Pat My Butter

as diners become less willing to splurge, more attuned to bargains, and happier to stay home for meals and go out for coffee, restaurants have adjusted. one happy result – the all-day restaurant.

there’s café presse, with eggs and frites from 7 am until 2 am, and oddfellows, from 8 am to 2 am. both are comfortable, invite you to linger, offer food at all hours. no one will get huffy if you order just a coffee, just a glass of wine, or a three course meal.  longer hours equal a larger net to pull in more customers – and more of a crowd means food prices can stay low.  and to never having to question whether a place is open or food is served efficiently makes it a reliable fall back and more frequent stop.

toulouse petit, peso’s (also an all-day joint) new next door sister restaurant, is following suit. breakfast (heavy on the eggs and gravy) is $6 (at least through february) every weekday from 9-11. lunch follows, then happy hour, dinner and late night. there’s coffee and cocktails, even free wifi.  the crowd changes by the hour, and it’s part of the fun.

the food is new orleans inspired – red beans, andouille, paté, alligator – and there’s a lot of it. the happy hour menu alone has more items than most places in town, and the prices are so absurdly cheap considering the portion size that you barely realize there are no drink specials. thus, i’ve experienced only a sliver of the offerings, which ranged from eh to very good. paté de campagne ($4 at happy hour) is as classic as classic can be, with cornichons, pickled shallots, mustard, and a whisper of liver in the mix. spicy fried alligator ($5, see it in the pic) is both spicy and fried, nice ideas, but the meat itself is bland and chewy.  a golden beet salad with slender green beans is a serious steal at $4, a fraction of the price an equally mediocre plate would be most other places.  but tell me, why does the menu have to be so huge?  “something for everyone” is nice but everyone will never be happy and it sure leaves lots of room for error.

for me, the most pleasant surprise was the wine list – extensive and diverse, with glass pours to spare. you can splurge or be frugal with equal ease, try something new or find an old standby.  this is a list that has both the important q’s.

the best part of the experience, though, is the restaurant itself.  it’s like a fabulous bird cage, with tall, tall windows, ornate tiled floors and curling wrought iron.  day light makes the room glow, street lights do the work more gently at night.  the interior walls are covered in candles on tiny shelves and the over all effect is rather glorious.  waitresses, imported directly from peso’s, are perky both physically and in personality, a contrast to the regal decor that is somehow quite successful.  i like it here (but that delicious mint julep i ended my night with last night never should have happened).