02/21/09

Less than expected

by delacosa

I'm a big fan of cajun food so my girlfriend and I decided to check out Dee Felice while we were in town. I did like the atmosphere and enjoyed the jazz band that was there that night but frankly was disappointed with the food. We opted for two very traditional Cajun dishes, the Jambalaya and the Crawfish Etoufee. Other than the cayenne pepper both were very bland and were served with either too much rice or not enough entree depending on how you want to look at it. The best part of the meal was the appetizer, calmari with cajun seasoning. The experience over all was just ok and I certainly expected more authentic, better quality food for the price.

• Pros: nice atmosphere, very cozy
• Cons: food not very "authentic" as advertised

02/16/09

Very Disappointing-Not even close to good NOLA food

by docjeff

My wife and I were in Cincinnati for Valentine's weekend,and for our second night out decided to go to Dee Felice. It was recommended to me by a sales rep that I see in my office who lives in Cincinnati.

To give it a true trial as to how authentic New Orleans the food is, we decided to try three things that are typical New Orleans-Gumbo,Causar Salad, Jambalaya, and Crawfish Etoufee. Hving been to NOLA several times I have a pretty good idea of what "authentic" Cajun/Creole food is. This place is a true imposter.

The Gumbo was extremely heavily tomato-based-not a bit of roux to it. It did contain okra as the thickening agent-yet it was listed as "File Gumbo". It contained some good sized pieces of sausage, was a bit too spicy for what good gumbo should be, and fee far short of what I expected.

The Caesar salad was average-this was the highlightof the meal. Fresh lettuce, but a typical bottled Caesar dressing, and bland parmesan cheese.

The Crawfish etoufee did have fresh, sweet tasting crawfish, albeit very small ones. Now, a good etoufee will be served over rice and the etoufee (meaning "smothered") smothers the rice. The onion, green pepper and celery should be cooked down quite a bit in a moderate roux, and somewhat thick. What I had was large pieces of onion, celery, green pepper, & TOMATO(?) in a thin, runny, tasteless liquid over rice. Not at all like a good, hearty etoufee should be.

The Jambalya was way too heavy in a tomato sauce, not at all typical of jambalaya. Large chunks of onion, a smoked sausage (not andouille), drowned in tomato sauce. Not even close.

It makes me wonder how this place could be in existence for so long and not have a clue of how wonderful true New Orleans cooking really is. They need to send the chef on a field trip or get a new one.

Bottom line-if you've been to NOLA, don't go here expecting good food. If you've never been to NOLA, eat here, then go to NOLA and see how it should be done.

• Pros: I'm sure the music would be OK-but they didn't have it when we were there
• Cons: Horrible gumbo, etoufee, and jambalaya

10/12/08

The locals must know something!

by eportzline

My wife and I live in Lexington, KY. Our friend lives in Phoeniz, but was visiting family in Columbus. We met half-way at Dee Felice in Covington. The reviews that you see here that are less than stellar? Make note. The restaurant is less than stellar.

First- credit where it is due: our waitress was a gem. Our friend was 30 minutes late. The waitress was very much more than patient. The mimosas were made with Korbel (not bad).

The restaurant was not busy- room inside for 100 people. Four were dining. Outside, room for 28. 6 were dining. All other restaurants on this beautiful Autumn day were swamped.

The salads- appeared to have been made the night before and left in the chiller uncovered. The greens, carrots, onions, were slightly brown and wilted. No tomato. No croutons. No bread. No butter.

The iced tea tasted as though it were instant. Awful.

The Poorboy was poor. While the oysters were brilliantly prepared in an amazing breading, some of the "advertised" items were missing: no pickle! The portabella mushroom "burger" was very undercooked (our friend complained that the mushroom was not even warm).

Sunday brunch for two with one drink each was over $40. Not at all worth it. Maybe it's better when the live band plays the tiny stage behind the bar (you should see this to believe), but for Sunday brunch- it's not worth it.

• Pros: Easy to get a table
• Cons: There's a reason that it's easy to get a table...