Mr. Ed's Seafood & Oyster House, St Charles — Restaurant in New Orleans

Fire in the Window. My novella about Mr. Ed's.

Two lovers, hand in hand, walked by the window, headed for the door. They glanced and zeroed in on what's going on behind the glass. That inward glance between reflections of the city street saw brilliant orange flames dancing high. This picture window view, they were witness to a chef artfully grilling oysters.

Somehow, they knew. Tonight was going to be memorable.

Those two lovers? Yours truly, this one who writes. And my Fav Fab One.

Holding the door for my fair lady, we escaped from the summer heat. In the cool, aromatic air within, there, standing before us, a beautiful smile with a matching personality. And, a très chic name. Paris. Paris, in NOLA. Mais oui.

We took a short walk. Just Paris and us. We were seated. Gets my vote for Best Seats in the House. Wonderful view just feet away. Walkers. Riders. Cars and Streetcars. All-around great views. To the other side of the front door, stood that chef provoking those tall flames. Name's Leonard. Paris called him over. Paris had seen me taking pictures through the window. Of Leonard. And flames. Grilling oysters. I showed them my pics. We all laughed! I loved them!

Our eyes were directed upward, led by the voice of Rochelle L. She was to be our chaperon and guide through all things Mr. Ed's.

We stuck with the stack to start. That'd be the Friend Green Tomato Stack. A knife and fork fantasy of the fried variety. Slices of crispy juiciness. A nip of shrimp. All painted with an artful remoulade. Since tomatoes are actually fruit, and this dish is love, I'll call it a Passion Fruit Favor.

Fab One did not linger, her finger directing to the Raw Oyster box on the menu. One half dozen, please, Rochelle. Thank You! As I'm finishing off those fried green goodies, I take delight in observing her oyster handling techniques. This ain't her first Oystero. (Rhymes with rodeo, sort of? Doesn't it?)

It was time for Rochelle to bring out a bona fide platter of plenty. A trio of fried favorites, the Southern Fried Platter. With this I got a chicken breast, catfish and some shrimp. Wearing a crispy coat of crunchy perfection. A heapin' helping of Jambalaya to round out the plate. With nimble nudging, each fork-full a perfect bite. Each nibble a nod to the Chef's intent. The chef we got to meet. Darrin's his name. The Kitchen Kreator.

My date du jour (every jour, actually, LOL) worked her way through a wonderful Bleu Cheese Wedge Salad. A real classic that did not disappoint.

Under the guidance of Rochelle, and the insightful oversight of Paris, this night set the mood for a romantic romp. Ahem, a ride on the St. Charles streetcar. To nowhere. And back. That's exactly what we did.

Stepping off the streetcar, those two lovers bid goodbye to the night. They strolled casually back to their nearby room. Hand in hand.

He. Well, me, kinda felt like Eric Clapton, in that gorgeous love song of his. Wonderful Tonight.

And then I tell her, as I turn out the light I say, "My darling, you were wonderful tonight Oh my darling, you were wonderful tonight"....

Thank...

• THIS REVIEW HAS BEEN REVISED BY THE REVIEWER!*

We picked Mr. Ed's Seafood & Oyster from our hotel's list of restaurants near by and confirmed the potential experience from the internet. Arriving for an early dinner, with only a few tables being occupied. ie: not busy. The pros: Joseph, our waiter, was engaging and attentive. We started with the Seafood Nachos, which were superb, the chips were thin and crispy and the Seafood sauce was excellent. The Shrimp and Grits were wonderful as were the Shrimp and Catfish, as was the Shrimp Platter. Now For the Cons: The fourth entree, a dozen Charbroiled Oysters, was the exception. Joseph reported that they would be coming first and early, but in fact the dish came last and were literally burned. This was brought to his attention and he agreed, blaming the shuckers. I would think cooks. I should have refused the dish, but not wishing to cast a pall over the evening I didn't make a fuss. Thinking/hoping that there would be a discount from the bill for the one failed dish. But, NO there was no credit for the ruined dish, not even a discount. In retrospect I should have been more insistent at the time.

We didn't short Joseph on his tip, even though he should have been the one to run interference for us with the manager to make it right. That didn't happen to our knowledge and no discount was provided. The bill is included for your perusal.

As an additional sidelight. Two couples at one table can not get two separate checks, but two methods of payment can be used to split the check.

Bottom line, you should get a great meal, but if you have the unfortunate experience to receive a less than acceptable item, expect the restaurant to take care of you, by either remaking the item or deducting the cost of the item from the bill. THIS REVIEW WAS REVISED!

Subsequent to my review and their response, Stacie M. Khashou the Area Manager for the Mr. Ed's Restaurant Group reached out to me and offered to make right the negative portion of my dining experience. I indicated to Stacie that I had left New Orleans and had no foreseeable plans to return. To which the offer was revised to a refund of the cost of the ruined portion of the meal and I accepted.

Thank you Stacie for taking the extra effort to remove the "bad taste" from my mouth to an otherwise enjoyable dining experience.

I would return to Mr. Ed's, should I again visit...

We walked by several times before deciding to stop in on our last night here.

We were seated quickly, but that was the only quick thing. It was about 15 minutes before our server finally came to get our drink order. By then, we were ready to order. The server took our order. We ordered the Fried Green Tomato Stack as an appetizer. My husband ordered the Southern Fried meal, I got the breaded porkchop special, and my mom got the grilled pork chop special. The server told us it was a 25 minute wait for the Fried chicken. We told her that was fine.

The tomatoes came out and they were great, although you only get 4 tomatoes and 2 small pieces of shrimp. We waited over 40 minutes for the rest of our food. My husband's food was completely wrong. He was supposed the get fried chi ken, catfish, shrimp, and jambalaya. We didn't get half the items included in the meal, just a plate with Fried chicken. The server said "well, I can ring in a side of jambalaya"....that was already supposed to be with the meal! He waited over 20 minutes for the right meal.

When the jambalaya finally came out, the bowl burned his finger. He went to put it in the box to take home (since everyone else was already done) and the entire bottom of the jambalaya was burnt and rock hard.

The server brought the check and said the manager would not comp any part of the meal. When my husband asked to speak to the manager, the server flatout said "no". My husband said "what...why?" She replied "I don't want to deal with that".... she reluctantly went to get him. We explained what happened, and he did offer to comp $20 off a $100 meal.

We thought this was where it would end....nope. The sever never came back to the table so we could pay. My husband gave his bank card and the check to the manager. We sat there for 20 minutes...and no one returned with his card. He went to the front to figure out what was going on, and was told no one could find his card! They finally found the card after a few minutes, we paid our bill and left.

By far some of the WORST service we have ever had. Definitely a disappointing end to our...