Friday, July 08, 2011

Thrillist: Tru Orleans Menu

Thrillist snagged a copy of the menu for the soon to open Tru Orleans (400 H Street).

55 comments:

Brian said...

Little disappointed at the lack of Po' Boys. Also, $5 PBRs seems a bit outrageous.

Gonzo said...

Eh, what a disappointing beer list. They've managed to nail all the shitty macro-beers (and somehow completely miss DC's craft brew trend). Tru - PLEASE realize that a good beer list draws a crowd on H street. The beers you have are, with the exception of Abita, which makes a decent line, rather shitty. If this leak was inteded to test the water - the water is full of shitty beer.

Great to see the sazerac on there, though!

MJ said...

The food seems interesting, assuming with items like "Gator Tenders" that it isn't reheated Cisco offerings. But $5 for cheap domestics? Ouch.

not on parker said...

I do think it's rather humorous that the owner makes it a point to offer premium champagne but makes no effort to stock premium beer.

Disappointed that he doesn't offer plain ol' steamed mudbugs...pisolets, pies, and etoufee simply are preparations you won't find down south. Mudbugs are cheap eats, not gourmet ingredients!

Anonymous said...

That beer list is terrible. Huge bummer.

Anonymous said...

What are you talking about? They have Bud AND Bud Lt.

Uh-oh said...

The champagne list screams "bottle service."

MBP said...

$5 for PBR and Coors Light? Eeek. Plus $23 for blackened tilapia and rice? That's one of the cheapest fish you can get around here. I hope they leaked the menu to get feedback before opening and are willing to make changes.

Anonymous said...

Feedback: Start from scratch on this or you'll be laughed off H St. Tilapia is an abomination, not gourmet.

Anonymous said...

I've been looking *so* forward to this. Disappointing. Overpriced.

And, to a lesser extent, disappointing to not see a single vegetarian option. I don't really expect much when it comes to vegetarian offerings from a southern or cajun restaurant. But there are a lot of vegetarians around and makes it very hard to go with my girlfriend.

Yank said...

What are mudbugs?

East_H said...

That's a pretty sorry beer selection. Rest of the menu looks good, if a bit pricey.

inked said...

yank,
mudbugs are crawfish.

The people's poo! said...

Well, at least they renovated the building, so when they go bust, we'll have a new, truly successful venture in a brand new building! Its clear that Tru has out priced many of the neighbors and underwhelmed with the menu. do they really think that the populous around here is wealthy, tasteless, and stupid? Apparently so...

Anonymous said...

The cheapest entree is $16? Cheap beers are $5? Great. Another place where I will have to budget $75 per visit, which means, basically, that I won't be frequenting this establishment. When did H Street get so expensive?

I guess it doesn't matter though. No vegetarian option means the wife can't eat here, which means we won't be eating here.

God I Luv Poo said...

Right on, Poo! It's as if they think were all a bunch of thugs... Like the ones that frequent their brothel off NY Ave.

Just because the place is in NE, doesn't mean that we're all Diminutive Wayne, or whatever his face is.

Maybe they need this as a loss for a tax write off in January....

It's the only thing that makes sense.

nikkiO said...

Looks good, but I'm also a tad disappointed by the prices. I'm a fan of domestic beers but not when they're $5 a pop. Maybe they'll run specials and/or happy hour rates.

Anonymous said...

By domestic beers, I presume you mean DC Brau, Port City, Chocolate City, Three Stars, Dogfish Head, Heavy Seas, Clipper City, Flying Dog - you know, beers that are brewed righ at home or in our back yard? Or did you mean the piss water from out west?

Joking aside, let's stop calling these things "domestics". It's domestic abuse if anything.

V+ said...

FIVE DOLLAR PBR OMG

I've known poo for 7 years said...

That menu has got to be a joke. Someone is trolling! There are enough southerners in DC to Yelp! that place back to pipe dreamland in six months! I wish they would make a reality TV story about this. It'll be like a car wreck...... I, for one, would watch it like a freaky religious person.

MJ said...

FIVE DOLLAR PBR OMG

I don't drink the stuff, but charging that much for PBR is a head-scratcher; why not include a $20 bologna sandwich on the menu as well? Them's FedEx field prices, not H street.

Anonymous said...

I'm afraid poo is right. The space looks fantastic, but this menu indicates a focus on low cost/high profit, something that most in this community have no interest in. Take it to Georgetown, where people have money to burn.

Based on these comments, the owner needs to seriously revise the pricing strategy. Sounds like there is already some serious backlash brewing.

Justin said...

Another day, another new restaurant on H has a web presence, another round of angry commenters. The H street denizens are an ornery lot.

Gonzo said...

To my knowledge this response did not happen with Toki or Queen Vic or even Smith Commons for that matter. I think orneryness is earned by bad judgement.

K said...

need poboys please!

Anonymous said...

The cheapest entree is $16?...when did H Street get so expensive?

When H Street figured out it was part of Washington DC. We live in a city that has expensive food.

Anonymous said...

Feedback: Start from scratch on this or you'll be laughed off H St. Tilapia is an abomination, not gourmet.

I don't think Tru Orleans is going for gourmet...

Anonymous said...

A ghost of H-street future.

Anonymous said...

I think the best way for a restaurant to be successful in this neighborhood is to make it family friendly. With that patio, if they had anything that a toddler would eat, it could do alright. But maybe there are precisely trying to avoid that situation.

RL said...

Family friendly? Screw that. It's a bar/restaurant not a day care. Get a baby sitter and stop inflicting your toddler on strangers, especially strangers that are overpaying at a soon to be out of business overpriced restaurant.

