The Rue Is On Fire

I have a friend whose identity I will not divulge other than to say that his name rhymes with "Hintage Fourleens."  Anyway, this friend recently asked me for a restaurant recommendation, and I suggested Rue 127. "Yeah, I have always heard good things about that place," he said, "but I can't get past the tag line of a 'New American Bistro.' What does that even mean? It just sounds generic to me."

Putting aside the fact that this is the same guy whose own ignorance prevented him from eating at The Green Goddess until I convinced him that it was not a vegetarian restaurant, my friend had a valid point. I struggled to define exactly what this cottage on Carrollton is all about. They serve steamed mussels and onion soup gratinée, but it's not really French. There's gumbo on the menu, but this is not a place to come for trout meuniere and shrimp remoulade. And you are as likely to order Italian staples such as creamy risotto and house made pastas as you are to dine on an augmented version of Cajun coush coush.


Spring Vegetable Salad.

The coziness of Rue 127 reminds me of the defunct Bistro at Maison de Ville. In the brightly lit dining room, mirrors cover the walls to give the illusion of a room larger than its 30 or so seats. The large window to the kitchen attributes to the intimacy of the room, whose volume increases exponentially when the room fills up, which is almost every night. The front bar room can hold another half dozen or so, and the handful of outdoor tables on Carrollton are nice for a pre-prandial cocktail when the weather permits.

Seasonal ingredients drive the selection of salads. A few weeks ago, I started with an excellent spring salad featuring fava beans, beefsteak tomatoes, frisee, and thin, wide, ribbons of squash all drizzled with a lemon vinaigrette. The careful attention to weave the contrasting textures and flavors of the vegetables was very Kelleresque, as was the coarse salt sprinkled across the top of the ramekin of butter included with bread service. I have never tasted the mussels appetizer, but I have had the pleasure of the parmesan dusted pommes frites (ask for a cone a la carte), which are crispy, creamy and addictive. Creamy seafood risotto was thick enough to serve on a plate (in a good way), and the stock had a nice background flavor of the sea. Gumbo has a dark, thin roux and is served with a scoop of horseradish potato salad. The only disappointment in the starter category has been the pasta carbonara. The thin spaghetti was housemade but must have been dried for storage, because the texture was on the crunchy side of al dente. Smoky lardon added plenty of richness and salt, but the slow poached egg yolk never really came together with the cheese for a sauce.


Double Cut Pork Chop.

The list of entrees covers all of our carnal cravings. Hands down, the best choice is the double cut pork chop, which is a lesson in how perfection can be attained by a simple but well executed dish. The chop must have been brined for multiple days/weeks/months to allow for such a juicy, pink, flavorful flesh underneath a fatty, chargrilled exterior. The roasted corn coush coush underneath was a buttery mixture of fine grits and fresh corn, and the crispy fried onions brought a nice texture contrast to the overall dish.

Not to be overshadowed was a ribeye glistening with richness in a way that it appeared almost lacquered in beef fat. No starches served alongside, but instead a much better accompaniment of roasted bone marrow scooped with a demitasse spoon and slathered on grilled bread. Puppy drum was cooked perfectly and placed in a sweet and sour orange and grapefruit broth that was addicting; the poblano pepper aspect was lost on me, and the sauce was so good that I didn’t even try the mussels. Lamb loin had an intense, gamey flavor, while a crock of mac and cheese was homely and straight forward.

Sticky Toffee Pudding.

Desserts have been good from top to bottom. The sticky toffee pudding is so rich that you easily forgot the unappetizing menu description of "date cake." A shallow, individual-sized pecan pie had a thick, crunchy crown and a slowly melting scoop of bourbon ice cream. The infamous deep fried cupcakes were a gimmick that everyone at the table was wowed by except for me. Devil's food cupcakes topped with peanut butter frosting are covered in a thin, crackly batter, deep fried, and served with vanilla anglaise and hazelnut chocolate dipping sauces. These were excellent, don't get me wrong; but I think they would have been just as good had they missed the fryer.

Chef-Owner Ray Gruezke has put together a front of the house staff which is both very young and eager to please, though not very polished, which fits the location and the vibe of the restaurant. A peak peek through the large window to the kitchen reveals an equally youthful back of the house. The wine list is heavy on California selections but contains enough interesting bottles at a low price point, and the bar offers an impressive array of original cocktails. Prices are about 20% lower than those of most other restaurants serving food of this caliber.

