Coach Lamp

We had a chance to go to The Coach Lamp on Saturday and our experience was great. We pretty much ordered off of the Creole side of the menu and everything was fantastic. We certainly will be back.

One of my favorite places... always great food and very accommodating. Following their recent menu changes, the Chef (Bill I think) was very nice and allowed us to order one old favorite that didn't stay on the menu. I love the place for large groups as well. And great patio...

I have eaten there three times, one dinner & two lunches, and loved everything! This is an excellent place with that old school feel, one of my favorite places.

We dined at the Coach Lamp this past Friday evening, and as always, everything was very good. However, we walked in at around 8 with no reservations, and the place was practically empty, which obviously is troubling.

I spoke with our waitress, and it seems that they are looking for ways to generate business, including advertising and a frequent dining card.

My girlfriend and I, who love the place, hadn't been in quite some time ourselves. While we always enjoy our meals there, for whatever reason, it is one of those places that never seems to come to mind when we are deciding where to eat.

I just thought I'd mention it, in case anybody else had forgotten.

As for the food, I am a huge fan of the meat pies. THe oyster pan roast is a decadent meal with big, briny oysters covered in a delicious(if heart-palpitation inducing) mornany sauce with tomatoes and bacon. The jambalaya is my favorite version sampled locally

My girlfriend always seems to get the fried eggplant with beschemel and crab meat, which i have sampled and is also very good.

ALso, they have an excellent beer list, which I certainly appreciate.

I to love The Coach Lamp but fear that current ownership is not thinking of creative, new ways to keep thing alive & moving. I personally feel their current menu has too many heavy items, too much cream sauce. I love all of that, but as I get older I simply cannot eat foods this rich & maintain my health & sense of well being.

Please continue to support this great place until things change for the better. I am hoping this will happen soon.

I see several here professing their love for this place. I wanted to love this place and talked my wife in to trying the Fat Tuesday buffet. I had read a recent review prior to eating there that indicated that the chef was from New Orleans and that the food was authentic. I did not find it so on that date and was extremely disappointed. Perhaps the buffet was not the way to go but I thought it would give me the chance to try several things from the menu at one time. The only thing remotely New Orleans on that night was the meat pies which I had never even had before. Also, the beer selection that night was pathetic. I settled for bottled Abita. Big deal. Maybe the beer selection has improved since then but the only way to get me into a place because the beer is to have good beer on tap. Bottled Abita wont' do it.

I've been to New Orleans many times and I love it and its food. I lived in Mississippi for nine months and drove there every chance I could get and I've been back several times including last year. So, I ask you guys (regulars) if I give it another try what would I order that would make me think I was back in the Big Easy?

Cause otherwise I'll stick to Doc Crows for oyster Po Boys and Selena's at the Willows for everything else cajun!

First of all I would like to apologize to Robin and all of the Forumites ahead of time if I am off base with this posting.That being said the staff,management and myself felt like we could not let Mr.Campbell's unwarranted and blatant attack on our fine establishment go unabated.Additionally I feel as though Mr.Campbell has intentionally tried to impugn my reputation and integrity.

1)Mr.Campbell states that he and his wife dined at the Coach Lamp for our Fat Tuesday buffet and that the only thing on the buffet that was remotely N.O.was the meat pies,which he had never seen before.Here is our Fat Tuesday buffet menu:chicken and sausage jambalaya,shrimp creole w/N.O. white rice,Pass Manchac style fried catfish,hush puppies,coleslaw,Natchitoches meat pies,corn maque choux,bread pudding. Having been the catering chef at Pat O'Brien's at one time in my career I can tell you with full confidence that had you been at Pat O's that evening instead of the Coach Lamp you would have had virtually the same options and it would have cost you considerably more than the $19.95 that you paid.

2)Mr.Campbell also states that our beer selection was"pathetic"and he had to "settle" for a bottled Abita.Having been the Exec.Chef at the Abita Brewing Co. owned Abita Brew Pub for 2 years I can personally attest to the fact that all of Abita's beers are brewed with the thought of complementing Louisiana seafood and game.Since Abita is the last of the locally brewed beers available outside of Louisiana it was the only sensible choice to feature with the buffet.
At any given time we have 35+/- hand crafted and/or imported beers available.Just to name a few:Barbar,Chimay,Duvel,Grimbergen,Piraat,2 Great Lakes,3/4 Dogfish Head,2 Franziskaner,Warsteiner,Spaten,Brother David,Brother Thelonius,Saint Bernardus,etc.To say that our list was "pathetic" is an out and out fabrication.

3)Lastly Mr.Campbell states that he has been to NOLA many times,yet he has never seen a meat pie.I find this to be laughable.Mrs.Wheat's Natchitoches Meat Pies are produced in NOLA and shipped all over the U.S.They are an iconic N.O. street food and are available in restaurants all over the city.I do not know what Mr.Campbell's motive or objective was in posting such a preposterous posting but I question his knowledge of and experience with New Orleans/creole/cajun cuisine.

Chef Richard Lowe
Coach Lamp Restaurant

I'm with Chef Lowe on this one (check my little profile icon if you need proof of my love for Creole & Cajun fare). I have not had the opportunity to dine at the Coach Lamp as often as I'd like, but it stands up to all the meals I've eaten in NOLA and their beer selection is quite good.

