XL Food & Drink: The Main Course

Ms. B's

New location captures a Big Easy state of mind

By Dale Rice
AMERICAN-STATESMAN RESTAURANT CRITIC
Thursday, August 10, 2006

When it comes to food, New Orleans is not just a location; it's a state of mind.

A year after Hurricane Katrina, no one knows how the Crescent City will ultimately emerge from the storm's horrifying destruction. But the culinary soul of the city — the Cajun and Creole flavors that spiced its life — will not be measured by the city's fate. It thrives strongly beyond the bayous of southern Louisiana, stoking memories and spreading the Big Easy spirit.

In Austin, the new eastside Ms. B's — the second location of the Northwest Austin restaurant opened by Brenda and Billy McGowan — is the latest respository for New Orleans-style cuisine.

Located in a revitalized stretch of East 11th Street a few blocks east of Interstate 35, Ms. B's has created a bright, colorful, fine-dining setting to complement the food, including walls painted in deep shades of maize, terra cotta and red.

The fare is as robust and lively as the walls, with plenty of spice to tantalize the palate.

The lead-off dishes, seafood gumbo ($4.50 for a cup) and crawfish bisque ($4.50 for a cup), were as good as any I have consumed in New Orleans in many visits over the years.

A friend who grew up in New Orleans contends that the first test of good gumbo is visual: It must be the color of the muddy Mississippi. That's exactly what Ms. B's delivered, with a dark-roux base that had no hints of bitterness. The cup was packed with seafood and garnished with a grilled shrimp draped over the edge.

The bisque came with a zesty tomato base and no shortage of tender crawfish, heightening my culinary memories of meals gone by.

The next dish, the crab cakes ($11), were good, but with a bit of tweaking they could be much better. The highly fried, exceptionally crisp exterior eclipsed the subtle texture and sweetness of the lump crab inside. Also, the plate was dominated by the two bowls of accompanying sauces — a delicious yellow pepper mayonnaise and a red Creole sauce — that nearly hid the cakes and their beds of mango relish. Fry the cakes more lightly and then place two pools of sauce on the plate (eliminating the bowls) and the dish would instantly become elegant.

For the main course, the blackened catfish ($13) produced a tasty fillet accompanied by dirty rice and a vegetable mélange that combined sweet corn kernels and diced vegetables with spices.

A spin on the classic that usually finds crustaceans cooked with chunks of celery, peppers and onions, this shrimp Creole ($13.95) was more akin to a bowl of thick, rich, spicy tomato soup with a mound of rice in the center and six wonderfully grilled shrimp arranged neatly on the surface. Although I loved every bite, I would not have ordered it in the same meal with soup — too much of a similar texture and theme. Ms. B's could easily fix that by expanding the descriptions of dishes on the menu.

Another way around the problem would be for the server to note the similarities and suggest ordering something else. But that's a tactic I typically see with more seasoned waiters. At Ms. B's, our young server compensated for her lack of experience with great charm and enthusiasm for the food.

For dessert, we couldn't resist two Southern classics: bread pudding ($5) and sweet potato pecan pie ($5). The pudding was served in a thin lemon sauce that ensured it would be uniformly moist and added a nice citrus element to the dish, while the pie was eat-every-crumb enticing and welcomingly less sweet than many versions.

The McGowans, through their Cajun and Creole fare, are doing more than bringing a taste of New Orleans to Austin. With the new Ms. B's, they are demonstrating a commitment to quality and flavor that is as strong as the culinary traditions they embody.

drice@statesman.com; 445-3859