Evacuation Feast

Even Isaac can't stop the Big Green Egg.

Greetings from 70 miles northwest of New Orleans. We hope that everyone riding out the storm in New Orleans is hunkered down (I am so sick of hearing that phrase) and staying relatively dry. Lord willing, Isaac will finally decide to second line his way out of here by Thursday morning. Let's keep our fingers crossed that he brings Jim Cantore along with him. That guy is like an unwanted Mardi Gras guest who keeps pushing his flight back long after he wore out his welcome by vomiting on mom's favorite rug.

Even though we are running on a natural gas generator up here at Blackened Out Baton Rouge Evacuation Shelter, we have decided to forego cooking with electricity out of respect for those of you who are without power down south. Therefore, the Big Green Egg has seen plenty of action over the last 36 hours. Yesterday a whole roaster chicken spent a solid 6 hours in the BGE along with a few Yukon golds, some onions, a bulb of garlic, and a couple of links of beef and poblano sausage and country sausage courtesy of Cochon Butcher. They made for a mighty fine feast along with a bottle of 2009 Maison Roche de Bellene Bourgogne Vielles Vignes which was evacuated from the wine fridge at home.

From reviewing his Twitter updates and seeing pecan french toast on today's breakfast menu, Rene seems to be taking advantage of generator power as well when it comes to hurricane cooking. So you can rest assured that despite the 90mph winds and potential flooding, your faithful bloggers are staying well fed during this unintended vacation period. We hope that you are all doing the same.

Back to the Butcher

Prime rib sandwich special at Cochon Butcher.

There are times when it seems that I eat at the same places over and over again, but then I look up and a year has passed by without visiting what used to be one of my regular favorites. When I first started working downtown almost 4 years ago, lunch at Cochon Butcher was a weekly event for my co-workers and me. And then once I became a resident of the CBD, it quickly became a go to option for dinner as well. But over the past year Butcher inexplicably fell out of my rotation, only to reemerge in recent weeks as a dining option which should always be at the top of the list.

All of our favorite sandwiches are still there and remain steadfast in their deliciousness. The cold roast beef spiked with horseradish, Carolina style pulled pork which I just love to slather with the namesake hot sauce, and the Cubano smuggling roasted poblanos in between layers of roast pork and ham. But the specials have been bringing the heat as of late. A recent recurring special has been an old school meatball hero covered in so much marinara and melted provolone that this sandwich alone may thwart Subway's FebruANY campaign. Another winner featured prime rib shaved so thin and with a texture so tender that you wonder if this cow came from Kobe, and it's generously piled upon buttery crisp marble rye and matched with melted gruyere and celery root remoulade.

In addition to the sandwiches, the rotating selection of side dishes will help ease the pain of your New Year's resolution to give up french fries. Cucumbers and chili in a light vinaigrette, grilled sweet potatoes and onions, and roasted brussels sprouts are always solid choices. My new favorite though is an Italian chopped of mini pasta shells, diced salami, herbs and greens - sort of like eating a muffuletta with a fork.

So don't let one of the favorites slip the cracks. At Cochon Butcher, what was good then, is even better now. And don't forget to grab a mini king cake for dessert.

Cochon Butcher
930 Tchoupitoulas Street
(504) 588-7675
Open Daily at 10am; Mon-Thur till 10pm; Fri-Sat till 11pm; Sun till 4pm

Stoltzfus

Michael Stoltzfus came to New Orleans from Maryland to work at John Besh's August. Not long after,  he and then girlfriend now fiancee, Lillian Hubbard opened Coquette on the corner of Washington and Magazine in December of 2008. Within a few months they had Four Beans from the Times Pic and the restaurant was well on its way to joining the roster of restaurants one has to eat at in New Orleans. In December, Stoltzfus will open his second eatery, Sweet Olive in The Saint Hotel. Let's put twentyish questions on the clock and get to know Michael Stoltzfus.

I was about to go to college and my mom opened a bakery. She said, "why don't you work here for a few weeks before school starts?" I never left for college. Started cooking breakfast and lunch in the back of the bakery. Got an Alain Ducasse book and just taught myself from there.

While I was working at my mom's in the morning, I was spending nights working at a fine dining restaurant in Chestertown, Maryland. Then I went to work at Julia's, probably the best restaurant at that time in Maryland. At Julia's I worked every position in restaurant- waiter, cook, manager- save bartender. After that, I went to work at August. Stayed there for a year and a half before this opportunity fell in our laps.

Losing all my money (laughs). Actually the thing I was most afraid of was not being able to cook. When you work for someone else, there is always a way to do things. Their vision, their recipe are what you use. I was afraid that I wasn't going to be able to cook food that was any good. When we opened, we had no idea what was going on with national economy. Luckily, Louisiana was pretty recession proof at that time. We were steady for the first five months, and then Brett Anderson reviewed us, and we took off from there. We had no idea he had been in, no idea we were on anyone's radar, and then the Times Picayune called to do a photo shoot for a review. We were shocked.

My approach to food has changed a lot. When we first opened, I was trying to emulate the cooking of the people I had learned from and so there was a heavy Besh presence to my food. In a way this was detrimental to my growth as a chef. A few years ago, something switched and my cooks and I started focusing our menu on what we would like to eat. How would we like to eat this ingredient. My cooks create more than I do now and in the last year we really started to focus on local products and purveyors. I'd say right now we get 80% of our produce locally and hopefully with Sweet Olive we will get that number to 100%.

I've become much more laid back recently. My biggest kitchen pet peeve is probably watching a cook turn a burner on high and try to cook something. The only time a burner should ever be on high in a kitchen is when you are trying to boil water. One of the most important aspects to cooking is controlling your heat and you can't do that on high. Also, I need a really clean kitchen. But all chefs are like that.

I love making bread. Making bread everyday for the restaurant can be monotonous, but there is nothing more rewarding than baking bread. What is funny is that at my mom's bakery, I never baked anything. Now I bake 60-70 loaves a day. Pulling a loaf of bread out of the oven is super rewarding. It is just flour, water, and yeast, but what comes out is so much more.

Hardest part of opening the restaurant was that neither Lillian nor I had any business background whatsoever. We had no idea of what we were getting ourselves into. I learned I was halfway decent at business things.

The French Laundry Cookbook- It is sort of the template of most cooks for the last 10 years or so, but I really love that book. Bread Baker's Apprentice. The Gift of Southern Cooking by Edna Lewis and Scott Peacock's. And I really like the NOMA cookbook, because it is so different and revolutionary. His emphasis on foraging and cooking ingredients I've never heard of is so different, it is really cool.

These days my favorite kitchen tool is my Sharpie. But always the knife. I use an 8 inch Misono chef's knife for just about everything.

Had a cook on maybe his third day. Right before service on a busy Friday night there was a huge stock pot on a table by the dishwasher's station. The leg of the table gave out and the cook rushed over to save the stock. 15 gallons of near boiling hot stock went everywhere including all over him. That was a pretty gruesome thing to see.

The food at Sweet Olive is going to be updated versions of New Orleans and Southern food classics. We are going to take a similar approach there that we do at Coquette and have a good time with the food. I've been obsessed with collard greens lately. One idea has us cooking whole leaf collards sous vide, then treating it like a grape leaf and wrapping it around boudin. We are also going to do bar food for the bar, a really great Continental breakfast, and maybe a tiki bar themed rooftop bar. We've got 3-4 months to put together the menu; when we opened Coquette we did not have that luxury.

