So Tchoup Chop closed. What was my favorite restaurant at universal now has its doors shuttered.
A restaurant is only as good as its chef, management and staff. And I bring you good news. Chef Vargas, who was the executive chef at Tchoup Chop ended up taking over the Emerils citywalk location. Since then, he has kept some emerils staples while adding his Polynesian (he’s Hawaiian) flare to many dishes. He also brought along a lot of his kitchen staff, and the general manager is now an assistant gm over at emerils.
All in all- a massive improvement and excellent dishes and service all around.
Chef Ryan and his staff, as always, took incredible care of my wife and I and gave us more food than we could possibly eat.
So without further ado- here was our meal (it’s just my wife and I this time too)
Fried Green Tomatoes. Not much to add. It was “ok”. I go to savannah once a year, and they top this one due to the tomatoe itself. The breading was perfect and sauce and pimento were excellent, but the tomatoe lacked the crunch that I’m accustomed to.
Duck Wings (these were both our favorites). Perfect balance of sweet and tang. Blue cheese dressing melted with the sauce put it over the top.
Andouille Sausage and crawfish baguette. This was interesting. I don’t believe I’ve had a filled bread. It was the equivelant of a baguette with a really thick dipping sauce. It was excellent.
Pork chop. An emerils staple. Tamarind and green Chile were on point. Pork chop cooked perfect and thick. Solid dish.
Don’t even know what to say here. A stupid amount of dessert and we were stuffed already so only had a few bites of each. Creme Brûlée got emptied. Beignets were the best thing on the plate w/ the caramel dipping sauce.
No pics of the drinks- tried 4 but they were drank too fast. Mixed very well. Dessert wine w/ the brûlée was excellent also.
All in all- a fantastic night. But wouldn’t have been made possible without the staff. I know I’ve said this before- but Chef Ryan is the best. Period. His staff loves him, he’s just a solid guy who is passionate about his food. Tchoup Chop was the best because of him. Without Tchoup Chop there anymore- If you haven’t had Emerils in a while- try it again with Ryan at the helm. You likely won’t leave disappointed.