West End Restaurants

New Orleans sits on the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain. You would think that you would find numerous seafood restaurants dotting the landscape. With windows looking out over the lake, a more picturesque view would be hard to find.

Unfortunately, due to hurricanes, you won’t find any. There was a time, before Katrina, that there was a group of restaurants that sat on the wrong side of the levy that were built over the water. It’s with fond memories that I remember these restaurants: Fitzgerald’s, The Bounty, Bruning’s, Swanson’s, Fontina’s, among others. Most of them had interchangeable menus. The food was all the great seafood you wanted to eat.

Today, we will take a trip back in time. I’m sharing with you two recipes. The first is a soup, West End Oyster Stew. The second was one of the restaurant’s specialties, Bruning’s Whole Stuffed Flounder. Gather your ingredients, and Lets’ head to the kitchen!

West End Oyster Stew

A version of this recipe was found on most of the West End restaurants menus. Oyster water is the liquid found inside the shell of the oyster. Since you will more than likely be using pre-shucked oysters, use the liquid the oysters come in. If you need to, add water to the liquid to make 1 quart.

1 stick butter

1 tablespoon chopped onions

1 tablespoon chopped celery

1 quart oyster water, well strained

1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns

1 pint half-and-half

1 sprig fresh thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried

3 dozen oysters

4 green onions, chopped

Salt to taste

In a saucepan, heat butter and sauté the onions and celery until tender.

Add oyster water, half-and-half, peppercorns, and thyme. Bring to a very light simmer and cook slowly for 15 minutes.

Add oysters and green onions, and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes, until the oysters are pumped up and the edges are curly. Add salt to taste ( you may not need any, depending on the saltiness of the oysters and oyster water). Serve warm.

Bruning’s Whole Flounder Stuffed with Crabmeat

When you first see a whole stuffed flounder, it is a sight. The stuffing piled on top of the opened fish is just incredible. Just be careful when eating flounder. There are plenty of small bones to watch out for.

Stuffing

1/2 stick butter

1/4 cup flour

3 green onions, chopped

3 cups shrimp or seafood stock

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 pound claw crabmeat, picked through for shells

1/2 salt

Pinch cayenne

For the Flounders

4 large whole flounders

1 tablespoon Creole seasoning

1 cup flour

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup clarified butter

1 lemon, sliced

Chopped fresh parsley

Preheat over to 400℉.

Make the stuffing first. Melt the butter and stir in the flour to make a blond roux. Stir in the green onions and cook until limp. Whisk in the shrimp or seafood stock and Worcestershire and bring to a boil, then add the crabmeat, salt, and cayenne. Gently toss the crabmeat in the sauce to avoid breaking the lumps.

Wash the flounders and pat dry. Mix the creole seasoning into the flour and coat the outside of the flounders with it. Mix the eggs and milk together in a wide bowl and pass the fish through it, then dredge in the seasoned flour again

Heat the clarified butter in a skillet and sauté the fish, one at a time, about 4 minutes on each side, turing once. Remove and keep warm.

Cut a slit from head to tail across the top of the flounders. Divide stuffing among the fish, spooning inside the slit and piling on top. Place the flounders on a baking pan and put into the oven for 6 minutes.

Place flounders on hot plates. Garnish with lemon slices and parsley.

I spent many pleasant trips to the West End area with my family. Fitzgerald’s was the favorite, due to the fact that it was entirely built over the water. We did always rotate among all the restaurants there. With the impossibility of getting insurance for buildings there, these restaurants will remain in my memories as I cook dishes from the area.