I get really nervous cooking for people, especially chefs. Cooks all have different approaches to foods, so I am always nervous when I serve a chef he is thinking, "This is not what I would have done." I'd probably just want to cook for friends and family mostly. I love when people come in and I can cook on the fly, just make new things with the ingredients we have in our kitchen. If I spend weeks on a new menu, it is invariably crap. But if I just throw something together it is always great. Desperation plays a critical role in this kitchen.

When not in my restaurant, I like to eat. I eat out a lot. When we first opened, we ate out whenever we could, in order to scope out the competition. But now we do it because we love to eat.

Most memorable meal was at Babbo. We had gone to New York to eat. One night we ate at Corton, Paul Liebrandt's restaurant. While the food was good, it was nothing special. You could tell that a lot of time had been put into each dish, but it was just lacking. Plus it was a very expensive meal. The next night we went to Babbo and did the pasta tasting for like $60. Everything was so simple, but so well done. The sommelier waited on us and halfway through switched pairings to grappa, there was rock music in the background, just a great meal.

Mike Gulotta of August, probably. He taught me how to make food taste good and how to run a kitchen.

Truffle oil, but thankfully that is going away anyway. I can't stand the stuff and will never use it here. That is disgusting stuff. And of course, I wish restaurants would get away from commodity meats and the like. I am not preachy about it, don't plaster farms all over the menu, but that is really important to me. As cooks we have a duty to our customers to give them healthy food- not just for their bodies but for the environment also.

Right now, I am really being influenced by Spanish and Vietnamese flavors and cooking. One of my cook's is from Miami and so he has a huge love of Spanish cooking. Another one of my cooks is absolutely obsessed with all things Vietnamese. Eventually I'd like to have a really casual spot that just serves awesome food without worrying about plating or dining rooms. I cook to make people happy and casual food does that better than anything else.

Usually the last thing I want to do when I get home is cook. Lillian is an excellent cook, so usually she has something ready. If not, I like to grill. The other day picked up some boudin stuffed quail from Butcher and threw those on the grill. If nothing to grill, Lillian hasn't cooked anything, and nothing in fridge, I just eat almonds.

La Boca is my favorite restaurant in the city. There is absolutely no pretension there. I love that they can serve me an appetizer that is just a piece of sausage and an entree that is just a piece of meat. Lillian is an occasional vegan, but even she loves La Boca. Adolfo thinks I am stalking him because I go to a lot of his restaurants and he is always there. Nine Roses, we go here pretty much every Sunday night in the winter. Horinoya is the only good sushi I've found in the city and their service is incredible. And Butcher, that place is an anomaly. Every time I go in there, it gets better and better. I love Butcher.

On a deserted island, I would need sparkling water. I go through 3 liters of the stuff a day. Something to dip ranch into, along with ranch dressing. Marconna almonds and crispy pig ear. We fry it up to order at the restaurant, and there is always a few bits for me to snack on. I figure I eat pig ear all night. Probably not healthy but hey it is good.

The Heat Is On

Look, I understand that we live in a man-made concrete jungle in the middle of a swamp, but the heat lately has just been ridiculous. I appreciate this morning's gift of a taste of fall, but unfortunately I realize that the previews start at least a month or two before the premiere.

I was at the farmers market on Saturday morning for a total of 15 seconds before my shirt looked like it had been sprayed down with a gardening hose. You take one step outside of your air conditioned comfort zone, and it's like your entire body is instantaneously covered in one of those hot towels that the server hands you when you sit down at a sushi restaurant. Living downtown and having the luxury of walking to work has been transformed to a game of cat and mouse between finding the shadiest route and timing your departure so as to avoid having to wait for the crosswalk signal.

The Folk Singer has resigned to driving to work. We live three blocks from her office.

This August has almost sucked all of the enjoyment out of eating. I was craving a po-boy over the weekend, but knocking out a hot sausage po-boy from Parkway I had to take an ice bath for 3 hours just to get my core body temperature back down to 98.6. Firing up the grill outside is like paying russian roulette unless you have grilling tongs which stretch from your kitchen window out to the old Weber. Turning the oven on just seems completely counter intuitive considering that your primary goal is to keep your house as cool as possible. It's too bad that braised dishes are out of the question because you could cook osso buco simply by throwing a few veal shanks, tomato, and wine in a dutch oven and leaving it on the front porch while you are at work.

But all hope is not lost for culinary delight in the land of the 110 heat index. Here is a list of my favorite foods that help stave off the summer:

• Cold Soups - Gazpacho is the most well known (and rumor has it that Coquette's version is one of the best in town). At last week's Tuesday market at Tulane Square, I had an amazingly refreshing and flavorful vichychoisse served up by La Divina under the Green Plate Special tent. On the menu this week is a chilled cucumber soup with housemade creme fraiche and dill that sounds equally delightful.
• Pate, Cheese, & Olives - And wine of course, and maybe a loaf of bread. St. James Cheese Company is an obvious choice, but don't forget about the affettati misti at Domenica or the long list of offerings at the Delachaise.  Or stop by Butcher and build your own.
• Sushi - I won't open that can of worms again by telling you where to go, but let's just say that I have ejoyed a few strong meals at Horinoya over the past few weeks.
• Cold Crabmeat & Shrimp - Nothing wrong with a generous portion of shrimp remoulade or crabmeat maison over mixed greens with maybe a few slices of avocado or hearts of palm. I'm partial to the chilled roasted beets topped with crabmeat in a horseradish emulsion at La Petite Grocery.

Or you copy my dinner from last night by skipping dinner and knocking out a pint of mascarpone and lemon zest ice cream from the Creole Creamery.

What are your favorite foods that help beat the heat?

Someone's in the Kitchen with Rhonda

Ronda Ruckman joined the Link Restaurant Group in August of 2010 as Executive Pastry Chef for all four restaurants in the Link empire, with a fifth on the way (Cochon Lafayette). A native of New Orleans, Ruckman is turning out elegant, seasonal desserts, while still always innovating; See Exhibit A: The Butcher Mini King Cakes which swept across the city like a summer afternoon thunderstorm. Recently Ruckman was kind enough to sit down for an interview. So let's put 20ish questions on the clock and get to know the chef whose chocolate chip cookies are the best in the world. Recipes later in week.

Was at LSU, quit college for a semester and started cooking at a tea room inside Fireside Antiques in Baton Rouge. Washed dishes, salads, made sandwiches, that kind of stuff. Then saw an ad for an entry level prep and pantry position at Juban's.

Wanted to stay in desserts and hoped to work with Norman Love, who at that time was cooking at a Ritz-Carlton in Florida. So I picked up the phone and called him. I got to talk to him because employees of the Ritz are not allowed to screen calls. Frankly, I got lucky. The day I called they had an opening in pastry. So I moved to Florida. Later, I  went to Los Angeles and was sous chef for Donald Russell at the Four Seasons. Left the Four Seasons, to open a retail bakery in Florida called Dough Monkey. Eventually, moved that business to Dallas.

