$1.25 and I head to Ralph’s when we need a treat but don’t want the effort of a big night out.  The good thing about Ralph’s is that it’s a very versatile place.  While we had on jeans this last visit and sat in the bar area, we’ve also been in the main dining room on New Year’s Eve in festive cocktail attire.  That’s my kind of place.  I absolutely love the ambiance at Ralph’s.  The main dining room is light and airy with beautiful views of the oaks in City Park.  The bar area is cozy, with exposed brick, lower lighting, and the same great view of the park.  Upstairs there are private rooms with french doors leading to wrap around balconies perfect for cocktail hour or a morning brunch.

The only problem I have with Ralph’s is I don’t ever love everything I order.  Usually I have something outstanding, something so-so, and something I wouldn’t order again.   This last visit was no exception.  I checked out the menu online earlier in the afternoon and was really excited to try the Crawfish Fritto Misto from the lenten specials section.  When I re-read the description that night at Ralphs,  “corn fried crawfish tails, pickled cherry peppers, Italian provolone, frisée, butter lettuce, remoulade sauce”, I didn’t even consider anything else on the menu.  Our waiter sealed the deal when he recommended it as well.

Well, it was basically just fried crawfish on a bed of lettuce.  And the crawfish were not hot.  Come to think of it, I don’t remember any provolone in the dish either.  The remoulade and lettuce were nice, but adding (room temperature) fried seafood to the mix made the dish unnecessarily heavy.  With some boiled shrimp or crawfish, the salad would have been a nice appetizer, but it really wasn’t worth the $27 price tag.  And I would have appreciated something in the description that told me it was “just a salad” because I was expecting something more than that.  I didn’t even bother finishing my dinner and instead choose to pick at $1.25′s french fries and a few bites of hangar steak, which was outstanding.

On the plus side, the crawfish cakes we split as an appetizer were some of the best I’ve ever had.  Thank goodness $1.25 convinced me to split that instead of the wild mushroom ravioli, although past experiences have told me I would not have been disappointed with those either.

Dessert was great and light, just what I needed after all the fry and remoulade.  We also had a great Pinot Noir from Holdredge Wines, which happens to be a favorite of ours. Our service was top notch too. Even with a disappointing entree, it was still a great night and I’m already excited about a return visit.

Check out $1.25′s take on the evening here.