Hurricane Alley is the re-spawning of Cafe Nola and attempts to bring the cuisine of New Orleans to Philadelphia. They have a medium sized restaurant with bar and table seating. The draft list is short, the bottle list is longer and, surprisingly, the wine list is longest. They even have a draft pouring system for the wine and a whole wine-cellar type room at the back. They should advertise this vino side of them a little more.
My drink choice for the night, however, was from their short cocktail list. I decided to go with, the famous, Hurricane - I had never had one and figured this was as good an opportunity as any to try it.
My drink choice for the night, however, was from their short cocktail list. I decided to go with, the famous, Hurricane - I had never had one and figured this was as good an opportunity as any to try it.
It was mediocre. I think it has great potential though - maybe with some fresh squeezed juices.
Another surprising thing, to me, was the presence of alligator sliders on the menu. The fact that I found that surprising clearly means I know nothing about the fauna and flora of the New Orleans region. I did know, however, that I definitely wanted to try those sliders.
Alligator meat had a mild beef-like flavour to start. I really enjoyed this phase of the experience. As I continued to eat the meat, a more fishy flavour, akin to tuna, became more prominent. I did not enjoy this phase of the experience. Alligator meat reminded me a little of frog legs, which I consider to be a mixture of the texture and mild flavour of chicken with a fishy overtone. Similarly, alligator to me had the texture and mild flavour of beef coupled with a fishy overtone.
We also ordered the New Orleans vampire wings which were really good. They had a nice crispy outer skin and a sweet garlic chilly sauce on top.
For the entree I had a the jamabalaya with pasta.
The jamabalaya was spicier than I expected but I was happy about that. It went really well over pasta and the bread was a good compliment to the meal.
In summary, Hurricane Alley was better than I expected. However, I've never had creole cooking straight from the alligators' mouth in New Orleans before. I am, therefore, exactly like people who haven't eaten Indian food right from the tigers' mouth in India and so, have no idea how good it can get. Hurricane Alley probably loves people like me.
I do have to mention that I did have a little of a tummy upset the next day. I do have a overly sensitive digestive system though, so I wouldn't dissuade anyone else from going. I, however, probably wont return here - the food wasn't good enough to warrant the tummy distress.
Hurricane Alley
340 South Street
Philadelphia PA 19147
215-238-1512
No comments:
Post a Comment