Money Makers
Tom Fitzmorris, Restaurant Writer//August 16, 2016//
Harbor Seafood draws crowds in Kenner
Tom Fitzmorris, Restaurant Writer//August 16, 2016//
It stands to reason that a seafood restaurant allied with a retail fish and shellfish market will likely serve fresher, better seafood than a restaurant without such a connection. It also works for the retail side: Fish that hasn’t sold in a day or two is still fresh enough to be cooked and served without any significant problems. It’s only been in recent years that this symbiosis has become common, but the Harbor has been at it for quite some time, accumulating enough plaudits for it to be the best place to eat seafood in Kenner.
WHY IT’S NOTEWORTHY
Harbor Seafood is the restaurant arm of Fisherman’s Cove, an excellent fresh seafood market next door. This brings an unusually large selection of fish to the Harbor’s menu, at attractive prices. They cover all the ground that a good neighborhood seafood restaurant would be expected to, from boiled crawfish, crabs and shrimp in season to poor boys to excellent grilled fish platters. The place is packed almost all the time.
WHY IT’S GOOD
Not only does Harbor have good fresh fish to play with, but its kitchen is adept at its tasks. Especially good are the grilled and blackened fish–two options that are not often handled this well in moderately priced, casual restaurants. The presence of an oyster bar makes a strong statement. The fried seafood platters and poor boys come out hot, greaseless and well seasoned.
BACK STORY
Harbor opened in the mid-1980s, and slowly but steadily attracted a crowd that includes not only Kennerites but a rather substantial number of people who have a long break between flights and want to eat one more New Orleans meal. The restaurant is close to the airport, and the seafood market next door offers to pack seafood for the flight – a major draw for those who live in places without the rich seafood availability we have here.
DINING ROOM
The building looks like a warehouse, and the undersized dining room is only slightly less utilitarian. Nobody cares about that, because getting a table here is a victory unto itself. It’s almost always busy, a fact that dictates the frantic state of the service. That does not seem to affect the food, whose consistency across the board is impressive. A line outside is not uncommon, especially on Fridays. The amount of space given to the bar looks lavish until you notice that most of the people sitting there are eating, not drinking.
DOZEN ESSENTIAL DISHES
Oysters on the half shell
Boiled shrimp, crawfish and crabs in season
Seafood-stuffed mushrooms
Turtle soup
Artichoke oyster soup
Seafood stuffed eggplant pirogue, crawfish cream sauce
Grilled or blackened fish
Fried shrimp, oyster, catfish or soft shell crab platters
Shrimp, oyster, soft shell crab or catfish poor boy
Roast beef poor boy
Hot sausage poor boy
Bourbon pecan pie
FOR BEST RESULTS
Dine in the middle of the afternoon, avoiding weekends and Lent – unless you don’t mind standing around waiting for a table. The grilled fish is better than the fried, but the fried is very good.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT
They need to either expand the dining room or move it to a bigger building with more parking.
FACTORS OTHER THAN FOOD
Up to three points, positive or negative, for these characteristics. Absence of points denotes average performance in the matter.
Dining environment -1
Consistency +2
Service -1
Value +2
Attitude +1
Wine and bar
Hipness
Local color +1
SPECIAL ATTRIBUTES
Open Sunday lunch and dinner
Open Monday lunch and dinner
Open all afternoon
Oyster bar
Unusually large servings
Good for children
Easy, nearby parking
No reservations
LOCATION
Kenner: 3203 Williams Blvd.
3 Stars. Average entree price $15
443-6454
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