Tuesday, October 28, 2008

La Boca

Ahh, La Boca; what would I do without you? I love restaurants that seem to transport a diner somewhere. La Boca takes me to a very happy place. A place where dark wood beamed ceilings, exposed bricks, and windows open onto bustling Fulton Street. La Boca, I want to write a sonnet about you. But I dont have any pieces of paper with only 14 lines on it.

Another trip there this past weekend with Doc, the Expert, Lindsay and I reaffirmed my belief that La Boca is the best steakhouse in New Orleans. Incredibly reliable, their beef has few equals in these parts (including some from Snake River Farms), attentive service, a small but food focused wine list, and last but not least, Carter Oosterhouse from television's Space Trading Spouses. Lindsay, on left, believes Carter to be a hunky beefcake.

Below is what I think to be a beautiful hunk of beef. The skirt steak, topped with a smattering of the classic chimichurri and the roasted red pepper chimichurri. In many circles, I am known as the "Jackson Pollack of chimichurri." You can even see the remaining bits of my pisco sour and my belly. Lucky you.

Are you getting hungry? The hangar steak medium rare makes many vegans second guess their decision. The flavor is deep, the texture silken. Look at the artful photography, as it captures the knife and fork resting in between battles. The juices of the meat awaiting their eventually ride on a bread basket to your mouth. This is some hot food porn. That last word should bring us about one million more new viewers.


A deep, rich Susana Balbo Cabernet Sauvignon, some provoleta, and some fries rounded out another meatacular meal. For good meaure I added on a Grand Marnier. Why?
Well, we heard rumors that the Pope was lurking around the Warehouse District under the guise of working. And by working I mean, His Holiness was entertaining some nationally known, and hence not us, food writers. He was very mum about who was there. Secrecy being a fallacy of the papacy.
Following work the Pope retired to the Red Eye, where our intrepid photgrapher snapped what is believed to be the only known photo of the Pope...drinking...in a bar...surrounded by women. As you can see, the Pope in his element is a very happy man indeed.





1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Today on my way to lunch I passed a homeless guy with a sign that read "Vote Obama, I need the money." I laughed.

Once in the restaurant my server had on a "Obama 08" tie.

Again I laughed as he had given away his political preference--just imagine the coincidence.
When the bill came I decided not to tip the server and explained to him that I was exploring the Obama 'redistribution of wealth' concept.

He stood there in disbelief while I told him that I was going to redistribute his tip to someone who I deemed more in need--the homeless guy outside. The server angrily stormed from my sight.

I went outside, gave the homeless guy $5 and told him to thank the server inside as I've decided he could use the money more.

The homeless guy was very grateful.

At the end of my rather unscientific redistribution experiment I realized the homeless guy was grateful for the money he did not earn, but the waiter was pretty angry that I gave away the money he did earn, even though the actual recipient 'deserved' money more.

I guess 'redistribution of wealth' is an easier thing to swallow in concept than in practical application depending on which side of the redistribution you are on.