When the economy tanked, Dough Monkey fell with it. We closed Dough Monkey in 2008. I was looking for an executive pastry chef gig. Ended up working at a country club. One day I was looking on a headhunter site and, again pure luck, crazy luck, there popped an ad for executive pastry chef position with Link Restaurant Group. I had always been a fan of Chef Link so it was a thrilling opportunity to cook for him at the try out.

I start with a restaurant. For instance, Herbsaint is the fine dining restaurant. So there I can work with a more complicated flavor profile. At Cochon, I want my desserts to have a comfort factor, a good combination of something warm like blueberry cobbler and something cold like ice cream. At Calcasieu, we often use desserts that mirror Cochon's desserts, but we also field plenty of special requests.

Not sure about food allergies. Never really had any personally nor any limitations. So if someone has an allergy, I always want to accommodate them immediately. Something deeper is going on though, if someone doesn't want to try something.

Often times we create by improvising. Say we run out of a specific ingredient, we sub something else and discover a new dessert. For instance, I have a dough recipe that calls for honey. Recently we ran out of honey and subbed in molasses, which in turn pushed the dough into a much more interesting flavor direction. Or I play with ratios, I'll sub out cream or sugar in a vanilla recipe and replace it with blackberry puree. And see what happens.

Cupcakes. However, before I offend anyone, know that my dislike of the cupcake trend is because I prefer a wedge of cake. Better proportions, better to eat, cake cooks better. A piece of cake is just better than a cupcake. May take cupcakes off the menu at Butcher. 

Chef and I have talked extensively about that. I understand where both Chef Link and Chef Stephen are coming from. I feel comfortable with flavors of this region. We follow seasonality and tend to rotate at least one dessert per restaurant per month. Soon peaches will get in and I will start working with them. You can go elegant with peaches or simple. I like that. But sometimes, I just want an ice cream sandwich.

Both a science and a skill. You miss a detail in baking and it will be wrong.

When I first started cooking, I went to Charlie Trotter's and had sweetbreads for the first time. That bite of food showed me what food can be. Then, first time I went to Cochon when it had been open about a year, I had the deep fried boudin and it just blew me away. That bite took me right back to my childhood.

Chocolate pudding cake. It is just so versatile and delicious. The rich, warm and moist cake lends itself to all sorts of things. First, we paired it with a cafe au lait ice cream. Now we use a salted caramel sauce and cashew ice cream. I love to make that dessert. I love to eat that dessert. I am a chocolate freak and that dessert uses Patrick Chocolate, which I think is the best chocolate in the world.

You want daily examples? (laughs) There are always ideas that don't work, but I tend not to dwell on them. I get mad and cut my losses. Recently, I tried to make a sausage cheese in brioche King Cake with Steen's glaze. When Stephen tried it, he just got this quizzical look on his face that said it all. I just could never get that idea to come together.

I like making pralines. If I am making pralines, it means everyone else is working on other things. And that they are working correctly. We have a solid system in place and when it is humming along, I can devote time to that pot of pralines. That is where I like to be in the kitchen.

Small offset spatula. I use it for everything from transporting things to icing cakes. There is a cake tester I really like. I also have an enormous chocolate knife that I love to use. It is huge. Wow, I can't believe I have favorite kitchen tools.

Real Cajun and the CIA Pastry book. The CIA book is the best for reference whenever I need a simple ratio. I go on the internet a lot as well. Cooks Illustrated's website is one of my favorites. I have a lot of cookbooks at home. My husband reminded me of this when we moved here.

Didn't have a favorite after school snack. I was a skinny kid, but have always enjoyed making cookies. They are easy for me to whip out. I make a snickerdoodle with this leatherwood honey from Tasmania. They are pretty amazing. But I am running low on the honey so I hoard it.

Snickers. I know they aren't good, but I love those things. Also, I am pregnant so I find myself craving those Drumstick Ice Cream Cones all the time. I am going to find a way to make that a real dessert.

Good flavor; not subtle and certainly not sweet. I want a dessert to be on the bold side. First and foremost, chocolate desserts need to taste like chocolate. Too often chocolate desserts are too sweet. If the flavor is there, I then want to see was it done correctly. In a creme brulee, is the custard cooked correctly? Flavor and technique make a great dessert.

If home cook really wants to pursue baking, try it more than once. Ovens vary. Learn to bake by sight and touch.

The key to the chocolate chip cookies is to melt the butter before creaming it with the sugar. But the real secret to any great cookie is the baking time. Trial runs are important. Cook the cookie, just until it is golden on the edges. Allow it to rest. Those chocolate chip cookies are also good with pecans. 

We eat at Butcher a lot (laughs). But I love small places with unexpected good food. Avenue Pub has a pleasantly nice cheeseburger. Parasol's is really tearing it up right now. The chef in there is from Mamou and he is learning to cook with confidence, his roast beef is exceptional and his gumbo is really good. Very good burgers as well. I am in love with the roast beef po-boy from Parkway. La Divina is always my gelato and espresso fix, when I could drink coffee. Man, I need to get out more.

Weekend Round Up

Weekends really begin on Thursdays or at least they should. Especially weekends which combine NBA Playoffs, Jazz Fest, and the last gasps of Spring.

Thursday Night: Quick bite to eat at the Butcher before watching The Ugly Kardashian's husband, some guy who climbs into stands and hits fans, The-Rapist for $200, Alex, and David Stern's officials bounce the Hornets from the playoffs. Thankfully the greatest chocolate chip cookie in the world has been restored to its original recipe. After that pre-dessert, we had the always good pancetta mac n cheese, smoky and bitter buckboard bacon melt, and a special baked oyster with fontina, pancetta, and mushrooms. A word about that last dish, beware chargrilled oysters and oysters Rockefeller, there is a new sheriff in town. Look I realize we write about the Butcher a lot and you are tired of hearing about it. However, the fact remains there is no better spot in town for a quick bite to eat.

Friday Night: Checked out the new (but not really) bistro menu at Vizard's. About a year ago, Kevin Vizard revamped the menu so that there are no longer categories like appetizers, salads, and entrees. Instead each dish is a plate neither large nor small. Sort of confusing, yes, but you will get the hang of it, and end up ordering too much food. We started with a greens, egg, and ham salad which arrived with a paneed poached egg, underdressed greens, and crispy lardons. The dressing also could have used some more vinegar. Next up was a beautiful plate of ruby red tuna tartar awash in an Asian dressing and set within a ring of verdant green avocado slices. Next came a pork loin and shrimp dish with a fair amount of heat, some scallops, and finally a course of lamb chops. Finally, a cup of candy bar ice cream and the black and blue cake. The former had bits of candy - Snickers, Milky Way, etc...-studded throughout rich chocolate ice cream, while the latter is an old standby of Vizard's combining the sweetness of chocolate with the punch of blue cheese. Vizard's - Par/Birdie.

Sunday - Lunch at Cyrus Restaurant before hitting up Dorignac's. Delicious, revelatory Persian food served with a crisp flatbread that is somewhere between a pizza crust and a thick cracker. But to read more about Cyrus, you will have to read next month's OffBEAT Magazine.

