January has had a lot of culinary high points so far:
Baru: a whole mess of tapas: ceviche, excellent fried oysters, mazorca (a roasted corn dish), and patacones (fried mashed plantains with guacamole and chipotle chicken), plus very nice sangria. My first visit, and it won't be the last.
Dick and Jenny's: barbecue shrimp with goat cheese and thyme grits, and drum with pecan risotto and praline sauce. I had not been here since 2007 and I think there was a change of management in between; either way, everything was great and I want to go back to try some of the other entrees.
Lilette: gnocchi, roasted duck, and somebody else's leftover beef cheeks. This was another place I have not visited in years, and it's still amazing. Very rich, impeccable food.
Peche: shrimp croquettes, baked drum with mushrooms and squash fritters, and rum cake. I don't think it's been open a year yet, but this is probably my fifth visit. I'm going to keep returning. (Special thanks to Kate and Richard!)
Rio Mar: the full tasting menu of appetizers and desserts (the empanadas, grilled octopus, mango sangria, and tres leches cake were particularly memorable), plus baked drum with shrimp-stuffed plantains. This was a gluttony marathon, and it was all amazing. (Special thanks to Rina's mom!)
Only one low point to report. Biscuits and Buns on Banks is a new breakfast/brunch place in Mid-City (I'm not linking to it because I can only find a Facebook page). It has problems. We were told there would be a twenty to twenty-five minute wait; forty-five minutes later, we're finally seated, at which point we wait another forty-five minutes for our food. I was pretty cranky at that point so the food would have had to be pretty darn good to make an impression, and it was not. I can't think of any reason I'd go back here when Wakin' Bakin' is a block away.
Probably a lot else to report, but I'll just say that I have been to half of the New Orleans "bad decision" bars this month and leave it at that. Oh, the Saints lost and I got a job. That pretty much covers it.
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Weather
We had an ice storm. It was cold. Frozen water fell from the sky. The doors to my girlfriend's car froze shut and she had to crawl in through the hatchback. My workplace shut down Tuesday and Wednesday. Roads closed. Could have been much worse.
Precipitation yesterday:
Today:
Today:
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Recent Pictures
Eleven empty bottles of St. Germain on the side of the road:
Gorillas:
We've had some rain:
Gingerbread Oak Alley Plantation:
Recent Goings-on
Quick sum-up of eating and activities, not in any particular order:
Wayfare on Freret: I had a daily special eggplant sandwich which sounded better than anything on the regular menu; it was quite good, but on the whole seemed a buck or two too expensive. Probably not going in the regular rotation but I may go back for meat pies and a beer.
Dat Dog: Still amazing.
Theo's but for lunch: a quite good caprese-style grilled cheese sandwich.
Breakfast at Stanley with an old buddy from New York: I liked the Eggs Stanley but I think it's worth paying extra to go to Atchafalaya.
Free Christmas concert by Jeremy Davenport at St. Louis Cathedral.
Watching FSU win the championship at Tracey's: good sports bar.
Front row for the Amazing Acro-Cats at the Allways: I saw a cat play the cowbell. It blew my mind.
Brunch at the Country Club: Excellent breakfast burrito, bottomless mimosas, and a Christmas drag show. What's not to like? (That reminds me: while in Hawaii, at a day-after-wedding breakfast with mimosas, somebody said that you can keep a bottle of champagne from going flat by putting a spoon in the neck of the bottle. My mom asked me if I had heard that before, and I was forced to respond that I've never seen a bottle of champagne open long enough to go flat.)
Chinese food from Jung's Golden Dragon on Christmas Eve: possibly the best General Tso's chicken I've ever had.
Shopping at the Bloomin' Deals: Christmas-themed coffee mugs and cookie cutters, three hardback books, and a pizza cutter for seven bucks.
Celebration in the Oaks: Yeah, it's a little corny, but it was also festive and romantic. We went up on the ferris wheel and had a nice view of the skyline. Also, I am concerned about that ferris wheel: while we were waiting in line, it started making some troubling screeching noises, and the operator quickly walked away saying "I'm not going to be under it when that thing collapses." I swear that is what I heard her say.
