NEW ORLEANS -- Ye Olde College Inn has been in business since the 1930s, and should rank amongst the old guard of New Orleans restaurants. But the version that exists today is very different from its predecessor.
AMBIANCE
The first of the major differences took hold before Hurricane Katrina. The Blancher family, of Rock ‘n’ Bowl fame, bought Ye Olde College Inn before the storm. After the flood, they rebuilt in a different address just next door. There's one large, open dining room with roomy booths and an adjoining bar. Photos of old New Orleans sports legends and high school standouts line the room, and characters inhabit the bar. This restaurant is big, bustling, colorful, loaded with local memorabilia, family friendly and usually packed.
APPETIZERS
A towering stack of onion rings has long been the starter of choice at Ye Olde College Inn. It still is, though this classic is just about the last vestige of the old restaurant on the appetizer list. Today, you’re looking at crawfish mac and cheese or fried oysters, topped with blue cheese and dressed with blue cheese oil. The crabmeat maison is a good lighter start with traditional roots.
ENTREES
You can still find enough of the old favorites at College Inn to ground yourself, but it does take some looking. There is still a first-rate burger and a traditional oyster po-boy, but ordering these means looking past the shrimp remoulade po-boy or the decidedly non-traditional oyster po-boy with havarti cheese and bacon. And you can still find a massive serving of hamburger steak under onion gravy or a breaded veal cutlet that covers the entire plate. But getting these now means missing the daily gulf fish, which is usually accompanied by a colorful parade of garden-fresh vegetables, or the shrimp and grits, topped with BBQ shrimp sauce and served with waffles. Check out the crawfish Delacroix, a baked fish topped with etouffee.
DESSERTS
Anyone with room left for dessert usually goes straight for the fried bread pudding, a delicious and decadent twist on the standard Creole dessert that few can resist.
DRINKS
There is a full bar with a small draft beer selection but a wine list that goes far beyond the neighborhood restaurant standard. There’s nothing too rare or fine on the list, but there’s enough depth to actually plan a pairing.
PRICE
Some appetizers creep over $10, most of the po-boys are over that threshold and many of the entrees fall between $15 and $24. Overall, it’s a moderately priced restaurant with ambitions that reach higher.
OVERALL
Messing with an old favorite can be risky business in the restaurant world, especially in New Orleans. Yet by making progressive, even drastic changes, the Blanchers have successfully retooled the College Inn for current tastes and the expectations of a new era while keeping that local feel intact.