To answer my friend's original question, I can't exactly describe what a "New American Bistro" is. But if you are concerned more with what's on the plate than with the words on a website, you will soon discover that "New American Bistro" - at least in the case of Rue 127 - is synonymous with delicious.

Rue 127 - Birdie
127 N. Carrollton Ave.
(504) 483-1571
Lunch: Tue-Fri: 11:30am -2:00pm
Dinner: Mon-Sat: 5:00pm - 10:00pm

Cooking With Wine

The wines made by Abe Schoener are unique, to put it mildly. His Scholium Project crafts wines which often bear no relation to any wine you have ever had. Take for instance, his wine called the Prince in His Caves, which is a sauvignon blanc aged in old red wine barrels. The wine is bottled unfiltered and with a mild orange hue,  it looks more like a wheat beer and tastes like biting into a grapefruit. It is perhaps the strangest, and most memorable wine, I've ever tasted. So when Mad Max's box o' wine revealed the 2009 Naucratis, let's just say a straightforward dish would not due. This wine is made from 100% Verdelho, a varietal more common in Portugal and used almost exclusively for Madeira. The wine is lush, almost oily in the mouth with crisp acidity.

So with those flavors in mind, we wanted to do something that would be able to stand up to the heft of the wine while benefiting from its palate cleansing acidity. What resulted was a leftover meal fit for a king. I must confess though most of the heavy lifting was borne by Lindsay. Should be no surprise then, that this was our favorite wine and food pairing so far.

Mexican Chicken Pot Pie

The night before, Lindsay made chicken enchiladas based on a recipe pulled from one of her television boyfriends, Tyler Florence. The recipe left us with a large pot of black beans and chicken in a tomatillo veloute. So we took a logical step and combined a cup of the beans with the remaining chicken veloute. We tucked it into ramekins and topped it with sheets of puff pastry. Then bake it at 350 degrees until the top is brown and crusty.

Chicken Pot Pie is often boring and bland. This one was anything but. Robust, spicy, with deep flavors and varying textures. Plus, anytime you can add puff pastry to leftovers, you create a dish much greater than the sum of its parts. Which sort of reminds me of Schoener's wines. You can find the 2009 Naucratis at August, Rue 127, Loa, Delachaise, Rambla, Wino, Dick and Jenny's, and Cafe Amelie. It retails for just under $20.

Winesday

Peter: This wine takes me back to my first visit to Napa Valley with The Pope. So smooth and drinkable; the only acid I'm getting is probably a holdover from the 15lbs of crawfish that I ate yesterday. To steal a trademark saying from La Papa, "This wine tastes like eating grapes." I just want something simple and delicious. Thinking about the crusty double-cut pork chop from Rue 127.

Rene: Simple, luscious, and fruity but not overly so. Very well balanced wine. Could drink this all day and night. Dark purple, rich wine with a wee bit of spice in the back. Certainly not overrun with tannins. While a steak seems like a natural fit, for some reason I keep thinking Italian. Specifically the pasta alla amatriciana from a Mano. Also, something crazy in the back of my head says it would be perfect with a roast beef po-boy from Parkway.



Joe the Wine Guy: What you are drinking there is a 2005 Newton Unfiltered Merlot that begins with notes of sage and juniper berries. Then red and black cherry aromas accented by appealing earthy flavors give way to fine-grained tannins with compliments of cocoa powder, spice, and anise on the finish. Retails for $52 and you can find it at Besh Steakhouse, Le Foret, Gattuso's, and Elio's.

Porktastic

A few months ago, the Parisian Princess forwarded me this article on the 35 best pork dishes in New York. Seeing as the Gulf South's premier porkapalooza will be held this Saturday, I thought that today would be the best day as ever to take stock of some of my favorite pork dishes served in New Orleans restaurants.

Often times we incorrectly connote "best" with "over the top."  Restaurant A's well executed braised pork cheeks can be just as satisfying as Restaurant B's pork tenderloin stuffed with head cheese and topped with cracklins. Bigger is not always necessarily better.

