Alligator Pear
- B & J
- Sep 27, 2023
- 4 min read
Updated: Oct 18, 2023
Alligator Pear: https://www.alligatorpearnyc.com/
Address: 150 W 30th Street, New York NY 10001
The Menu: https://www.alligatorpearnyc.com/menus/
(Not So) Quick Bites
First a little background story! So the two of us had a wonderful trip down in New Orleans back in May 2022. It was honestly a magical time for us and we have such fond memories of the city - but what really stuck out about New Orleans was the delicious food. Our first meal there absolutely lit up the taste buds with all of the incredible local flavors. Gumbo, jambalaya, red beans and rice, etouffee, crawfish, beignets, we tried it (and loved it) all!
So fast forward to 2023. It's been over a year since NOLA welcomed us and treated us to her amazing cooking and hospitality. Well, we missed the flavors and wanted to find something in NYC that could bring back those great memories.
And so began our NYC-meets-NOLA quest. We started off with a romantic adventure at the newly opened Alligator Pear, a restaurant that prides itself on bringing the exotic flavors of New Orleans to the table. As avid food enthusiasts, we were eager to try their array of Southern dishes. We certainly came in with high expectations!
So did Alligator Pear deliver? Well...yes and no! The food was incredibly flavorful (albeit too salty for our taste) but didn't give us quite the sensation of our first meal in New Orleans. The atmosphere and vibe was really nice and romantic, but would have been perfect if we were able to enjoy some live jazz reminiscent of NOLA's Frenchman Street.
All in all, the overall experience was enjoyable enough and we would certainly recommend checking it out to judge for yourselves (if you go, ask the staff to take it easy on the salt!). But ultimately we had hopes of finding a restaurant in NYC that could fully transport us back to that magical time in New Orleans, and we felt like Alligator Pear got us maybe 80% of the way. It didn't quite fully deliver the authentic New Orleans culinary experience we were hoping for!
We wanted to love this restaurant, given how much we love the cuisine of New Orleans and how special our trip to that charming little city back in 2022 was. We think Alligator Pear could be really top notch if they were less generous with the salt and perhaps incorporated more rice in some of their very flavorful dishes (like the Gumbo). That said, they really hit the mark in bringing the right vibe for a truly romantic night out!
The Setting
The first thing that caught our attention upon entering Alligator Pear was the vibrant ambiance. The restaurant had an appealing décor, reminiscent of the charming, rustic eateries one might find in the heart of New Orleans. We couldn't wait to get started on our culinary expedition. They also have a cool bar area and the wood and greenery around the restaurant is a nice touch.
The overall atmosphere was enhanced by the music selection. The restaurant played some great songs from way back before either of us were born. These songs really invoked a sense of happiness and festiveness - almost like the feeling you get when you're listening to Xmas music in December. Songs like Blame It On the Boogie by The Jacksons, Wouldn't It Be Nice by The Beach Boys, My Girl by The Temptations, December 1963 by Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, Dreams by Fleetwood Mac, and Crazy Little Thing Called Love by Queen. We found ourselves sitting there next to each other, holding hands and just swaying back and forth, blissfully enjoying the music.
Of course, live jazz reminiscent of Frenchman Street's great bars would have been so perfect. But the music selection we enjoyed was probably the next best option!
The Service
The service at Alligator Pear was commendable. The staff was friendly and attentive, making us feel welcome and comfortable throughout our meal! No complaints at all here!
Blue Crab Beignets & Tempura Alligator Bites
Our journey commenced with Blue Crab Beignets, which, we must admit, were the undisputed stars of the evening! These fluffy, golden nuggets of joy were generously filled with succulent blue crab meat, making each bite an absolute delight. The beignets were light and airy, and the crab was cooked to perfection, creating a delicate balance of flavors that danced on our palates. We could not recommend them highly enough!
For our next appetizer, we ordered the Tempura Alligator Bites. However, it wasn't quite what we expected. The flavor was there, and the Spicy House Sauce that came with the dish really enhanced the overall taste. However, the meat was perhaps overcooked as it was too tough and chewy for our taste. We had tried alligator back in NOLA and the experience was different (and better) in the "homeland."
NOLA Style Jambalaya Paella & Chicken and Andouille Gumbo
Our next picks were the Chicken and Andouille Sausage Gumbo and the NOLA Style Jambalaya Paella, two quintessential New Orleans inspired dishes that we were excited to try. We felt that if we're going to try a NOLA-inspired restaurant, we might as well get the most New Orleans style food possible!
The Jambalaya Paella was tasty, although way too salty in our humble opinions. The smoky, savory flavors we were anticipating were overpowered by the salt. The sizable chunks of shrimp however, were a hit!
Next was the Chicken and Andouille Sausage Gumbo. Like the Paella, it certainly carried with it tons of flavor, but was also too salty for our tastes. It also desperately needed to be served on rice, so we had to ask for a side of rice which made the dish a bit more manageable.
NOLA Style Bread Pudding
For dessert we tried the restaurant's NOLA Style Bread Pudding. It came with a delicious and generously sized scoop of ice cream, but the Bread Pudding itself left us a little disappointed. One of the few times we didn't finish our dessert and it had nothing to do with being too full!
