Besh Bets
Artesia's chef has created
a
country culinary oasis.
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Chef John Besh's touch for authentic
French country cuisine belies his age.
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WHAT: Artesia
CUISINE: Country French
WHEN: Lunch and dinner Wednesday through Friday, dinner Saturday, brunch Sunday
WHERE: 21516 Hwy. 36, Abita Springs, (504) 892-1662
CARDS: Major
In the quaint Northshore town of Abita Springs, there's a hot new restaurant
located in a beautiful, two-story Creole mansion once known as the Long Branch
Inn. Nestled among huge, moss-draped oaks and azaleas, the building dates to
about 1885 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. And now
it houses Artesia, a romantic cottage where people go to relax, rejuvenate and
experience such dishes as terrine of rabbit, warm sweet onion tart and roasted
duckling while taking in the sights and sounds of a bygone era.
The pure flavors of the food speak for themselves. Fresh asparagus,
delicate organic greens, farmyard eggs, local rabbit and beautiful Ponchatoula
strawberries are the tools of a modest chef who knows that these products make
his food sing. Chef John Besh's pride in such delectable local ingredients
enhances his approach to creating the simple yet artful dishes he serves in the
charming, 50-seat restaurant decorated in the French Provincial style.
Besh, a 30-year-old Slidell native, got his start as a teenager in
several commercial kitchens, where he learned to transform fresh local
ingredients into memorable dining experiences.
A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Besh enhanced his
education at such notable establishments as Maxine's in New York and the Grill
Room before apprenticing in Europe. After returning to the United States, Besh
served as chef de cuisine at Graham's and later became chef de cuisine at Le
Provence, the popular French dining haven on the Northshore. Besh was recently
whisked away to Artesia by proprietor Vicky Bayley, who also owns Mike's on the
Avenue in New Orleans. Artesia, it is said, is Mike's country sister -- a bit
more rustic, not nearly as contemporary, but every bit as sassy.
Besh's mission is simple: create a cuisine centered in local
ingredients utilizing French techniques. His marvelous, coarse and earthy
rabbit terrine shows that he draws with ease on the French haute cuisine
tradition. His luscious parfait of foie gras, smooth as velvet and served over
spicy greens with cepe mushrooms, rivals the hickory house-smoked salmon --
which, I might add, is one of the best versions I've sampled -- complemented by
horseradish whipped cream and salmon roe that pops delicately in the mouth. I
have been particularly enamored of his salads, especially the one designed with
goat cheese and pine nuts with oven-cured tomatoes and a dijon mustard
vinaigrette. It is a perfect marriage of flavors and textures and serves as a
marvelous segue into the main course.
The constantly changing menu is highlighted by such signatures as
the wonderful goat cheese over organic greens salad and a peerless rust-colored
crab soup. The latter, a luscious puree, is crowned with fragrant garlic
croutons that blend beautifully with the spicy soup.
Some of the best entrees I've sampled to date have included the
country-stuffed roasted quail, a succulent bird fanned out on the plate, filled
with a blend of minced veal and prosciutto and served on smoked porcini
mushrooms; medallions of beef tenderloin that nearly melt in the mouth,
enhanced by truffles, red wine, fresh vegetables and potato ravioli; crispy
seared red snapper rubbed with thyme, served over a bouquet of fresh asparagus
with leek fondue, complemented by a fragrant saffron sauce; and the earthy "Mr.
Rudee's rabbit" (named for the man who farms the animals), a crepenette served
with a sweetbread stuffing over spatzle with a bracing cepe mushroom saute.
A la carte dinner entrees range from $15 to $26, while luncheon
main courses range from $10 to $16.
The only hitch is that Artesia is only open Wednesday through
Sunday, leaving diehard fans to fend for themselves the rest of the week. The
rustic simplicity and elegant style of French cuisine, combined with the
charming ambience, makes Artesia the finest new restaurant to hit the
Northshore in the past year -- which is saying a lot, considering the recent
explosion of new dining havens.
The moment your tires coast through the gravel parking lot, you
will begin to relax into a carefree gastronomic evening in the piney woods.
After dinner, guests sometimes retire with cognac and coffee to rocking chairs
on the front porch, where a view of the trickling fountain, fireflies, starlit
sky and surrounding trees ends a perfect country evening.
A luxurious country inn and day spa is slated to open later this
year in the building that houses Artesia, and I can't think of a more suitable
place for either. During the latter part of the 19th century, the area
flourished with small inns and restaurants. Among them was the former Long
Branch Hotel, occupying the 20-acre site along present-day Highway 36. Now it's
Artesia -- a name that evokes the purity of water, fresh air and good living.
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