Three weeks ago at Rue 127, I had a juicy double cut pork chop that made me a believer once again in the power of simplicity. Still, I can't deny that I am enamoured with a dish that features pork in multiple iterations, such as the above rice plate from Tan Dinh - pork chop, chargrilled pork, pork meatballs, and the gratuitous fried egg. (Note this dish is not on the menu and was created on the spot as a necessary form of hangover relief.) And the first time we met Chef Mark Falgoust from Grand Isle, he blew us away with his PorkBomb.com, a sampler of so many different cuts of pork that the only thing missing was the oink.

Perhaps I'm just a sucker for overindulgence?  The jury is still out on that one.  But in the mean time, if you ever sit down for lunch at Herbsaint and the waiter tells you about the off the menu special sandwich of a paneed pork cutlet topped shaved ham, please order it without hesitation.

What are your favorite pork dishes around town?

First Look: Rue 127

Last year the most surprising meal of the year took place on the second to last night of the year at Le Foret. This year, it took place last weekend. Rue 127 opened about 6 weeks ago with Chef Ray Gruezke at the helm. Ray is an alum of the C.I.A. and cooked at Le Foret before branching out on his own. Pastry chef Joanna Palmer came along for the ride as well.

In full disclosure, Ray and I (and Peter) all graduated from Jesuit together in 2000. In fact, we may have even shared a bottle of Boone's Farm on a Dominican Neat 'n Sweet bus at one point. Regardless, we sat at the bar out of the sight of the kitchen of the main room. Also, when I went to the bathroom I didn't see Ray in the kitchen. Finally, no one takes us seriously, right?

I had heard many good things about Rue 127, but the concept of a New American Bistro kind of threw me for a loop. For one thing, I have no idea what that means. Secondly, it seems everyone is opening an upscale casual, farm to table, twists on classics, restaurant these days. I assumed it was a shaky concept. You know what they say about assuming. 

What we witnessed was a chef and kitchen that is taking no shortcuts. A risotto started things off - pure white, creamy, al dente, and well-seasoned with tender, pungent tufts of oyster mushrooms throughout. In fact, what struck me about this dish was just how well-seasoned it was. I'll put this risotto up against any in the city, including the ever changing version at Stella!

Then came golden crusted sweet scallop coins sitting on top of a mushroom fricassee with a sunburst yellow saffron sauce. The effect of the dish was stunning with golds, yellows, greens, and browns each contributing a different flavor and texture. There was thought and execution in this dish. Too often, chefs are focusing on simplicity. They will serve just a scallop, simply seared, with just a sprig of parsley. They become Carl Andre of the Kitchen (don't worry I had to google minimalist artists to find that name), devoted to purity, clean lines, and other such concepts. That can get very boring. Here was a composed dish where nothing extraneous was on the plate, but the plate wasn't a white canvas with three dollops of nothingness.

On to the entrees. A pork chop is one of life's great pleasures. Not to use hyperbole, but the pork chop at Rue 127 is a great pork chop. Why? The double cut beast arrives juicy and rosy on the inside. The exterior is crusty such that it reminds you of a summertime backyard barbecue. Underneath the chop, was a roasted corn coush coush that was savory and rich, if perhaps a tad too salty.

As you probably know, I am a roast chicken fanatic. Plus, there was mac 'n cheese prominently involved and roasted brussel sprouts, which is a vegetable. The half chicken came with the breast perfectly moist and a crisp skin. The leg and thigh however were a little drab and flabby; a quick run under the salamander would have helped. Contributing much to the meat was an au jus packing a well needed punch of rosemary. The brussel sprouts could have used a bit more roasting to bring out the caramelized flavors. That may be a personal preference though.

Cupcakes are all the rage and frying things never goes out of style. Enter the deep fried mini cupcake. Let me clarify - a ball of moist cake batter, filled with cream cheese icing and sprinkles is rolled in a light batter, fried, and then served with three dipping sauces: vanilla bean (the best), butterscotch, and chocolate. It is fun, it is weird, but most importantly, they are delicious.

Couple of cocktails, Kermit Lynch Cote du Rhone, and a glass of Basil Hayden's later and we left quite full, very surprised, and eager to return. Watching Rue 127 evolve will be one of the great pleasures of 2011 and beyond.

Rue 127 is located at 127 N. Carrollton across from Venezias and down the street from Jesuit. 483-1571 is their phone number. You may want to make a reservation as we had no choice but to sit at the bar. We prefer that every now and then.