The King Cake Chronicles: NKOTB

In last week's episode of the King Cake Chronicles, we tasted our way through the first family of king cakes, the Randazzos. This week we head to the opposite end of the spectrum, taking a looksee at a few of the king cake bakers who have debuted this year.

Cochon Butcher

Pastry Chef Rhonda Rhuckman has taken the traditional king cake to new levels with her miniature editions available for pickup at Cochon Butcher. The soft brioche dough has a variety of fillings, including praline, strawberries and cream, and a chocolatey combination of sour cream, devil's food crumbs, and chocolate chips. Bonus points for the porcine replacement of the traditional baby.

Regicide

Fans of Pizza Delicious have already tasted the work of Christine, dough stretcher extraordinaire, but this Mardi Gras season she has taken her talents solo with her own king cake business, known as Regicide. The first time I ordered one of Christine's king cakes, I went against her recommendation and requested that she omit her standard sweet cream cheese filling. The result was an excellent brioche dough that came out too dry. Mea culpa.

Luckily, I was not deterred by my own idiocy, and so I sampled a slice of the "O How Nice Apple & Spice" version a week later at PD. The difference was remarkable. The thin layer of cream cheese swirled throughout the dough helps keep the cake moist and light without overpowering the flavor of the dough, and the apple filling was minimal but perfectly proportioned.

Lessons for the day: Trust the baker, and never mess with perfection.

Maple Street Patisserie

In Ziggy Cichowski's native Poland, his countrymen celebrate Paczki Day as the feast before the Lenten fast begins. But Ziggy's unfamiliarity with Mardi Gras has proved not be a rampart for creating a king cake which reminds of a much improved version of a much exalted classic. The top of the cake is a braid with peaks and valleys covered in a snowstorm of granulated purple, green, and gold sugar and a decorative drizzle of white icing. The yeasty, almost donut-like flavor reminds me of the old school McKenzie's king cake, but 100x better.

Beef Stew (Bo Kho)

When the weather turns a bit chilly like it is today, my stomach and soul immediately begin to crave a hot, comforting bowl of beef stew. Last year, Cochon Butcher stole my heart on multiple occasions with its version of tender, bite size morsels of beef and potato in a rich, smooth stock with just a hint of red wine in the background.

Unfortunately, I have not once seen Butcher offer its beef stew as a special during this winter season. WTF?!?!

Vietnamese restaurants serve their own version of beef stew, and it's called bo kho. While bo kho includes both beef and carrots just like your momma uses, the beef stock and tomato base is augmented with Vietnamese spices like clove, anise, and ginger. The starch component of bo kho comes in the form of either noodles in the bottom of the bowl or a couple of toasted loaves of banh mi to be dunked into the stew. The finest exemplar of bo kho that I have tasted comes from Tan Dinh, which uses multiple curries to create an intoxicating and delicious gravy. I used to be high on Pho Tau Bay's version, but I was served a tepid and watered down bowl on my last visit.

Unfortunately, the stew meat in Tan Dinh's bo kho is frustratingly tough and served in large chunks which cannot be pulled or bitten off into more manageable pieces. If the gravy was not so delicious, I wouldn't bother. Your best solution is to not be shy and take advantage of the fork and knife graciously brought out by your server.

I have requested a substitution of duck for beef in the past, but the waitress shot me down. One augmentation I have been allowed though is to add beef tendon to the stew, which may have been the greatest idea since Al Gore invented the internet.

A Butcher Christmas Story

A few weeks ago, on a cold and windy Monday night, I found myself alone at home with no food in the refrigerator and no motivation for a trip to the grocery store. The Folk Singer had gone to the Big D (and I do mean Dallas) for work for the entire week, so I was left alone to fend for myself. I had already knocked out the leftover Pizza Delicious from the night before, so my choices were frozen dumplings from Hong Kong Market, Jazzmen Rice, eggs, and marinated Greek olives.

Looking back, that potential spread sounds pretty darn tasty, but on that night I decided to take a walk to Cochon Butcher instead. Downtown living has its obvious advantages in terms of commute time for work, but the walkable distances to the Quarter and Warehouse District are an added lagniappe. So I strolled by Ditcharo's where the bartender sat alone on a high backed chair, feet on the bar and book in her hands. Past the waiters smoking outside the backdoor of Herbsaint, alongside Lucy's where all of the double doors were shut to keep the wind out, and in front of a half-full dining room at Emeril's.

When I arrived at Butcher, only one other table was occupied, so I had no guilt in taking up the corner table where I scrolled through my BlackBerry while waiting on dinner. It wasn't too long when the runner brought over the kitchen's last order of marinated brussels sprouts and my BBQ pork sandwich. (Both of which were excellent, by the way. I have had some ridiculously good brussels sprout dishes lately, so maybe an all brussels sprouts blog post is in order. But I digress.)

About midway through my meal, a large group sauntered in for dinner. After a few moments, I realized that the group consisted mostly of mentally challenged adults and a trio of 20 somethings acting as their chaperones. By this time all of the high tables were full save for the one next to mine, so I offered to move to the bar so that they could all sit together. No such move was necessary I was told, so I stayed at my table while the newly arrived crew surveyed their menus and ordered their food in a form of organized chaos.

I soon finished my meal, but instead of quickly getting up I decided to sit and experience the moment. This group had such a happy innocence about them as they smilingly placed their orders - cold roast beef sandwiches and potato salad, two hot dogs with "catsup" only, a cranberry juice with no ice - with a heightened level of insistence but also obvious gratitude. They asked questions of their handlers like whether their bag was packed and what they were doing tomorrow.  At one point I asked one of the chaperones if their group was local, and he responded that no they were in town visiting from New York and were leaving for home tomorrow. I asked if they had enjoyed their time in my city, and he said that they had. I didn't want to pry with too many details.

The Folk Singer will probably tell you that I am the most spoiled, selfish, and snobbish boy to ever walk the halls of Jesuit High School. She will tell you that I have never wanted for anything in my entire life and that I am inexplicably rough and tough on the ones who love me the most. Personally, I think her characterizations are rife with hyperbole, but my Mom will say that she is not too far off. So it seems that I have lost the swing vote.

But not even a stone hearted grinch such as me could take in those few moments without a serious dose of self reflection. Here is a group of people who most likely do not enjoy the daily freedoms and opportunities that I take for granted. Yet, on their week away from home, they have decided to sit down for a special meal at a restaurant which I can walk to on a Monday night for no other reasons than the fridge is empty and I am too lazy to go to the grocery.

To most of us, Christmas is synonymous with giving and receiving gifts, special gifts which theoretically represent the thoughtfulness of the gifter or the importance of the giftee. But often these end of the year gifts have the unintended effect of discounting the routine gifts exchanged between people everyday.

The same can be said when considering the grand holiday feasts in light of routine meals throughout the year. While finishing my last bites of BBQ pork, I reflected on the fact that a regular Monday night dinner for me obviously meant so much more to the group of people sitting one table over. Celebratory meals during Christmas are de rigeur, but think about all of the simple pleasures of the table that we take for granted every day. How lucky are we natives of New Orleans that every day of the year we can enjoy a po-boy, a steaming bowl of pho, or a plate of red beans and rice for a minimal price and just a short trip to our favorite restaurant? How lucky are we that the bounty of the Gulf is at our finger tips? How lucky are we to live in a town where we live to eat? How lucky are we not to live in Anywhere, USA? How lucky am I?

