THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Bruning's

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Bruning's Restaurant Review:

Theodor Bruning, a German immigrant, opened a seafood house on Lake Pontchartrain's shore after his arrival in New Orleans in 1849. Hurricane winds almost destroyed the place in 1998. The rehabilitated Bruning's shows no significant change in either the restaurant's physical aspect or its menu. Broiled whole flounder and speckled trout remain the headliners, along with fried, broiled and boiled seafoods steeped in local tradition. The several dining rooms, lined with practical wood paneling, extend just past the shoreline. A profusion of windows offers soothing views of the water, as well as the Bruning family's original homestead nearby. The menu is a hit-and-miss proposition. Shrimp, crabs or crawfish, boiled in their shells, are properly piquant and fresh. Onion rings and the shrimp rémoulade are other reliable starters, and the broiled whole flounder is several cuts above the offerings from the deep fryers. The raisiny bread pudding is a wiser choice than the floury, commercial-quality cheesecake. A few minutes spent in the front bar provides an education in the local culture, filled as it always is with a gaggle of New Orleanians from every socioeconomic stratum.