Consistency

"The food was good, but nothing exciting."

I have found myself saying this a lot lately when talking about a restaurant, and my guess is that I'm not the only one. It's understandable though. Compared with meals full of guanciale and goat cheese croquettes and steaming bowls of pho, a plate of veal parmesan or red beans and rice isn't as enticing as it once was. But don't fall into the trap of believing that just because a restaurant is old (and its menu unchanged) makes it unworthy of your dining dollars. A meal does not have to be life changing to be good.

Mandina's is the perfect example to illustrate my point. In our April review in offBeat, we harped on how even though the food is the antithesis of innovative, Mandina's should still be celebrated for its persistence. For over 75 years the Mid-City stalwart has served as a reliable restaurant where patrons still flock for good (not great) food. And there is nothing wrong with that.

"I know what I like, and I like what I know." This is what I say to myself when I walk into Mandina's.

I like a gigantic tower of crisp onion rings to start.

I like the turtle soup even though there is not a speck of turtle meat in the cup.

And I like huge plates of spaghetti and meatballs covered in the New Orleans style red gravy that we natives grew up on.

A few weeks back I was eating dinner at Mandina's on a Thursday night with The Pope and the Battle House Honey, and there was a table of 2 middle-aged female tourists sitting next to us. I could just tell that they had been so proud of themselves for finding this locals-only place, yet they were not wowed by their food in anyway. I wanted to pull up a chair and try to explain why their meal felt so short of their expectations, but my tablemates held me back. So much for the better though. Consistency cannot be defined in only one meal.

Mandina's - Par

Dueling Burgers

Recently I played third wheel with The Pope and Battle House Honey for lunch at Phil's Grill. This burger spot has some sentimental value for La Papa because last year he took his mother, Mary Magdalene, to Phil's for her birthday dinner. What a loving son.

Located in the former Old Henry's on Severn, Phil's has an identical feel to Chili's. The menu includes a list of original burger concoctions, but the hook here is the build-your-own-burger option. Inside the menu is a checklist whereby you choose your bun, meat, cheese, toppings, sauces and accompanying side. It's a good burger, but not something that I would drive across town for. Perhaps I am biased though, because hamburgers as a genre don't exactly do it for me.

At the end of a meal, do you ever go around the table and decide who ordered the best? Course by course, analyzing who emerged as the master of the menu on that particular occasion? I do it all the time. In my humble opinion, I possess a keen ability to peruse a menu and pinpoint what that restaurant does best. I could be full of sh*t though.

Anyway, The Pope and I were arguing over who built the better burger at Phil's, and we decided that the only fair way to determine a winner was to let the people vote. Here are the candidates.

The Pope - 100% black angus beef, cooked medium, on Texas toast. Toppings: sauteed onions, maple-peppercorn bacon, and cheddar cheese. Paired with thinly sliced onion rings (a la Charlie's Steakhouse).

The Peter - Phil's own hot sausage blend, cooked medium, on a jalapeno bun. Toppings: shredded lettuce, tomato, sauteed onions, monterey jack cheese and creole ailoli. Side of potato salad.

So, dear readers, the choice is yours as to who built the better burger. As a courtesy, you may vote none of the above.

Phil's Grill - Par.

Cafe Adelaide

On Monday night I dined at Cafe Adelaide along with The Pope and the Battle House Honey, and I would have to say that my overall feelings on the restaurant are similar to Ian McNulty's. The intended playfulness of the menu just did not appeal to me, but the more "classical" dishes were well done. (I apologize in advance for not having pictures.)

The highlight of the meal was the shrimp remoulade salad with shrimp boil vegetables. This was a great little twist on a classic which worked wonderfully. Boiled potatoes, corn-off-the-cob, and shrimp tossed in a mellowed remoulade dressing. I could eat 4 or 5 orders of this and leave happy.

Unfortunately, all of the entrees missed. BHH had the shrimp and grits which were served head and shell on. The shrimp were beautiful and I personally have no problem with cooking shrimp whole, but how do they expect diners to tackle this dish at the table? I think that a better idea would be to cook the shrimp whole and then peel them before serving (possibly leaving the head intact). But what do I know?

