Review: Emeril’s a Sure Thing If it’s Chef’s Night In

Emeril’s expertly executed paneed pork medallions are lightly breaded, pan fried and served with wilted spinach. The tangy Worcestershire sauce is made in house.

by Scott Joseph • photography by Rafael Tongol

I ’ve found over the years that Emeril’s Orlando, the CityWalk restaurant from celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse, can offer a wide range of experiences.

I’ve left some dinners thinking: “That’s what a fine dining experience is all about.” I’ve left others thinking: “Meh.” Now I’ve learned how to make certain the experience will be more like the former than the latter. I simply ask: “Is Chef Bernard in the house?”

That’s Bernard Carmouche, who at one time was the chef de cuisine for Emeril’s Orlando, and has worked with Lagasse for years. First it was at New Orleans’ Commander’s Palace as a dishwasher. He later became a cook and today is culinary director for the company’s Florida restaurants.

Until a couple of months ago, those restaurants numbered three and included Emeril’s Miami Beach. When that location closed recently, Carmouche found himself spending more time in Orlando overseeing Emeril’s Orlando and Tchoup Chop.

His duties will expand again when a planned Charlotte, N.C., outpost opens next year. But in the meantime, we get more of his attention. And if he’s helping out in the kitchen, as he was during my recent visit, you’ll likely have a memorable dining experience.

I started with the fried green BLT, which featured firm green tomatoes with a lightly fried jacket topped with pancetta and organic watercress and finished with a spicy remoulade – a wonderful rendition of a southern treat. My dinner guest had the seafood and andouille gumbo, which boasted a dark and rich roux base with bits of sausage and seafood.

The restaurant’s signature gumbo boasts plenty of seafood and sausage in a dark, rich roux base.

For my entrée, I had the paneed pork medallions, as expertly executed as the finest Wiener schnitzel. The tender pork rounds were lightly breaded and pan fried, served with wilted spinach and graced with a Worcestershire sauce made in house.

My friend had a flatbread topped with applewood smoked bacon, caramelized onions and arugula and dotted with a boursin cream cheese. I thought the crust could have been better crisped, especially given the hot brick oven in the part of the kitchen visible from the dining room. But that’s just a quibble.

The pain perdu bread pudding, perfectly custardized and served with cinnamon ice cream, was the only dessert I considered having, and it was the right choice.

Service was, as it always has been, first-rate. The bustling dining room, which at times can be downright boisterous, is still under the watchful eye of manager Gabriel Orozco.

I did find one curious thing about the service, however. When replacing flatware, the server or assistant always placed the knife with the blade facing out. Tradition, passed down from the days when daggers were used as utensils, calls for the blade to face in, as a sign that you mean your dining companion no harm. When the blade faces out, one could pick it up and slice an offending throat in one maneuver.

Although that hardly ever happens anymore, the tradition remains. I’ll have to ask sometime why the Emeril’s crew goes against historical convention.

For the record, Justin Sells is the current chef de cuisine. He has taken over the kitchen since I had a ho-hum dining experience last year. So, although I credited Carmouche’s presence for the wonderful food I had on my last visit, it could well be that Sells was responsible for every bite of it.

I hope so. If Sells can perform this well whether his boss is in the kitchen or not, then a visit to Emeril’s Orlando will become the sure thing that it ought to be.

Emeril’s Orlando
Where: Universal CityWalk International Drive, Orlando
When: Lunch and dinner daily
How much: $$$
Where to call: 407-224-2424