New Spot is a True Hidden Treasure
by Sara RoahenBut you don't have to be a celebrity at Pampy's to eat like one. And although the comfortably stylish restaurant sometimes looks like an ad for urban leatherwear and cellular services, the man with the best taste at Pampy's is Chef Christopher Brown. He is an experienced hand with vegetable sides of still-crisp summer squash, thin green beans, firm portobello mushrooms and browned new potatoes. Fried seafood selections also impress, like the collection of juicy, pebble-coated oysters added to a Caesar salad and two flaky catfish fillets at lunch cloaked loosely with a pepper-speckled batter.
Housemade desserts will tame a noisy sweet tooth, but the kitchen's true talent is in frying, searing and seasoning fresh, Louisiana-favored savory ingredients. Try another cup of gumbo instead. And forget about naming the neighborhood or spotting the celebrity. Just get thee down Broad Street to eat. (G-4)