I had the quail and waffles which was just too tough to eat. The "waffle" was just a slab of cornbread which served as a base for a whole quail, and then the entire mass was deep fried. Again, I was confused as to how to disassemble the dish, so I just started hacking away. From what I remember, the bird was mostly deboned besides the legs and wings, but those tiny bones still proved to be a nuisance.

Cafe Adelaide - Bogey.

Libation for Celebration

All of those who waited till today to make New Year's Eve plans raise your hands. Now all of those who may have already made plans but still need to buy booze for tonight raise. Is that everyone? OK, good. We're here to help.

If you are a beer drinker, then I have to second Rene's suggestion of knocking back a few Lazy Magnolias. Last week I was the fortunate recipient of a six pack gift of Southern Pecan from a relative, and it went very well with the whole suckling pig that we cooked on Christmas day. (More on that next week). Just swing on by the local grocery on the Northshore. [What? The Northshore is still technically in the New Orleans area. Just ask Fr. Tom. He lives in Abita.]

But if, on the other hand, you fancy a bit of bubbly, then head over to Cork & Bottle and grab a bottle of the Spanish sparkling wine Poema Cava. Sure, it's not true champagne, but neither is the Korbel or Mumm's which you usually drink. And at $10.99 per bottle, it's a steal.

Finally, for you oenophiles out there, why not pick up a bottle of Wine Spectator's 2008 Wine of the Year.* This bottle of Clos Apalta is courtesy of The Pope, whose affinity for this Chilean red stems not only from taste but also from the fact that the winery is owned by the Marnier-Lapostolle family (founders and owners of Grand Marnier liqeur). Plus uncorking a bottle like this is a perfect excuse to use that new decanter you got for Christmas. Please allow the Battle House Honey to demonstrate:

Happy New Year.

* We apologize for the amateur pictures of the wine. Unfortunately, we are not as photographically savy as Robert Peyton.

The Day Has Finally Come

I have been counting down the days till today since September 20. For it was on that fateful Saturday that I made reservations at The French Laundry. Two months ago to the calendar date (which is the earliest possible day reservations can be made), The Pope and I conducted a coordinated telephone assault at exactly 10:00am PST (which is the precise time when TFL's reservations hotline is turned on). As luck would have it, we were both able to make reservations. And so today is the day. My fellow diners: The Folk Singer, The Pope, Battle House Honey, and The Deli King & Queen.

Rumor has it that tables at TFL are easier to come by these days because of the current recession and the prospect of higher taxes for those individuals with enough disposable income to be able to afford to dine at TFL. But unlike some people, for me dining at TFL is about the food as opposed to securing bragging rights. Also, let it be known that I cannot, in any remote sense of the word, "afford" dinner at The French Laundry. This is just one of those opportunities which I would forever regret passing up.

A part of me wonders if I'm ready. Will I be able to fully appreciate the vision and techniques of Thomas Keller and his proteges? And at the other end of the spectrum, I wonder if I have set my expectations so high that nothing on the plate will be able to satisfy them. Most likely, my mindset (and the outcome) lies somewhere in the middle.

Two years ago, I was fortunate enough to dine at Paul Bocuse's eponymous restaurant outside Lyon - my first (and till today, my lone) Michelin 3 Star dining experience. Not only the food but also the service was something that I had never had the opportunity to enjoy before. I still vividly remember every detail of that dinner, and one day I will have to write about it. But looking back, I think that I fully appreciated that meal because the cooking methods, ingredients, and flavors were not completely foreign to me. Whatever I ate, it seemed as though I had experienced that flavor and texture before - except that everything which came from Bocuse's kitchen tasted 1000x better.

In short, that dinner at Bocuse was the finest meal of my life. Tomorrow (or more likely Monday), I will let you know if that is still the case.

But today is not only about me. Today, the third Thursday in November, is Beajolais Nouveau Day. Traditionally, today is the day that the first wines of this years vintage are released to the public. In fact, speaking of Lyon, Beaujolais Nouveau was historically first released to the Lyonnaise bistros by shipping the bottles down the River Saône.

The Beaujolais which you are most likely to drink is that of winemaker George Duboeuf. Beaujolais, while shunned by some oenophiles as too young, is a very drinkable wine which should be uncorked immediately. And it's CHEAP. The first cases were shipped off at 12:01am (Paris time), so lookout for these festive bottles this weekend.

Will Someone Lend Me $600?

