great deal with a buy one entree get one free coupon. It&#146s featured in a free New Orleans travel guide you can get from the tourism department. There are city-employed ambassadors on the streets, too, handing them out. So, we enjoyed two wonderful meals for just $24.95.

Service

Our service was good, and our server somewhat friendly. She was a bit busy that night. One thing that irked me was that when she brought our check, a 15% gratuity had already been added. I understand the reasoning for this. When you use a coupon, you should tip on the value before the coupon is deducted. Many people don’t realize this I suspect, but after all, the server has to work just as hard as if you were paying full price. In this case, she short-changed herself, since I would have tipped 20%.

Overall

Crescent City should not be missed. Whether you love great food, great beer, or both, you’ll be very happy with your decision to dine here. We certainly were, and we’ll definitely be back again.

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