No sooner than I had posted the list from Tripadvisor that Jacmel Inn was the best restaurant in Hammond I received an invitation to have dinner there. Well, you know what my answer was...yesssssssss! It has been about a year or so since I had been there and the previous post made me remember how good it could be. Jacmel has been a part of the Hammond community for many years. I remember going there to eat before a high school prom in the late 70's. Through the years, I always remembered their fresh baked bread served with butter and house dressing. The house dressing is described as a peppercorn ranch and their recipe is one of the most talked about recipes in Hammond (along with the Tong Cho sauce at Trey Yuen - more about that in a future post). I remember a friend of mine from years ago, Sandy Day, had the recipe and I think she gave it me - but I don't know where it is know. The good news is that one of the guests in our dinner group the other night met her husband (who was the chef) at Jacmel about twenty years ago. He is now a chef in New Orleans and caters for special events. She says she may get the recipe from him.
Now, about my most recent meal. Of course the bread and salad (dressing) was delicious as always. I also had the French Onion soup (pictured) which was also very good.
The main course was a filet served with roasted potatoes and a few asparagus spears (picture). I ordered it medium and it was cooked to that doneness. It had a nice crusty outside with red and tender center.. The cut could have been better - there were a few pieces that were difficult to chew. Overall it was a good - not spectacular steak.
And yes, we had dessert. I ordered the white chocolate cheesecake with a praline sauce. It was good, but had an unusual texture. The cheesecake was not smooth, but a little chunky. I guess from the white chocolate although the chunks were not chocolate. It could not have been too bad since I ate most of it. Of course, since I am a cheesecake connoisseur, my standards for cheesecake may be too high. : ) Happy eating!!