All of the above thoughts passed through my mind as I sat at my table soaking in the scene at Butcher. Eventually, I made my way to the register, when the Christmas spirit came upon me.

"I need to pay my tab, and I want to buy that group dessert," I said while handing over my credit card.

The man behind the counter paused and said, "Aw, that is very thoughtful of you. You're a good man."

As I signed my receipt, I thought: "I wish The Folk Singer would have been here to hear him say that."

Merry Christmas to all.

Cochon

You know, as often as we reference Cochon in our blog posts or write about all of the wonderful things going on at Butcher next door, we have rarely written about the food and/or dining experience at Donald Link's Eau du Pork. I guess today is as good a time as any.

I have eaten 3 meals at Cochon over the past 6 months, all of them excellent. I think that the first sentence from my notes on my most recent meal sums up in 4 words what would otherwise probably take me 2 hours to write:

"F*cking love this place."

If I could resist the rest of the menu, I could still leave happy from a meal consisting entirely of the complimentary lard rolls and a bottle of Seghesio Zinfandel. But I can't resist, so I usually compromise by only eating 3 lard rolls and drinking a half bottle of Seghesio. It's enough just self control to keep me going.

There are not many restaurants where I look at the menu and think, "I really want to order everything," but this thought crosses my mind every time I sit down for a meal at Cochon. Boudin balls are light, crisp on the outside, and almost creamy on the inside. Deep fat fried hogshead cheese (above) has a crunchy coating protecting a warm, spicy, gelatinous interior, with a rich cooling ravigote to match. Fried alligator are batter coated nuggets tossed in a fiery chili garlic aioli; put the dish in the center and try to avoid impaling each other with your fork tynes. A summertime special of paneed pork cheeks are paired with baked peanuts to create a buttery, nutty sauce, but it's the turnip and radish salad which brings the dish together with added freshness and crunch. The braised rib is a tender, boneless job, with a nice sweetness from diced beets. The spicy grilled ribs are bone sucking good, and the diced watermelon rind pickles almost taste like candy.

Usually I get so overwhelmed with the small plates and boucherie that by the time I end up ordering my entree, the waiter gives a concerned look and says, "Well, I already have you down for 8 small plates and there only two of you, so maybe hold off on the entree?" Try to pace yourself when ordering, because you do not want to miss out on the oven-roasted Gulf fish.  Served "Fisherman's style" as a skin on filet, the fish is simply dressed with salt, pepper, lemon, a little butter or oil, and a few slivers of garlic. When it's cooked perfectly, the flesh easily pulls from the skin in moist and tender sections. This single piece is alone worth $40 billion in oil spill cleanup costs, but I think BP should subsidize the $24 cost by adding a starch or a veg to the a la carte dish.

Desserts rotate with the season, and most diners fill up their tanks long before it comes time for this final course. But the the strong who survive till the end may be handsomely rewarded with what is (in my opinion) the best dessert in the city. It's a special called the "Peanut Butter Cup Pie" - a rich crumb crust, a thin layer of chocolate ganache on the bottom, and a whipped peanut butter mousse heaped on top.

There are only a few truly "Oh my God" moments in life.  This is one of them.

In the past 5 years, no New Orleans restaurant has received more national and local praise than Cochon. Some think that the accolades are unwarranted, especially the Dean of New Orleans restaurant critics:

"Cochon, even as good as it is, is certainly the most overrated restaurant in New Orleans.... Visitors to New Orleans walk away from Cochon satisfied, as do younger New Orleans diners. Both groups may be eating these dishes for the first times in their lives. Those of us who grew up with the stuff (this requires a certain age) might be less impressed. Beans and ham hocks are good, but can only be lifted so high."

Whether or not the food lives up to the hype is a matter of personal opinion, but regardless, I don't think Father Tom grew up eating poached yard egg with roasted mushrooms over a grit cake.

Cochon - Eagle

2010 Challenge: Cracklin Crusted Mac n Cheese

This post needs nothing else - the title says it all. But here is the back story.

"The best mac 'n cheese in the city is at Cochon Butcher. This is not open for debate," Lindsay said the other week.

I am inclined to agree with her. The Butcher mac 'n cheese is rich and decadent, slightly soupy and thick with cheese. Often times the dish is enhanced like a Bravo housewife with pancetta or country ham. But what really sets it apart is the topping. You see each sphere of goodness is encrusted with finely ground bread crumbs, herbs, and a good amount of butter. So after it bakes, you get this crackly, vibrant crust and then the silky texture of the mac 'n cheese. It is like pasta creme brulee.

Last week, real job had me in Baton Moulin Rouge. I needed andouille and tasso for a variety of Thanksgiving related projects. Luckily on the ride home the car miraculously found itself parked outside of Bailey's Andouille in LaPlace. I had forgotten to eat lunch and there was a bag of cracklins on the counter. While riding back to New Orleans on Airline Highway with an open bag of rapidly depleting cracklins, an angel from heaven descended.

"Yes, that would be a good idea. Grind the cracklins with some bread crumbs to create a crust for mac 'n cheese. But no, I do not have any cash for a donation to your religion as my High Holy Day is this week," I told the Angel.

Cracklin Crusted Mac 'n Cheese

Look, you have a recipe for mac 'n cheese. Shoot, pressed for time? Just use the stuff in the blue box. To make the crust combine a half cup of cracklins with a half cup of day old bread (or jarred bread crumbs). Place into mortar and pestle or food processor and beat or pulse into a fine paste. I added a teaspoon of dried oregano and one garlic clove to this mix. Heat your oven to 350 degrees or thereabouts. Place mac 'n cheese in dish, cover with bread crumb mixture, top with butter or drizzle with olive oil, and bake for about 25 minutes. Then turn on broiler and cook for another 3 minutes or until the mixture is a mahogany and you can hear the mac n cheese bubbling. Allow to cool briefly, then serve.

One note of caution. If you are not familiar with cracklins, they can have some hard bits. So expect a crunch every now and then.

A Whole Lotta Burrata

Tomato and burrata salad from Herbsaint.

Trends are everywhere around us, especially in the food world. Whether it's a distributor pushing a particular wine, bartenders wearing fedoras, or short ribs showing up on nearly every menu, the food and beverage industry is not exempt from the "herd mentality" which our high school disciplinarian so often preached against.

Right now, burrata cheese is all the rage around town. According to Wikipedia, burrata is basically a thick skinned, hollowed ball of mozzarella that is filled with scraps of mozzarella curd and topped with heavy cream. It's a fresh cheese that is usually eaten within days (or hours) of being made. When you cut open a ball of burrata, the interior flows out in a silky, creamy, buttery rich white lava. The texture is soft with only hint of the chewiness of its cousin mozzarella. The flavor is, in a word, delicious.

Traditionally, burrata "season" is in the summer months, but a few local chefs have decided that this cheese is worthy of being served into the fall. No complaints from me. At Domenica, Chef Alon Shaya incorporates burrata into a panzanella salad with sweet tomatoes, peppery arugula, and toasted bread. Chef Donald Link serves this fresh cheese as a small plate with tomatoes at Cochon Butcher and as an appetizer with roasted eggplant and peppers at Herbsaint. Uptown at the newly opened Bouligny Tavern, burrata is featured on bruschetta sprinkled with fleur de sel, a grind of cracked pepper, and drizzled with truffle oil.

