Martini's on Dauphin

Gatherings before balls usually only require dusting off a few shot glasses, organizing a quick game of quarters and maybe opening a bag of chips and a jar of salsa. Otherwise your choice is to go out for a full meal, making you late for the ball or drinking your dinner.

To say that Martinis on Dauphin Street (250 Dauphin St. in LoDa) is the best place to go for drinks and appetizers is not on the same level as, say the search for Mobile’s best fried shrimp. It appears to be the only place. But it excels. A dizzying array of specialty drinks combined with a menu of upscale quick bites—no fried cheese stick sampler platters are served here. There are no sit-down lounges in LoDa to relax, talk and eat. Martinis aims to be such a place.

A brash façade deceives as to what is found inside. At first blush, this former sports bar appears to be just another loud, dark bar among the many lining the street. Before a recent ball, I met three other couples for drinks and food.

We had an hour and a half to order, drink and eat before I had to meet my wife. As the doors swung open, I was arrested by the sounds of loud chatter, laughing and music. This at first did not seem to be a place for intimate conversation. But it was a jolly scene, not obnoxious. I was immediately taken to a group of three sofas with a large coffee table. What struck me about the scene was how mixed and diverse the crowd was. Young 20-somethings were seated near older WeMo-looking couples (women in garanimal type outfits, men in lots of Tommy). Other ball goers and the usual Mid and Downtown crowd were in abundance.

Our space was cozy and while once everyone arrived it got crowded, there were seven in my group. Our waiter was Johnny on the Spot. He was informative and made immediate recommendations for food. Their menu is small in selection but diverse. I ordered several items at once to get things going—seared sashimi tuna fillet, wasabi fried oysters, seared beef tenderloin and sweet and spice toasted pecans.

Once the rest arrived we looked over the drink menu—27 specialty martini-style drinks alone. Many of the women ordered the Madonna ($8) a drink of raspberry vodka and lemonade with crushed raspberries. The men ordered either the Mick Jagger ($8) the classic martini, only dirty with your choice of olive garnish or the Dean Martin ($8) the classic martini with olive.

Olive choices consist of those stuffed with pimento, almond, garlic, blue cheese or feta. I despise olives and am a cocktail onion man, but others liked the blue cheese best. Suffice it to say that if you can think of a martini-style drink combination, they make it.

Martinis is about to take some of the least ordered drinks off the menu and add 14 new combinations. Of course everything else when it comes to liquor and beer is offered as well. The drinks were all well mixed, but make sure you ask for premium vodka (which costs more) or you get poured from the well. The only complaint was from one lady who asked for less cranberry juice in hers and also got less liquor as well.

The only problem with Martinis’ layout came with the seating arrangement. One of our sofas was also the pathway to everything. People going to the bathroom, leaving, waiters with trays of food all marched through our conversation. A large group of women, or rather a large group of large women also bumped into the back of our sofas a couple of times, pushing us ever forward. None of this ruined our time and once the first flight of food arrived we were able to share without anything being launched into the air.

The seared sashimi tuna filet ($10.00) was perfectly cooked, pink and fleshy. Ribbons of dark rum pineapple glaze enhanced the succulent fish. Immediately I wanted to order another plateful. This tuna is among the best I have tasted recently. The wasabi fried oysters ($9.00) are dusted with wasabi and flour then fried crisp served in a pool of ancho pepper cream sauce. These were a hit with the men, but the ladies wanted a crunchier texture. We found them to be perfect—a little crunch with a chewy inside and wasabi bite.

Seared beef tenderloin ($11.00) is a prime cut of beef that is Cajun seared. The beautiful slices of medium rare tenderloin should have been incredible. But there was a little too much butt rub. It overpowered and ruined a perfectly good piece of meat. The Creole sour cream sauce was left untouched due to the overpowering rub. The sweet and spicy toasted pecans ($3.00) are made by Martinis and went perfectly with drinks. They are fire hot, with a sweet first taste followed by sharp sting. I ate most of the bowl myself.

Everyone was still hungry and thirsty so another round was ordered. This time we tried the fried crab claws and chicken breast tenders.

The chicken breast tenders ($9.00) were served with homemade Jack Daniels honey mustard sauce. These were brought out piping hot and were sizable. I could not taste the Jack Daniels—maybe they did not spill enough on the sauce when they ripped the foil off the top of the honey mustard before serving. Plenty of fried crab claws ($10) were presented and were consumed quickly as we began sorting out the bill. Meaty and crisp, these ended a satisfying graze.

All of the food was good and there was enough to share. The price is right. A lively presence and well-made drinks (remember, ask for a premium brand) offer the perfect stage on which to set your night of ball going.

Kinnon Phillips is Lagniappe cuisine editor. Contact him at kphillips@lagniappemobile.com.

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