New Year's Eve on a bywater apartment building roof with friends, watching professional and amateur fireworks all across the city.
Separate post with recent pictures forthcoming. Also, sometime before Saturday, I'll post about the Saints.
Wayfare on Freret: I had a daily special eggplant sandwich which sounded better than anything on the regular menu; it was quite good, but on the whole seemed a buck or two too expensive. Probably not going in the regular rotation but I may go back for meat pies and a beer.
Dat Dog: Still amazing.
Theo's but for lunch: a quite good caprese-style grilled cheese sandwich.
Breakfast at Stanley with an old buddy from New York: I liked the Eggs Stanley but I think it's worth paying extra to go to Atchafalaya.
Free Christmas concert by Jeremy Davenport at St. Louis Cathedral.
Watching FSU win the championship at Tracey's: good sports bar.
Front row for the Amazing Acro-Cats at the Allways: I saw a cat play the cowbell. It blew my mind.
Brunch at the Country Club: Excellent breakfast burrito, bottomless mimosas, and a Christmas drag show. What's not to like? (That reminds me: while in Hawaii, at a day-after-wedding breakfast with mimosas, somebody said that you can keep a bottle of champagne from going flat by putting a spoon in the neck of the bottle. My mom asked me if I had heard that before, and I was forced to respond that I've never seen a bottle of champagne open long enough to go flat.)
Chinese food from Jung's Golden Dragon on Christmas Eve: possibly the best General Tso's chicken I've ever had.
Shopping at the Bloomin' Deals: Christmas-themed coffee mugs and cookie cutters, three hardback books, and a pizza cutter for seven bucks.
Celebration in the Oaks: Yeah, it's a little corny, but it was also festive and romantic. We went up on the ferris wheel and had a nice view of the skyline. Also, I am concerned about that ferris wheel: while we were waiting in line, it started making some troubling screeching noises, and the operator quickly walked away saying "I'm not going to be under it when that thing collapses." I swear that is what I heard her say.
New Year's Eve on a bywater apartment building roof with friends, watching professional and amateur fireworks all across the city.
Separate post with recent pictures forthcoming. Also, sometime before Saturday, I'll post about the Saints.
Hawaii Write-Up
I waited to write this update so long, it's probably going to be a little terse and short on details.
What I did: take a snorkel boat trip to the Molokini crater and turtle reef (or as the captain said, "Well, it's a reef and there are turtles."); wander around old Lahaina (very touristy, and none of the museums were open during advertised hours); drive up to Haleakala and get my National Park Passport stamped; attend a lovely wedding by the ocean and drink a lot of wine; hike in Iao Valley with my brother; run on the beach and watch sunsets; drink local beer (nothing spectacular, but the pineapple-wheat is interesting and the Longboard lager is solid); visit the very good Alexander & Baldwin Sugar Museum; ate a plate lunch and food with spam in it.
What I think: I don't grok Hawaii. Yes, the beaches are nice and the weather is consistently stunning. But everything I did was touristy and I sort of feel like the trip was the equivalent of visiting New Orleans and never leaving the French Quarter. My confusion about "authenticity" is compounded by the fact that I read Sarah Vowell's Unfamiliar Fishes while I was visiting--I highly recommend it. Man, Hawaii has a complicated history, and I felt a little awful about being an American tourist over there.
TL;DR: Uniquely pretty with excellent weather, but my favorite beach vacation is still Fort Pickens.
What I did: take a snorkel boat trip to the Molokini crater and turtle reef (or as the captain said, "Well, it's a reef and there are turtles."); wander around old Lahaina (very touristy, and none of the museums were open during advertised hours); drive up to Haleakala and get my National Park Passport stamped; attend a lovely wedding by the ocean and drink a lot of wine; hike in Iao Valley with my brother; run on the beach and watch sunsets; drink local beer (nothing spectacular, but the pineapple-wheat is interesting and the Longboard lager is solid); visit the very good Alexander & Baldwin Sugar Museum; ate a plate lunch and food with spam in it.