Anywhere else around town that I missed? Who else loves burrata?

The Post-Katrina Top 20: #5 - #1

Today, we unveil the Top 5 additions to the New Orleans Dining and Drinking Scene Post-Katrina. We knew this was a cliche idea. However, going through the exercise provided us with an opportunity not only to examine the New Orleans restaurant scene in toto but also to look with special favor upon what came after the storm. Those restaurateurs, bartenders, and shopkeepers who chose New Orleans to hang their shingles or branch out, despite the odds.

First off, we realize many great restaurants struggled to return to New Orleans. They found their cooks, bussers, and waiters all over the country and brought them back. They dealt with insurance adjusters and new regulations. They reopened with skeletal crews and out of whack balance sheets. To them we owe a lot. For if they don't come back, these places don't exist. So a big round of applause to all the restaurants in New Orleans that reopened after Katrina.

We also know there are many great places that didn't make the list. Places like Il Posto, which Rene refuses to write about because he doesn't want to fight crowds on Saturday morning trips for a cappuccino and a California bagel. Places like Meson 923 which have returned to New Orleans a prodigal chef in Chris Lynch. Places like Mondo and Coquette which are putting good food in great neighborhoods and watching the lines form. And restaurants, stores, and bars that have yet to be conceived, developed and opened.

Cue the Chairman of the Board, "The Best is Yet to Come."

#5: The Sun Rarely Sets on The Besh Empire - In the days after Katrina, John Besh and his trusted cooks Blake LeMarie and Alon Shaya used the Katrina trinity (propane tanks, flatboats, and ice chests) to serve loads of hungry refugees and recovery workers. Nearly five years later, Chef Besh was once again at the forefront, this time in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon disaster. In between those times, he did little more than open 3 new restaurants and continue the legacy of a 4th. Not a bad stretch, if you ask us.

But it's not so much the quantity as the quality and diversity of the Besh family of post-K restaurants which warrants high praise. When Cobalt failed to reopen after the breach, Besh seized the opportunity to reinvent the first floor of the Masonic Temple into an Alsatian brasserie, complete with pulley and belt-driven fans which were a trademark at Kolb's. Enter Lüke, now the most popular restaurant for a business lunch in the CBD.

The dichotomy of forward thinking paired with a nod to the past was exemplified in two of Besh's post-K acquisitions. When his former mentor Chris Kerageaorgiou was in search of someone to pass the torch to at La Provence, Besh took over the reigns and revived its farm-to-fork history by growing vegetables and raising livestock on the grounds, while continuing the tradition of rustic French cuisine in a country house setting. Similarly, at The American Sector, Besh honors the greatest generation by serving World War II era food using contemporary ingredients and techniques.

And if three is good, four must be better. New Orleans has always had its own distinctive Creole-Italian cuisine, known for smooth, sweet red sauces and an unconventional bordelaise comprised of olive oil and garlic. But with the opening of Domenica, Chef John Besh and Alon Shaya ushered in a new era of Italian dining in the city. House cured salumi and wood-fired pizzas share menu space along with exquisitely made pastas, with no "red gravy" to be found.

#4: Sucre - Tariq Hanna, chef of Sucre, said it better than we ever could. When asked about why people like sweets he responded, "You only eat sweets for two reasons: because you are seeking comfort or soothing guilt."

No matter where you were when Katrina hit, or how you have lived your life since then, those descriptions fit. When Sucre opened it set off an only in New Orleans brawl between supporters of Sucre and supporters of La Divina Gelateria. The Jets and Sharks, Bloods and Crypts, and Hatields and McCoys look like catfights compared to the Blue Bloods and Hipsters.

Sucre has distinguished itself in our eyes. There are airy, pastel colored macaroons, petit fours with layers of raspberry, chocolate, and more chocolate, milkshakes spiked with Bailey's, espressos, truffles with sea salt, and of course cakes resembling whichever team the Saints are destroying that week.

Joel Dondis always had a sweet tooth. But it was while living and working in Germany, he first decided to one day own a pastry shop. He found going to the bakery down the street provided relief from long hours and low pay as a cook. Dondis and Hanna teamed up to open Sucre in April of 2007. Since then the childhood inspired, sweet shop on Magazine has expanded to include a pastry factory near Broadmoor, where the cakes, truffles, ice creams, and baked goods are made by a dedicated staff. A staff that includes many graduates of the Culinary Institute of America. The word is out among the nation's up and coming pastry chefs. If you want to be somebody, you need to work at Sucre.

Soon a location will open in Lakeside Mall with an espresso machine called the Slayer. "This is going to revolutionize the coffee drinking experience in New Orleans," Dondis explains. "You will be able to choose your blend, grind size, water temperature, pressure, all of it."

To steal from Rick Pitino, "McKenzie's isn't walking through that door."

But that's OK. We got Sucre now.

#3: St. James Cheese Co. - "People said we were insane to open a cheese shop in New Orleans," Danielle Sutton says. "We are glad to prove them wrong."

Prior to Katrina, Richard Sutton worked as a cheesemonger in London. He and his wife, Tulane alums (we hear it is a college), returned to New Orleans with the idea to open a quiet, little cheese shop uptown. When they opened in November of 2006, the plan was to only have one or two sandwiches and to build a small niche as a supplier of fine cheeses. That plan soon changed once the public got a taste of their sandwich creations.

In winter crowds clamor for the raclette and croque monsieur. And last summer, the removal of the BLT with Serrano ham replacing bacon caused an uproar. "We had customers call and ask if the BLT was on the menu. When we would say no, they would hang up on us," Danielle recounts.

But still, the staff at St. James focuses on delivering the best cheeses and charcuterie from around the world. To witness, walk in to St. James on a Thursday around noon. The line will snake from the register down the display cases filled with people drooling over the selections. Richard, or one of his able staffmembers, will come over to and ask you what you want. "What is new," you ask.

Their eyes light up like a kid on Easter Sunday who spies a basket of candy on the mantle. "Have you tried the new aged gouda? Or the Ste. Marcelin? A delicious Triple Creme is in, layered with truffles, try it. What about this blue from Humboldt?"

And off they go dispensing samples of cheese, pates, and cured meats, while taking an order for a Mozzarella sandwich, and uncorking a bottle of rose. Recently, St. James added an online presence via a partnership with Taigan.com, the high-end, luxury online shopping center (backed by First Street resident Julia Reed). Previously they only accepted phone orders for out of town shipments. Which is a great gift to give a sister, should you have one living in say DC or New York.

St. James is also a great spot for dinner. Let us explain. You know those Fridays, when there is no food in the house and you don't really feel like going out to dinner? Swing by St. James, pick out three or four cheese, a pate, some slices of Jamon Serrano (or Iberico if you got that cash money), and a baguette. Take it home and lay it out on the biggest cutting board you have. Open a bottle of wine, put your feet up, and graze the night away.

With Andy Scurlock manning the charcuterie and turning out impressive truffle-studded pates and English meat pies, the future of St. James is bright. But it is the last four years that are special for Richard and Danielle. As Danielle explains, "We love the feeling that we have become a neighborhood spot in a city of great neighborhood spots. Our customers have become our friends, they go to Italy or France and bring us back treats. That really means a lot to us."

