A Decent Dinner: Patois

We had dinner at Patois on New Year's Eve.

I loved my drink, the Revellion -- vodka, Pimms, lemon juice, satsumas, Regatta ginger beer ($11).

But my drink was the only thing I truly loved.

Fried P&J oyster salad, spinach, Benton's bacon, Parmigiano Reggiano, Meyer lemon buttermilk dressing ($14).

Quite tasty standout dish. Some crunch, some cheese, some acid.

Gulf shrimp and butternut squash soup ($7).

A bit bland.

Crispy pork belly, seared scallop, Steen's cane syrup, mustard drizzle ($16).

The scallop was delicious. The pork belly was disappointing.

Seared Kobe beef belly, sweet onion and Asian herb salad, lime, soy-ginger dressing ($15).

This was not good at all. I think my husband barbecues better.

Grilled lamb ribs, green tomato relish ($13.50).

Also rather unmemorable.

Moules frites, smoky Creole tomato broth, saffron aioli ($12).

Decent, but it was stupid to put the fries on top instead of on a separate dish. The fries got soggy in the broth. Fail.

Charred octopus, chorizo, kalamata olives, fregola, Meyer lemon citronette ($13).

Very pleasant but not as great as I'd hoped it would be.

Lavender shortbread and mint chocolate petit fours.

Nice complimentary sweet bites.

Patois was completely adequate. Nothing was particularly bad, but nothing was particularly outstanding. It just wasn't good enough for a New Orleans meal.