What I think: I don't grok Hawaii. Yes, the beaches are nice and the weather is consistently stunning. But everything I did was touristy and I sort of feel like the trip was the equivalent of visiting New Orleans and never leaving the French Quarter. My confusion about "authenticity" is compounded by the fact that I read Sarah Vowell's Unfamiliar Fishes while I was visiting--I highly recommend it. Man, Hawaii has a complicated history, and I felt a little awful about being an American tourist over there.
TL;DR: Uniquely pretty with excellent weather, but my favorite beach vacation is still Fort Pickens.
Thursday, December 26, 2013
Pictures from the Sandwich Islands
The airport in Honolulu, last transfer in a long day of flying to Hawaii:
Leaving turtle reef:
Tropical water:
A scenic overlook:
Comfortable:
Wedding venue:
Wedding sunset:
Maui church:
Old coral-rock building:
Fort:
Banyan:
Haleakala crater, or maybe Mordor:
Haleakala:
Looking down on Maui:
Observatories:
High up:
Silversword:
Whaler's try pot at the Sugar Museum:
The Needle in Iao Valley, believed to be the phallic stone of the Hawaiian god of the underworld:
Cairn:
Friday, December 6, 2013
Oak Street Po-Boy Festival 2013
I attended this year's Oak Street Po-Boy Festival. For those unfortunate souls who don't know what I'm talking about (probably nobody, since I think I know everybody reading this blog), take a look at the Wikipedia entry. The festival (which seems to have dropped the "Heritage and Preservation" part of the title) has been going for five or six years now, and this is probably my fourth visit. Yeah, I know it's crowded and can be a bit of a mess, but for sampling a lot of different creative po-boys, it's hard to beat.
This year was different because, purely by tagging along to the right place at the right time, I ended up being conscripted as an official judge in the Specialty Seafood category. Ultimately, we selected the Seither's Seafood seafood au gratin po-boy as the champion, although the Jack Dempsey's soft-shell crab remoulade was a close second. It was a cold Sunday, and there was something about the seafood au gratin that made it the perfect comfort food for the day. Also in contention were a soft-shell crab with wasabi mayo and caviar from Chiba, a crabmeat boudin po-boy from Bayou Girls, a shrimp & crabmeat po-boy from Ms. Linda, a smoked salmon with satsuma sandwich (not really a po-boy) from Breads On Oak, and a godawful "crawfish enchilada po-boy" Voleo's seafood which convinced me never ever to eat anything from Voleo's seafood. And on top of that, I wasn't expecting to be a judge so I had already tried the barbecue shrimp from Pascal's Manale (buttery, peppery, and reliably delicious), the fried-chicken-and-waffle-boy from Palate (meh, maybe it would have been better if it was served a little warmer), and then after judging I had a really good garlic-stuffed roast beef po-boy from Sammy's Deli.
I don't want to get all high-falutin' about po-boy theory, but I think the specialty seafood category was inherently handicapped. If you have the traditional seafood toppings of fried shrimp or fried oysters, those give you the kind of meaty structure you need to compete with the bread. A lot of the specialty seafood contenders, on the other hand, were too mushy to stand up. The soft-shell crab worked better, but because the po-boy festival portions are so small they still felt like they lacked substance. I think the seafood au gratin worked because the melted cheese added a chewy structural matrix. But on the whole, I think I'll stick to traditional seafood po-boys.
This year was different because, purely by tagging along to the right place at the right time, I ended up being conscripted as an official judge in the Specialty Seafood category. Ultimately, we selected the Seither's Seafood seafood au gratin po-boy as the champion, although the Jack Dempsey's soft-shell crab remoulade was a close second. It was a cold Sunday, and there was something about the seafood au gratin that made it the perfect comfort food for the day. Also in contention were a soft-shell crab with wasabi mayo and caviar from Chiba, a crabmeat boudin po-boy from Bayou Girls, a shrimp & crabmeat po-boy from Ms. Linda, a smoked salmon with satsuma sandwich (not really a po-boy) from Breads On Oak, and a godawful "crawfish enchilada po-boy" Voleo's seafood which convinced me never ever to eat anything from Voleo's seafood. And on top of that, I wasn't expecting to be a judge so I had already tried the barbecue shrimp from Pascal's Manale (buttery, peppery, and reliably delicious), the fried-chicken-and-waffle-boy from Palate (meh, maybe it would have been better if it was served a little warmer), and then after judging I had a really good garlic-stuffed roast beef po-boy from Sammy's Deli.
