Stumbled on this site and decided to go ahead and let you know about a very enjoyable evening last Saturday. 4 of us went to Kelsey's on Magazine Street, probably been there 3 or 4 times recently, always very good but this past Saturday was exceptional. Appetizers: Grilled Oysters with blue cheese, who would think this combination would be close to orgasmic? It was lol, Caesar salad was traditional and the dressing was perfect, Fried Green Tomatoes with a crawfish cake, very good (remoulade sauce a little too spicy), The seafood gumbo was probably one of the best I have tasted. Entrees were interesting,
Strip Steak au Poivre with mushrooms and onions, cooked perfectly, blackened tuna with a Mango butter, skeptical at first about this one, but it was delicious, 2 of us ordered that, husband had the duck breast with cherry, citrus glaze and it was wonderful. desserts were ok to very good . The best was the carrot cake and the creme brulee. Ok was the bread pudding. Anyway, I am not a crtic but I hope I did ok. We had Andre as a server and he was just a delight all the way around. We'll keep going as long as they keep doing what they are doing.

Lena

Anyone who likes softshell crab needs to get down to Kelsey's while they have the present batch. Had some tonight and they were the best I had in a long time. Just the right consistency and fried so that I forgot I had a fork at hand. Nature's fork helped me out. They humored me with a wonderful heated napkin, which reminded me of my first visit to a Japanese restaurant.

Algerine had the Mahi-Mahi. It didn't stay on his plate long enough for me to check it out, but looked terrific.

Danny the lurker can tell you how long he'll have the softshells, but I'd advise you to go soon. They go out of season fast.

"Be wary of strong drink. It can make you shoot at tax collectors...and miss."
Robert A. Heinlein

September 2 2003

OK, I am an amateur at this, and could not even find the previous message that I posted. I ended up going to Kelsey's on Sunday for Brunch. I was very impressed with the "spread", every brunch item you can think of they had. The dining room was about 1/4 full when we arrived around noonish, but filled up and stayed full right after us. Buffets can be very "iffy", this food was maintained hot and fresh. Our waiter was efficient, polite and somewhat comical, Tim was his name (I think). We did not have to beg for free champagne as it was constantly being offered. Realizing it was decadence weekend we were entertained by a 6 foot tall, sequenced young man at another table, they seemed to really be enjoying themselves. Overall, a very pleasant experience, the restaurant is really quite beautiful, the food, (desserts could have been better, but wonderful still) service and champagne all made for a great Sunday. So that is my review, I hope I did not ramble too long.

What Danny Benn does is respect the integrity of local dishes while adding an inspired touch which brings them to a highter level.

Started with Danny's Grilled Oysters, a Softshell Crab, and Mussels.

Wonderful softshell crabs can be found in many restaurants in and around this city but the sauce on the crab at Kelsey's (just enough, not too much) enhanced the flavor without overwhelming it -- the result; a dish so familiar yet so much better than the familiar.

Stilton Cheese and Danny's blend of spices on the grilled oysters made this dish different but every bit as delicious as what you'll find at Dragos or Zeke's or any other place that prides itself with having THE best grilled oysters.

Mussels? I love them. At Kelsey's you get the taste of the sea in a lovely sauce. It's probably hard to ruin good mussels--unless you overwhelm. Again, Chef Danny knows a good thing when he sees it and bathes them in a gentle yet delicious broth.

Next came the Duck and the Eggplant entrees. I'm not sure what they're called on the menu but we enjoyed them thouroughly. The duck was served in a Hoisin Sauce with pine nuts and cracklins--tender and juicy meat with crisp skin and cracklins. The eggplant was cut thick, battered and fried, and topped with large shrimp surrounded by a sauce which included fish and other delicacies.

Deserts included a Creme Brulee and Chocolate Cornmeal Cake which left us saying "It's cake but it tastes like candy". Which reminds me of what we said about the softshell crab..."It's just a fried softshell crab but so much better because of the sauce". Which leads me to add that the grilled oysters were just grilled oysters but were different and in their own way better than the others found around town. Which compells me to recommend Kelsey's because Danny Benn understands what we like--he just makes it mo' bettuh.