When the Sutton's came to New Orleans, they did not know what to expect but what they found has warmed their hearts. "New Orleans has been so supportive and welcoming to us. Even dealing with City Hall was enjoyable," Danielle says.

If that isn't a sign, New Orleans is back. We don't know what is.

#2: Cochon/Cochon Butcher - Chef Donald Link said it best during his segment on No Reservations: "You respect somebody for staying here. Staying here after the storm and raising your family here is making a statement."

Not only did Chef Link stay in New Orleans to raise his family, he and partner Stephen Stryjewski also moved forward with their plans to open Cochon, the porcine mecca on Tchoupitoulas Street. Beside introducing New Orleanians to the wonders of rustic Acadiana cooking, the media frenzy surrounding Cochon sent an important message to the rest of the nation: New Orleans and its food culture still matter and are worth saving. While some members of the press were kicking us while we were down, restaurateurs like Link were too busy raising the city up to even bother with the naysayers.

But all of the press and accolades were no reason for Link to rest on his laurels. In early 2009 the Link Restaurant Group launched Cochon Butcher, the forerunner of the salumi movement that has swept both the local and national dining scenes. Many people don't realize that before ABC Restaurant in NYC began curing its speck in house, the coonasses of Cajun country had about a 250 year head start on them. Butcher has brought those time tasted crafts to the Big Easy, which in turn launched this artisan movement onto the national level.

#1: La Boca - The worst kept secret in New Orleans is that it is a wonderful place to get a steak. For years Ruth Fertel's halfway eponymous restaurants showed the world how to cook and serve a steak. Ruth's Chris Corporate Office left the city with the flood waters, pissing a lot of people off. Into this vacuum stepped La Boca, which has established itself as the city's best steakhouse.

Nick Bazan and Adolfo Garcia came up with the idea of La Boca prior to Katrina. Originally they wanted a 150 seat restaurant devoted to all things Argentinian meat. But the federal flood caused them to change their plans. Luckily, Taqueria Corona never returned and they got a good deal on a 47 seat restaurant. They also had to focus the menu to what ingredients they could get reliably day in and day out. As chef/partner Jared Ralls puts it, "Adolfo and I always talk about keeping dishes simple and singularly focused. By lessening the stuff on the plate, we can increase our chances for success."

La Boca opened on June 1, 2006, which as you are well aware is the first day of hurricane season. "It was a way of saying 'Screw it, we aren't going anywhere.' We had faith in New Orleans, faith it would come back, faith people would get what we were trying to do from a culinary standpoint," Ralls recounts.

It took about two years for the restaurant to really catch on with both locals and tourists. "Business was always good, but then all of a sudden at the beginning of 2008, we just exploded," Ralls says. The success has not stopped La Boca from doing a Service Industry Night every Thursday, when you can spy some of the city's best chefs digging into steaks and slugging red wine long after the customers have gone home.

La Boca has all the classic grill marks of a steakhouse, with subtle nods to more contemporary dining. The interior of La Boca is like eating inside a large brick fireplace, with red masonry, wood timbers, and a warm glow from the kitchen. In other steakhouses the walls are lined with pictures of sports stars from year's past shaking hands with the owner. Here, are Boca Junior soccer jerseys and paraphernalia from Argentina.

Rather than beat you over the head with bottles you can't afford, the wine list at La Boca offers an all Argentine selection of toned, lean whites and muscular, lusty reds. Affordability is the main link. Hell, there even is a surly maitre d', albeit one wearing a Marilyn Monroe tie, Scarface suspenders, and saddle oxfords.

The vibe of La Boca has nothing on the food. Gooey provoleta smeared over those rolls and lacquered with chimichurri make the grilled cheese seem juvenile. The plump, tender sweetbreads, grilled whole and served with just a squeeze of lemon, have no equal in the city. The gnocchi is like eating a potato that just made love to butter and cream. Even the heart of palm salad makes a compelling argument to eat more veggies.

Then we come to the main event, the steaks. Sourced from places with cool names like Snake River and Painted Hills, this is not the place to order a filet (although the bone-in job is pretty good). Go with the hanger, the skirt, the skirt with skin, or the flank. All of the steaks, save the bottom sirloin flap, get only a sprinkling of salt and pepper before hitting the grill. This absence of fussing around means you taste the beef in all of it's glory. The three chimichurris are the colors on your palette wheel. Paint as you will.

Don't forget an order of the fries, or the mashed potatoes, or the corn pudding or the asparagus. Go ahead and linger for a while. If it is a nice March or October evening, the windows to Fulton St. will be open wide. Sit, swirl, and sip that Malbec. It should be loosening up about now, as should your mood. Stick around long enough and the Red Eye will open. Go ahead and go, we won't judge. Lord knows we've all been there once before and soon enough, will be again.

We chose La Boca as our favorite Post Katrina addition to the New Orleans food scene for a few reasons. First, we love steak and feel it is the best steakhouse in the city. Secondly, although La Boca is a few years old, there is still a feeling of excitement every time we go. One of us will go and text the other, "Heading to La Boca." Instantly a wave of jealousy spreads over the other Blackened Out twin.

Third, the Warehouse District has become the post-Katrina center of dining in the city. The sheer volume of excellent restaurants within a 6 block walk keeps each operator on top of their game. And in this area, there is no better place we like to eat than La Boca.

Finally, we all lost nouns in Katrina - places, things, and people. Whatever it is Katrina took from you, what you really lost was the memory of the noun. Your kids walking down the stairs on Christmas morning, the picture of you and your cousin in Destin, or the restaurant where your husband proposed. Restaurants in New Orleans have always been more than places to get a meal. They are links to the past. Memory place card holders which evoke not only good food but also great times. Maybe it was eating at Ruth's after either your First Communion or high school graduation. Maybe you never went but always wanted to go to Christian's. Restaurants matter here almost as much as the World Champion Saints.

But what Katrina didn't take was our ability to dine out. To eat well with friends or perfect strangers. To create memories which will live on past the latest fad in cooking or the bonds of any friendship. La Boca has become our favorite new place to create lasting memories. The restaurant has accomplished this by borrowing from the past while being truly original. By extension, La Boca feels like it has always been a part of New Orleans. For that, it gets our nod as the best addition to the New Orleans food scene Post-Katrina. Here's wishing it stays a treasure of New Orleans forever.

In Search of Monday Lunch: Cochon Butcher

Last weekend was a busy one here at Blackened Out, so we are starting this week off with a quick word about one of our favorites. Sometimes less is more, and Cochon Butcher is certainly proof of this minimalist theory.

Just a few high top tables and stools to eat on, bottles of hot sauce and jars of pickles lined up on the shelves, and a display case filled with about a dozen pigs worth of charcuterie. Plus, Butcher serves some of the best sandwiches around: meltingly tender BBQ pork with cool and crunchy cole slaw (above), house smoked pastrami on rye, and the only roast beef in the city worth eating without gravy. In addition to the regular favorites, those crazy kids behind the counter are always thinking up something special everyday: "GLT" of guanciale, lettuce, and tomato; a banh mi made with head cheese; or an Italian style sausage and peppers.

