The French Quarter: Going strong in the post-Ian era
When a longtime favorite restaurateur leaves a place you have often enjoyed, it is only natural to be a bit apprehensive about how things may change in the kitchen.
And so it is with the French Quarter, which may turn out to have been Ian Greenwood’s last hurrah in Vero after a quarter-century of starting restaurants, serving his now often-copied dishes to a cadre of enthusiastic followers, then moving on — only to reemerge a couple of years later to launch yet another hot dining spot.
After what seems like a decade of threatening to retire and move to points as distant as New Zealand, he is gone again from Vero and this time his departure looks somewhat more serious.
Ian and Jen, together with their dog, three cats and two vehicles including a truck load of household goods, actually made the overland trek to Mexico in June to take up residence in a home they built on Lake Chapala, south of Guadalajara.
Spencer Crawfis, Ian’s front-of-the-house partner in the French Quarter, now is co-owner of the bistro together with one of the final chefs to work under Ian, Ed Fialkowski, who after a bit over a year in the kitchen, acquired Ian’s stake in May.
The good news from a recent weekday visit (drum roll please) is that thus far, not much has changed. The food at the French Quarter on the night we stopped by was not just as good as ever, but possibly better.
For starters on this evening, my husband sampled one of the new items of the post-Ian era, a lobster spring roll ($6.95). It turned out to be two small spring rolls cut into four pieces, each with a chunk of lobster, set around a bed of cabbage and accompanied by a hoisin chili dipping sauce. Very good.
I started with their pear salad. The waitress suggested that I might wish to order a half-salad ($4.95), and I’m glad I did. The half salad, which included cranberries, walnuts and chunks of blue cheese on a bed of mixed greens with a vinaigrette dressing, was enough for two. Goodness knows what the full salad would have been like.
Our companion ordered the lobster bisque ($4.95), which contained nice chunks of lobster and in true New Orleans style, had a bit of heat.
For entrees, I ordered the pan roasted jumbo scallops ($22.50) in creole nut butter. These were four of the sweetest, juiciest scallops I have had in some time – absolute perfection. I even mopped up the sauce with the French Quarter’s great focaccia bread.
My husband passed up the local swordfish ($24) topped with lump crabmeat, which he orders on most every visit, and had the pinenut crusted yellowtail snapper ($24) in a crawfish beurre blanc. The crusted fish dishes are an old standby of Ian’s, and we are happy to report that they remain right up there as among the best anywhere.
Our companion on this evening inquired about an entrée that she remembered from an earlier occasion, a mixed vegetable plate not on the menu. No problem, she was told, and out came a beautifully presented platter that included tomatoes with cheddar cheese, corn fritters, grilled polenta, and grilled portabella mushrooms topped with fried leeks. All and all, a vegetarian delight, beautifully presented.
All three of the entrees were accompanied by mashed potatoes, an immediately noticeable change from the scalloped potatoes we had on previous visits (actually, Ian never topped the potatoes he served back in the 1980s at the Black Pearl on South A1A).
“Yes, after four years of the same potatoes every night, we now are serving different potatoes,” Spencer subsequently told us. “But we don’t have any major changes planned — just tweaks here and there.”
So far, the tweaks seem to be working. Ian may have gone South, but the French Quarter hasn’t — and it is still serving up some of the best seafood Vero has ever seen.
Dinner for three with wine ran about $110 before tip.
I welcome your comments, and encourage you to send feedback to me at tina@verobeach32963.com.
The reviewer is a beachside resident who dines anonymously at restaurants at the expense of Vero Beach 32963.
Hours
Wednesday through Sunday: 5:00 pm to close
Bar
Full Bar
Address (MAP)
1920 14th Avenue, Vero Beach, Florida, Phone: (772) 770-4870
