I had been to Deanie's on my last visit to New Orleans and remembered how good it was. What I forgot was just how much food is served, especially if you order one of their many combo platters available. (Check out their $48.95 Giant Seafood Platter that includes shrimp, oysters, soft shell crabs, catfish and crawfish stuffing balls.)
Deanie's is first and foremost a southern seafood place. This means fried food at its best. There is also the option to have your seafood broiled for most items. As we looked through the menu, our server brought us a small bowl of red potatoes that had been boiled in the same seasoning they use for their crawfish and crabs, which were very spicy. They made for a nice appetizer, especially to take the hunger bite away while trying to decide what to have for supper.
I ended up settling in on the fried shrimp, although the crab stuffed jumbo shrimp were a close second of my choices. When asked about the serving sizes, I was told there were six stuffed shrimp which could be prepared broiled or fried. When I asked about the fried shrimp platter, she said "Oh honey, I don't know. It's a lot though." Served with french fries and cole slaw, she was right . . . there were a lot of shrimp. While not of the jumbo variety, they were big and there were plenty . . . 20 to be exact. (Yes I counted the tails when I was done.) At $14.95, this was a very good value.
David had the stuffed flounder which was broiled and stuffed with a nice crab meat stuffing. Served with a dinner salad and choice of potato or veggies (green beans), his meal was complete and also a good value at $16.95.
We were completely stuffed ourselves after dinner, so no dessert on this night. They did have a somewhat limited selection, so we didn't feel we were really missing out.
If you plan on dining at Deanie's be prepared for a wait unless you arrive early as they do not accept reservations. We got there at around 5:45pm and there was no line yet. If you do arrive when there's a wait, you may be able to slip inside to the bar area which is a decent size. Some folks even choose to dine there when there is a waiting list.
There are two locations . . . the original is in the "Bucktown" area in Metairie and the newer location is in the French Quarter, just a block from world famous Boubon Street. The French Quarter location is open daily for lunch at 11:00am and remains open through 10:00pm for dinner Sunday through Thursday and until 11:00pm Friday and Saturday.
For more information, including their menu, check them out at: http://www.deanies.com/.
From journal Dining in New Orleans