It's so difficult to choose which one is best, that we must put it to a vote.

And a little known secret about Butcher is that they bake some might fine desserts. Cookies and brownies are always available, but treats like cupcakes stuffed with pudding and mini chocolate bundt cakes make occasional appearances.

Is it noon yet?

La Boca at Home

This blog has waxed poetically about La Boca (and Adolfo Garcia's other joints) enough that we could be paid spokesmodels for the perfectly cooked steaks, punchy chimichurri, succulent sweetbreads, and crispy fries flowing out of the kitchen. Not to mention the gnocchi, pisco sours, and Malbecs. Provoleta hides from us when either Peter or I approach. But alas our contract with Ford Modeling only places us in ads for flip flops and mittens.

The hanger steak at La Boca showcases the simplistic joy of a well-cooked bite of meat. The asparagus is not half bad either, you know for a vegetable. You can make a similar meal at home with just a few simple ingredients and steps.

Asparagus. Get 'em fresh, bend them in half til they snap, and discard the lower portion. Blanche them in salted water for 3 minutes. Plop in an ice bath. Once chilled, drain and dry off. Set aside.

Make a chimichurri. Into a blender, food processor, or if you are a glutton for punishment mortar and pestle, combine one whole bunch of cilantro tops, a half bunch of parsley, two garlic cloves, half of a jalapeno (with seed and ribs removed), 3 tablespoons of red wine vinegar, salt, and a 9 second glug of olive oil. Blend until smooth. Let this relax for an hour or so in the fridge.

You need to cook the hanger on a grill because you want to develop a crusty, charred exterior. When you break that outer crust, the bright red interior of the meat will scream to be eaten. So get your fire going. Meanwhile, remove the hangers from the fridge at least thirty minutes prior to cooking. Heavily season them with salt and pepper. Just let them hang out.

Grill the hangers for around 6 minutes per side for medium rare. Remove from heat and allow meat to rest. Now, place the drained and dried asparagus onto the grill for about 1 minute per side, just to get some purty grill marks. At this stage, I also like to place a half of lemon on the grill. The heat will caramelize the sugar in the lemon. When the asparagus is finished, squeeze the lemon over it and toss. Grilled lemon squirted onto on just about anything is delicious, well save a wound or cut.

The light was dark and the meat did not rest long enough, but it still turned out to be one hell of a good meal.

And it couldn't be easier. Hanger's are an inexpensive cut (about $9 a pound at Butcher). This whole steak dinner for two came in at around a $24 investment, including a bottle of Domaine Cantarelles Cabernet/Syrah Blend. So you don't have to break the bank to satisfy the Boca. Try it and let us know how it goes. And if you can make fries at home like they can at La Boca, keep it to yourself.

Small Plates

Call it whatever you want - tapas, dim sum, or a "mini" tasting menu - but small plates have become most everyone's favorite way to dine. The concept has been around for some time but under the elusive label of "appetizers." While many restaurants are employing this form, not all execute the idea particularly well.

Cochon Butcher does. In fact, the bar food menu at the Swine Bar might even be better than the one offered by its big brother next door, but that's a debate for another time. Unquestionably, the prices at Butcher are cheaper - nearly every plate has a $6 price tag. The most popular item may be the bacon and onion pizzetta with a creamy base of (I think) boursin cheese.

Hummus goes coonass with the substitution of blackeyed peas for chickpeas. The result is a much thicker puree than the traditional, but no less tasty. The spread is served hot, which allows the pool of olive oil on top to give off a nice aroma. Crostini provide a nice crunch as the vehicle for delivery.

The small plate menu typically includes 4 or 5 daily specials, one of which is usually a twist on macaroni and cheese. The specimen above was studded with bits of ham, but a truffle version is sometimes available. Not pictured but worth ordering is the venison sausage sliced atop a steaming pile of choucroute.

Truthfully, it's tough to go wrong no matter what you order.

Farewell to Meat - NOLA Brewing Co.

Welcome to Part II of our series on saying "sayonara" to meat. In this week's entry, we take a trip inside our local microbrewery with the easiest name to remember. And yes, meat will be involved.


The coolest job you've ever had has nothing on working at NOLA Brewing Co. The vibe inside the warehouse-turned-brewery is relaxed and humorous, and more often than not employees find themselves sitting around a large wooden table and telling stories after working long hours brewing some damn fine beers. But the best part of working at NOLA? All, the free samples you can drink, otherwise known as "taste testing."

And if that is not enough, you can bring your dog to work.

There are actually two canines that regularly roam the NOLA warehouse on Tchoupitoulas, but one is much more photogenic than the other. Say hello to Hops, a three-legged bulldog... whose owner is a brewer. Are you thinking what we are? Double entendre!

While our musings may create the impression that NOLA is all fun and games, the Blonde or Brown in your glass doesn't just magically appear. The brewing and fermentation process behind the NOLA beers is a complicated formula of time, temperature, water, hops, and malts. And cleaning... lots and lots of cleaning. Thankfully for you and me, the team behind NOLA is comprised of passionate beer makers with wide ranging levels of experience, each contributing in his or her own way to the end product we all enjoy.

As a token of our gratitude (and as an excuse to tour the brewery), your faithful bloggers offered to throw the NOLA team an afternoon cookout this past Sunday. Upon advice of owner Kirk Coco, we brought along a standard Weber kettle grill, only to be trumped by this custom built keg grill owned by brewmaster Peter Caddoo. We're pretty sure that Kirk intentionally set us up for embarrassment, but we're OK with it.

The grill was fashioned from a keg of Dixie and proudly bears its hometown origin.

On the menu were both skirt and hanger steaks, courtesy of Cochon Butcher. All these cuts needed were an aggressive seasoning of kosher salt, but Rene whipped up a parsley chimichurri for an added touch of flavor. Skirt steak, one of the most overlooked cuts of beef, benefits from a quick walk across super hot coals, creating a nice crust while the inside stays moist and juicy. Hanger steaks are difficult to find outside restaurant menus but taste almost as good coming off your backyard grill as they do at La Boca.

While waiting for the coals to catch fire, an intrepid Bostonian transplant jogged by. Curiosity caught the best of her, and she wandered inside the gate for a closer look. After she informed the NOLA Brew crew that she was training for this thing called a marathon, they cajoled her into having a few beers as part of her rehydration regimen. Chalk up one more loyal customer.

(Pictured from left to right: Beer Wench, Mike "Indy " Grap, Brewmaster Peter Caddo, Vice President Dylan Lintern, Brewer Melanie Knepp, and President Kirk Coco)

Pay no attention to the man with the large chef's knife, but he thinks you should drink his NOLA Brown with your next steak. The Hopitoulas IPA ain't a bad choice either. While NOLA's beers are usually enjoyed straight from the tap at your favorite restaurant, you can now pick up NOLA draft packs at your local grocer. These cardboard boxes hold a case of beer and will stay fresh long after you pour your first pint.

People sometimes say that the best tasting steaks are the ones they cook at home. I have never really subscribed to that theory. But I will say that a steak cooked on a keg grill in a brewery on a Sunday afternoon after a Saints playoff win is a damn good steak. Especially when you have all the beer in the world to wash it down with.