[Robin Garr]

First of all I would like to apologize to Robin and all of the Forumites ahead of time if I am off base with this posting.That being said the staff,management and myself felt like we could not let Mr.Campbell's unwarranted and blatant attack on our fine establishment go unabated.Additionally I feel as though Mr.Campbell has intentionally tried to impugn my reputation and integrity.

Richard, I think everyone has a right to post here, and you certainly have a right to respond to Shane's post. I'm sure he anticipated that.

I do think your post would have been better, more civil, and thus more effective if you had kept your thoughts in this paragraph to yourself and simply posted the rest of your remarks starting with paragraph two.

Just something to think about.

Chef Lowe,
Wow, I certainly wasn't expecting such a vehement reply but I understand where it's coming from. You obviously care and are proud of your restaurant and you have supporter's here on the forum so I suspect its warranted. It is often hard to put your thoughts in print and convey your meaning and my post was not meant as an attack but rather a “should I try this one again, what would you recommend” and it was aimed at the very supporters that started the post.

My apologies for offending you and your staff!

I didn't say that I'd never seen meat pies just that I'd never had them (and I should have said that I enjoyed them). I also wasn't suggesting that you didn't have a N.O. Menu that night. The menu was what brought me there. My problem was that I didn't find the execution that night to remind me at all of the food that I'd previously experienced in the New Orleans area and I wondered if the buffet that night might not have been indicative of the normal fare.

As an avid craft beer lover (so from my point of view) the selection of “bottled beers” mentioned is fine but only impressive if beer is not a point of emphasis for your restaurant. I was unaware of it as I was never offered a beer menu and believe me I did ask about the beer (I always do). My comment was a reply to the assertion that the beer selection there is excellent. I just don't happen to agree (still). Now Abita on tap would have been quite exciting as I've never had it (and never seen it anywhere around here). But the beer was not why I went that night. I wanted to experience authentic cajun cooking and that night I felt I was eating cajun inspired cooking only and freshness and spice that night were lacking for me. I was very disappointed because I wanted to like it! I still do Chef!

I mentioned that I lived in Mississippi (Biloxi) for nine months and I've spent as much as six weeks at a time there several other times over the years. I returned for a short visit last summer. I eat as much cajun food as I can when I'm down there because I don't often find it up here. I'm not a professional food reviewer so I can't necessarily put into words the things that differ for me here vs there but I certainly can tell when I find the food here.

I didn't post about my previous experience because I don't see any reason to attack a restaurant (ever) especially based on one try. I had no objective in my post other than to get a recommendation from people who eat at your restaurant as to what I should order should I return. My words:

“So, I ask you guys (regulars) if I give it another try what would I order that would make me think I was back in the Big Easy?"

So, if I haven't offended you and your staff to such an extent that you would't want me back I would be most willing to give you another try. I did try to stop in again on a Saturday afternoon but the restaurant was not open. I live on the Indiana side of the river so I can't just pop over. In fact I will give you another try (incognito of course) and I will report back here. I would still like to hear some recommendations before I do.

So, Jeff or anyone what should I try next?

Shane,

I am a huge oyster poboy fan & have eaten them at both The Coach Lamp & also Doc Crow's. I think you will find the one at The Coach Lamp to be as good as any you will find in this town & also outside of NOLA. Chef Richard has done an excellent job sourcing a very good bread. I would suggest you try their oyster poboy, with a side of slaw.

Shane, you have every right to like or dislike the food at Coach Lamp, and i wasn't writing to try and convert anybody. I do not make it my business to evaluate the merit of peoples' individual tastes.

I was only trying to bring the restaurant to the top of mind for people who were already fans but maybe didn't make out much for whatever reason.

If you don't like the food, I respect that. I really enjoy the Jambalaya, the Oysters Coach Lamp, the meat pies, and the oyster pan roast. Again, if you are willing to give it a shot, i think that is big of you, and i hope you enjoy it. And if you still don't like it, that is certainly your business, just don't come trying to hunt me down.

The only assertion you made that I think is flat out "wrong" was that the beer list was subpar, even after Chef let you know what he had. THe tap selection isn't impressive, but I stand by the bottle list.

My favorites are the Oysters Coach Lamp, Pork Calypso and Ostyer Pan Roast. It is not light fare, but it sure is tasty. IMHO.

Chris Dan and Harold,

Thanks for your replies. I didn't mean to hate on the place. I will definitely try it again in the next few days and I will be very happy if my initial impressions were an aberration. I really like the oyster poboy at Doc Crow's so I think I will try that first. My favorite dish is Jambalya so that will be hard to pass up if I see some on another's plate.

As far a beer goes. I'm hard to impress and only drink beer from a bottle when there is no interesting tap option. It is often the case that the best places to drink beer have unremarkable food and vice versa. So, the fact that the Coach Lamp has a selection of bottled beers is fine by me just not a factor in my decision to dine there or not.

When you combine the two you have my favorite restaurants. So, Coals get those taps in!

Fair enough, SHane, and I hope i didn't come off like a dick in my original response to you. Let us know what you think, good or bad, and we will have to respect it. Somewhat off topic, but what are some restaurants you frequent with good draft lists? I too enjoy a great tap list, but don't really know of many options. Cafe Loulou always has good beers on tap, and I enjoy it as a neighborhood favorite.