Over the weekend, I somehow scored a reservation at The French Laundry. Actually, I secured a reservation AND The Pope secured a reservation. After dialing TFL's reservation number approximately 100 times in less than 10 minutes, I finally got through and was told that there surprisingly were two available tables on that night for our party size. I chose the later time. A short while after I hungup the phone, The Pope - who himself was hitting the redial button trying to get us a table - managed to avoid the seemingly omnipresent busy signal and reserved the earlier table. We have decided to dine later, so if anyone is interested in a reservation at The French Laundry in November, please email us and we might be able to work something out.

For those unfamiliar with The French Laundry, it's regarded as possibly the best restaurant in the country. It has been awarded three stars (the highest rating) by Michelin and is ranked #5 in Restaurant Magazine's 2008 World's Best Restaurants. Reservations can only be made starting two months to the calendar date, and the internet is filled with websites touting the best ways to secure the precious few reservations available every day. Basically, it's kind of a big deal.

So on an undisclosed night this November, I will be one of the fortunate few seated at the altar of Chef Thomas Keller. I am still in shock that we were able to get a reservation, but I guess that November is the slow season for wine country. Dining with me will be: His Holiness, The Folk Singer, Battle House Honey, and The Deli King & Queen. Unfortunately (as of right now) Rene will not be in attendance, but he still has a little less than 2 months to change his mind.

Now about that $600 loan ....

A New Orleans Tradition Renewed

After a week long of minimal air conditioning, excessive amounts of family bonding time, and subsisting on whatever foods were next-in-line to be discarded from the rapidly defrosting refrigerator, I made the 70 mile sojourn back to NOLA for some much needed refueling. after all, man can only live on peanut butter and boudin for so long.

My first meal back was on Friday night at Charlie's Steak House - a place where I had not dined since long before Katrina, much less since it's recent reopening. My foursome included The Folk Singer, The Pope, and His Holiness' lady friend, Battle House Honey. Even though we did not arrive till almost 9:00, we still had a short wait at the bar before being seated, which gave me an opportunity to survey the remodeling. Although Charlie's was always well known for its unpolished decor, pre-restoration patrons will likely be taken aback by the new bar and computerized wait stations. This ain't your grandpa's Charlie's. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing.

Just as in pre-K times, Charlie's does not have a menu (or at least we did not request nor were offered one). You start with the onion rings, which are second to none other in the city. Somehow Charlie's manages to serve thin rings which include both soft flesh of onion with a crispy coating of just a simple dust of flour. It's the yin and yang of onion rings, and not many achieve this pinnacle like Charlie's. Note, one order of rings is big enough to split among a table of four.

After the rings, you must get the wedge of iceberg covered with the homemade blue cheese dressing. As with the onion rings, one wedge can (and should) be split between two diners.

Then the beef. Your options are limited: T-bone (small, medium, and large) or the filet. For the life of me, I don't think Charlie's even offered a filet before, but maybe I just never heard of anyone ordering one. La Papa and I each got the large (24oz.), while the ladies ordered filets. Each steak came out still sizzling on its on broiler pan. I thought the T-bones were great, but the filets were not cooked to the ladies medium-rare specifications. They were more "Pittsburgh" (or "black and blue"). Maybe this was because the filets (which were twice as thick) were cooked under the same broiler as T-bones.

We ordered one each of the potatoes au gratin, mushrooms bordelaise, and melba toast; but we decided to pass on the wedge fries because we still had half of our second order of onion rings left to finish. The au gratin were chunks (as opposed to mandolin slices) of potato suspended in cream and covered in cheese - great side. The mushrooms were a nice addition to my steak sandwich on melba toast.

They were out of spumoni, so dessert was a slice of casatta from Brocato's. Oh, and of course a Grand Marnier for The Pope. The meal overall was good, but I must say that the highlight was an off the menu item. La Papa was kind enough to bring along a bottle of Caymus 2001 Special Selection Cabernet. The waiter was curious as to what we needed uncorked, and La Papa offered him a taste. Minutes later, the manager (who I think was, in fact, owner Gene Dwyer) came over for a look. He was in awe, and after his first sip all he could muster was, "Wow." I think The Pope put it best: "Drinking this wine is like eating grapes."

Charlie's Steak House - Par.