People do not go out to restaurants/theaters/etc for the pleasure of watching your child misbehave.

H street does not need any more "family friendly" venues. It has he Argonaut which is like a kindergarten cafeteria on Sunday morning.

Anonymous said...

@RL

Kids at bars/restaurants annoy me too, but as somebody who hopes to raise a family around H Street, there needs to be more family friendly places. I'm not saying it has to be Tru Orleans, but it's kind of ridiculous to say the Argonaut is enough.

It's simple economics. As people continue to flock to the city and as (hopefully) crime decreases and schools improve, there will be greater demand for places that allow children. I don't understand your vitriol.

Anonymous said...

no token veggie option?

Anonymous said...

clearly h street needs a Generous Georges Positive Pizza and Pasta.

dave said...

Strip club prices.

Anonymous said...

what did you *tards think this place was going to be? Y'all wet dreamers but I bet the strippers..er..waitresses be ao fine that you won't care about the grub.

Tru disappointment said...

No restaurant serving tilapia should take itself seriously, least not $23 tilapia platters. Tilapia is a cheap, tasteless, unsustainable parasite of a fish. I hope this menu was a test menu and will be revised with realistic prices and menu options, including vegetarian options and better beers.

Anonymous said...

Awful. If I wanted to spend $24 on Louisiana-style cooking, why wouldn't I just go to Acadiana? Their food is excellent and their dishes are authentic in a good way.

I was already worried when I saw the awnings and the name and logo plastered everywhere. Might as well call themselves Tru Applebee's.

Salamander Jones said...

I love you guys.

Anonymous said...

Hey we have all options on where to spend our money.Give the place a try and see what happens. Lets try to raise the bar. If you want cheap eats there is always Carry outs,The Chicken place on H street next to the Sushi Place and our old favorite Horace and Dickies.

Anonymous said...

So if you get the Tilapia and a PBR that's $21. I would hardly call that expensive.

East_H said...

@9:03,

Tilapia & PBR is minimum $23+$5=$28. or $24+$5=$29.

With tax, you're going over $30 for tilapia and a PBR. That's ridiculous, even if it's the best tilapia on God's green earth.

Compare to the the Argonaut, where you can get a steamer basket of assorted seafood and a PITCHER of Longhammer IPA for this price.

The prices on this menu are screwy. Not at all in line with the quality of food for price anywhere else on H.

Anonymous said...

bahahah $5 for PBR. You guys have to be kidding. Also no po-boys? What a trainwreck this is going to be - PASS.

Anonymous said...

The pricing is actually pretty reasonable compared to other titty bars.

Gonzo said...

With four days 'til opening night, I'm doubtful we'll see any grand overhauls of the menu. Hopefully a few items will drop a buck or two and hopefully we'll see at least a few more decent beers added (like the obvious Sierra or Doghead - god, anything but the waterfall of piss that is there now).
After a year of development, it's going to be hard to turn on a dime in response to the dissatisfaction voiced on this forum.

Anonymous said...

I just got the menu emailed to me and I am shocked at how overpriced it is. I hope they take these comments into consideration (if they even look at this blog spot).
Such a let down before it even began.

wylie coyote said...

seafood is a centerpiece of new orleans cuisine. seeing tilapia on that menu at all is a huge bummer.

catfish, shrimp and crawfish = yay

tilapia = wtf?

hope they figure out a way to get some zapps chips and beignets in the place...

Nuh-uh said...

I dunno, I suspect folks here are missing the point. The menu exists because they have to have a menu and they have to serve food. They aren't actually expecting folks to order this stuff. If they do, the microwave will probably be in heavy rotation.

The focus is on the multi-hundred-dollar bottles of champagne.

Anonymous said...

@nuh-uh,

I thought the people scared of a strip club opening up were crazy, but I have to admit that you might be at least part right. Something is definitely up with this menu. The bottle-service champagne list and focus on overpriced booze is super suspect.

Rayful Edmond said...

I'd rather pay the extra $100 for a 3.0L bottle of Veuve and actually get to see a show.

http://stadiumclubdc.com/storage/images/elements/wineschampagne.jpg

Anonymous said...

seriously, do you get a reach-around at these prices? absolutely ridiculous

Anonymous said...

the dark and stormy description is priceless.....

Gonzo said...

I'm doubtful of any claims that this place is going to be a club, strip or otherwise. I presume that would call for a distintcly different permit. A bad menu and bad drink list thus has serious repercusions.

Anonymous said...

@nuh-uh,

that's a really good observation. if they have a restaurant license, they need to sell a certain amount of food. if they figure most people won't buy food, maybe they overprice it to send up the ratios.

i bet the locals will totally love that place if it turns into an obnoxious club!

WOW said...

WOW..You guys really crack me up on here. Are there really that many negative people that live here in the H St area? Did you really think that this restaurant would please everyone's personal taste of what type of restaurant it should be, whats on the menu or the prices? If you don't like the way they have remodeled it,the food selection, or can't afford it then don't eat there! There are plenty of other options for you on H St. Have no doubt that this place will have plenty of patrons from all over the city coming to enjoy the experience. This place also brings something new to the area, broadens the variety and its a great looking establishment helping to revitalizing this area. Even if you don't want to make it a part of your normal routine you should still appreciate what it brings to the area that you live in.

Anonymous said...

The PBR's are 24 oz. and I hear will be priced down to $3.50. This place is going to be awesome and will be the first real bar (Toyland aside, which is now closed and sucked) on Lower H, and will have a patio. You have to keep in mind that they owners also own Public Bar. they are likely trying to repeat their success here, which means more emphasis on bar scene than food scene.