I don't want to get all high-falutin' about po-boy theory, but I think the specialty seafood category was inherently handicapped. If you have the traditional seafood toppings of fried shrimp or fried oysters, those give you the kind of meaty structure you need to compete with the bread. A lot of the specialty seafood contenders, on the other hand, were too mushy to stand up. The soft-shell crab worked better, but because the po-boy festival portions are so small they still felt like they lacked substance. I think the seafood au gratin worked because the melted cheese added a chewy structural matrix. But on the whole, I think I'll stick to traditional seafood po-boys.
Friday and Saturday, 11/22-23
Pretty good enchiladas at Taqueria Guerrero, probably the best I've had in town although there are a couple of places I haven't tried yet. Finally got around to trying the very good drinks at Twelve Mile Limit.
Then a lovely wedding at the Peristyle in City Park (with an acoustic version of I Want You To Want Me for the recessional) and a reception at the Pitot House with music by Debbie Davis and the Lost Bayou Ramblers. Good food, good friends, and an all-around wonderful experience. As an added bonus, I had a fun encounter with an inebriated wedding guest who (1) asked if I was courting my girlfriend, (2) sang me an old Gilette jingle and told me to shave because she'd prefer it that way, (3) railed that kids these days don't know good music, and (4) then changed his mind and wanted to adopt me because I liked Debbie Davis's covers of the The Ink Spots' I Don't Want To Set The World On Fire and the The Kinks' Sunny Afternoon. At that point, his wife gently wrangled him away and sat him down, where he remained for the rest of the reception. Excellent times.
Then a lovely wedding at the Peristyle in City Park (with an acoustic version of I Want You To Want Me for the recessional) and a reception at the Pitot House with music by Debbie Davis and the Lost Bayou Ramblers. Good food, good friends, and an all-around wonderful experience. As an added bonus, I had a fun encounter with an inebriated wedding guest who (1) asked if I was courting my girlfriend, (2) sang me an old Gilette jingle and told me to shave because she'd prefer it that way, (3) railed that kids these days don't know good music, and (4) then changed his mind and wanted to adopt me because I liked Debbie Davis's covers of the The Ink Spots' I Don't Want To Set The World On Fire and the The Kinks' Sunny Afternoon. At that point, his wife gently wrangled him away and sat him down, where he remained for the rest of the reception. Excellent times.
Recent activities
I let the blogging lapse again for a bit and I apologize. I'll get a couple of posts up today and then there will be another hiatus while I'm out of town for a week, but with luck I'll have some good pictures after that.
So, recently I have enjoyed: cooked an edible Thanksgiving dinner for four; eaten a much better Thanksgiving turducken hotdog with stuffing and andouille sauce at Dat Dog; celebratory drinks with a friend at Saint Lawrence, a bar that is pretty good by Quarter standards; a truly bizarre but edible vegetable stir-fry at Cosimo's in the Quarter; a good burger at High Hat; delicious German beer at the reorganized Aline Street Beer Garden, which is quickly becoming one of my favorite bars; visited the new H&M clothing place; and endured more insane weather. I broke out the flannel sheets when it got down to the thirties on the night before Thanksgiving, but we've been back in the high 70's since then. This is weird.
So, recently I have enjoyed: cooked an edible Thanksgiving dinner for four; eaten a much better Thanksgiving turducken hotdog with stuffing and andouille sauce at Dat Dog; celebratory drinks with a friend at Saint Lawrence, a bar that is pretty good by Quarter standards; a truly bizarre but edible vegetable stir-fry at Cosimo's in the Quarter; a good burger at High Hat; delicious German beer at the reorganized Aline Street Beer Garden, which is quickly becoming one of my favorite bars; visited the new H&M clothing place; and endured more insane weather. I broke out the flannel sheets when it got down to the thirties on the night before Thanksgiving, but we've been back in the high 70's since then. This is weird.
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