Roux.....Oh My

As to some issues....

We receive Leidenheimer bread in 3 times a week fresh. French bread is crusty on the outside and soft on the inside. It is intended to be that way. It is in no way stale because we go through so many cases a day that it would be impossible.
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Dustin,

Thanks for replying.

I am willing to bet that most people on this forum knows of the texture of French bread.

As for what you think is impossible, I have had many po boys in NOLA and elsewhere. The bread for my po boy for lunch this past Friday was indeed dry.....on the inisde

Nevertheless, because of your post pointing out that you've change the bread/filling ratio, I'll give your po boys one more shot and I'll hope that the stale bread was just a fluke.

I have to disagree with you guys about yelp. I use it frequently to check out restaurants. I think most people on there give good honest reviews. Sure someone with a bone to pick can go on there and attack a place but usually those are easy to filter out.

Where it's bad is if a new place opens and gets bad reviews while they're working out the kinks. The reviews might be legitimate but other newcomers will see a handful of bad reviews and avoid the place. Maybe best to avoid getting a yelp account until you hit your stride. Also I agree the company itself is pretty shady. I too have a small business and yelp has actually been VERY beneficial for us overall despite their business practices though.

When I'm travelling elsewhere, Yelp has been one source of info but as mentioned before, I 1) use other sources ( Urbanspoon, Trip Advisor) as primary, and 2) filter out the obviously biased reviews. What really made me lose credibility for Yelp though was a recent research on a local ( non-food) service business. I had read 2 very bad reviews- an issue that should be reported to the BBB- on Google, but there were none on Yelp. Then I looked closer and saw there were "Not recommended reviews " on Yelp being suppressed. When I clicked on that, I found 2 additional very bad reviews ( with similiar issues) that were not visible- I assume they are advertising to have those reviews suppressed. Won't trust Yelp at all any more.
Deb

Also I was constructively speaking with a friend of mine in New Orleans this morning and we are going to change the way the ingredients are put on the sandwich itself and I think this will make a world of difference. Sauce will go on the bread first in order to "moisturize" the interior of the bread (as I said, our bread is far from stale), then we will next add the proteins, before proteins and sauce were going on as the final two ingredients. This will make it much easier to stuff. The toppings will go on as the final stage (Pickles, Tomato, Lettuce). This seems miniscule, but even when building hamburgers I think the order is key, and I think this alteration on my end will make everyone much happier.

This is why constructive criticism to restaurants is much more apt to produce changes. Long diatribes on Yelp (and making it a point to place them on every other review space) rarely get anything done.

Thanks again for the input guys. Ultimately I want you guys to be happy so I will continue to work towards that.

Nicely responded, Dustin. I'll come in to check you out both because I know you make great food, and because you listen to your customers (instead of just getting defensive).
Deb

I would caution against the stance of "this could never happen here because ...." In defense of Roux, though, I can say that having bought many loaves of Leidenheimer I always found that on its own it comes across as dry inside and out (haven't eaten at Roux yet). The liberal application of dressing or gravy is the touch that softens it up. If I was looking for bread to accompany a plate of pasta I would opt for another brand.

In defense of Roux, though, I can say that having bought many loaves of Leidenheimer I always found that on its own it comes across as dry inside and out (haven't eaten at Roux yet). The liberal application of dressing or gravy is the touch that softens it up.

I was born and raised in the Crescent City and am here to testify that fresh Leidenheimer's bread is generally a bit dry on the inside. A fact that lets it marry beautifully with gravy and debris or Blue Plate Mayonnaise or preferably a lot of both. And another thing, that dryness is much less if the bread is made on a rainy day, which would be 50% of the days in New Orleans. Damn, I have yet again written myself into one heck of an appetite. Excuse me.

I have to disagree with you guys about yelp. I use it frequently to check out restaurants. I think most people on there give good honest reviews. Sure someone with a bone to pick can go on there and attack a place but usually those are easy to filter out.

Where it's bad is if a new place opens and gets bad reviews while they're working out the kinks. The reviews might be legitimate but other newcomers will see a handful of bad reviews and avoid the place. Maybe best to avoid getting a yelp account until you hit your stride. Also I agree the company itself is pretty shady. I too have a small business and yelp has actually been VERY beneficial for us overall despite their business practices though.

When I'm travelling elsewhere, Yelp has been one source of info but as mentioned before, I 1) use other sources ( Urbanspoon, Trip Advisor) as primary, and 2) filter out the obviously biased reviews. What really made me lose credibility for Yelp though was a recent research on a local ( non-food) service business. I had read 2 very bad reviews- an issue that should be reported to the BBB- on Google, but there were none on Yelp. Then I looked closer and saw there were "Not recommended reviews " on Yelp being suppressed. When I clicked on that, I found 2 additional very bad reviews ( with similiar issues) that were not visible- I assume they are advertising to have those reviews suppressed. Won't trust Yelp at all any more.
Deb

No, they suppress good reviews too. I have 3 5-star reviews for our business that are currently "not recommended". And no bad ones. No one at yelp has ever asked us for any money to release them. We've never had a bad review so I can't speak to that. Most of the time when we have "not recommended" reviews its from someone new to Yelp which I guess they try to suppress to prevent people from making new accounts and reviewing their own business. Or in the case of bad reviews someone attacking a business unfairly.

Appreciate people who know this bread in particular testifying of its particular style as well as the fact that's impossible for it to be stale based on the quantity we mow through.

Like I said the sauce on the bottom should help immensely satisfy those who dont know of the bread in particular.

...I was born and raised in the Crescent City...

Ha! I was hoping you'd contribute here. They offered po' boy bread at the Robert Fresh Market near my apartment in Lakeview (New Orleans), and I believe one of the products was Leidenheimer's. I never bought any because it was like 4 feet long and I was living solo!

I had a shrimp po boy today for lunch and it was much better than it was on Friday. The sauce on the bread first and increasing the protein portion makes a world of difference. Now, it is a sandwich that I would definitely get again.

On that note, may I suggest offering a crawfish po boy?

I haven't been yet, but if you put a crawfish po-boy up (especially if the crawfish isn't fried beyond recognition), I'll be stopping in ASAP.

Thanks for the clarification ( and education) , Jason.

Glad you came back in Ray. I figured that would help a lot. When it gets warmer and I can get those monstrous Craws in we will definitely have a crawfish po boy.

I had a really delicious dinner at Roux on Monday evening and am scratching my head about the complaints on serving sizes. I thought everything was portioned very well and appropriately.
My friend from out of town started with the Spiny Lobster Salad, which I am told we are going back to order again before he departs.The spicy finish of each bite made you want to go back for more.
The crawfish etouffee was very good too (needed a bit of salt, but that was my personal opinion) and was loaded with crawfish.
For an entree I had the escargots en croute which were wonderful! The escargot themselves were wrapped in knots of puff pastry and came in a rich sauce packed with chanterelles.
My friend had the oysters gratin which he said were very good indeed and and the brussel sprouts with andouille which he reluctantly let me try.
I applaud Dustin and the whole crew for giving us something different and very appealing (has any mention been made of the upstairs bar and lounge? It is a treat!) I look forward to going back again soon.

We haven't been yet, but I'm curious... has anyone tried the gumbo? Haven't seen any comments about it, and wondered about is style, flavor, etc.