Weekend Roundup

With the NFL taking a breather before the Super Bowl, this weekend is flush with events for music lovers, beer nerds, and chocoholics, plus an opportunity for you to enjoy a fine meal and support an admirable non-profit organization at the same time. Here's the rundown.

Tonight, OffBeat Magazine hosts this year's Best of the Beat Awards Party at Generations Hall. The talent on stage includes the likes of Deacon John, Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk, and more. Besides all of the music, the price of admission also includes an impressive spread from local restaurants, including Besh Steakhouse, Martinique Bistro, and The Joint. Tickets are $29 in advance and $39 at the door.

On Saturday, Dan Stein is celebrating his own version of Festivus with the 3rd Annual Beer Day. All day long, Stein's Deli will be pouring free samples of its beers for sale and marking down all purchases of beer by 10%. Additionally, homebrewing expert Derek Lintern will be brewing up a few batches of a Belgian-style double and oak vanilla stout.


And there will be no resting on Sunday with a full day's worth of fun:

• Starting at 1:00 at The Avenue Pub, Aaron Hyde of Brewstock will be teaching a free class on homebrewing basics.
• Local public television station WYES will be hosting its Chocolate Sunday celebration at Harrah's Theatre. This event features over 50 local chocolatiers, bakeries, and restaurants doling out samples of all things chocolate. The 2 hour event begins at 3:00, but VIP ticketholders gain access at 2:00. Ticket are available online and range in price from $30 to $50.
• On Sunday night, Chef Adolfo Garcia and Rio Mar are hosting "Mixing Up Some Magic", a special dinner to benefit Liberty's Kitchen, a non-profit dedicated to transforming the life of at-risk youth through life skills taught in a culinary setting. The 3 course menu featuring Gulf seafood sausage, herb roated lamb shoulder, and roasted pear cake costs $75 per person inclusive of wine, tax, and tip. Reservations must be made online.

And, of course, if you have a hankering for a hamburger when Sunday night rolls around, you know where to go.

The Post-Katrina Top 20: #15 - #11

We start off this week with the continuation of our countdown of the Top 20 new and improved food and beverage accomplishments in post-Katrina New Orleans. If you missed #20-#16, click here.

#15: Stein's Deli - Sometimes things just make sense. Dan Stein realized New Orleans did not need another po boy shop. What it did need was a New York/Philadelphia/Jewish Delicatessen with an amazing beer selection and an attitude to match. In February 2007, Stein and partner Andre Moreau found a sliver of space on Magazine and crammed it to the rafters with fine meats, stinky cheeses, beer, hard cider, and other hard to find food items. But the true genius is in their sandwiches. Philly cheesesteaks, Reuben's, Chicago beefs, Fernandos, and Kellys have made this place a regular in our rotation. Plus, it is a great place to tell Mike Vick jokes.

#14: MiLa - While Mississippi and Louisiana were fighting over recovery dollars, Chefs Slade Rushing and Allison Vines-Rushing were marrying the cuisines of their respective home states in what's still the best and most over-looked hotel restaurant in the city. If we could only eat one dish before we die, then we choose MiLa's pan-roasted sweetbreads over truffled grits with bacon jus. The $20 lunch special is the value of the decade, well besides that Tiger Woods stock we bought last August.

#13: Mahony's Po-Boy Shop - After he simply could not rid himself of the memory of a few bogey po-boy experiences, Chef Ben Wicks decided to open up his own place in homage to the po-boy shops which he grew up with. At Mahony's, the kitchen cooks everything from scratch and does well by both the classics (like pot-roast style roast beef and fried oysters) to the avant garde (like fried chicken livers with cole slaw). Throw in the sensational shaved onion rings and an cold draft Abita root beer, and you have shining beacon of hope for the continuation of the po-boy tradition.

#12: Bistro Daisy - When Chef Anton Schulte left La Petite Grocery, his fans wondered (a) where he would end up next and (b) if he could replicate that soft and magical touch elsewhere. The Chef and his wife Diane went two-for-two when they opened their own bistro inside this old shotgun on Magazine Street. Now the name "Daisy" will always be synonymous with both their daughter and the artful salad of fresh mozzarella and roasted yellow peppers. The crawfish and mascarpone ravioli garners most of the well-deserved praise, but the lamb strip and parmesan risotto should not be overlooked either.

#11: NOLA Brew - After dealing with the hassles of insurance adjusters, contractors, and bureaucrats, Kirk Coco and Peter Caddo knew that what New Orleans really needed was a drink. So they set up a brewery in a warehouse on Tchoupitoulas and started brewing beer. Sound crazy? Well, maybe it is. But there is no denying the goodness of their NOLA Brown with a roast beef po-boy or the Seventh Street Wheat with a bowl of Vietnamese chargrilled pork. With the exile of Dixie, New Orleans once again has a beer to call their own.

Cheesesteak Tuesdays

I have never been to Philadelphia, so I'm no expert when it comes to the cheesesteak. I also happen to think that Cheez Whiz is only suitable for feeding ignorant children and hazing incoming associates. (Or are those groups one in the same?) But when it comes to food, I am usually quick to throw caution to the wind and at least try whatever is recommended by people "in the know." So after the HVAC Princess and her Philly transplant boyfriend continually raved about the Tuesday cheesesteak special at Stein's, I had to go.

The foundation of this sandwich is a hoagie roll so soft you would think the bread is mistakenly undercooked. (The HVAC Princess tells me that owner Dan Stein flies his bread in direct from the City of Brotherly Love.) The beef, which is labeled as "Pat's Style" in homage to the self-proclaimed "King of Steaks" in Philly, is sliced with the uniformity of a deck of cards and the thickness of a nickel. The traditional table top griddle creates overcooked bits of crispy goodness on the beef, but the tender cuts still easily tear between your front teeth as you bite down.

The choice of toppings is yours. Peppers, onions, and mushrooms all get the same treatment as the steak, and pizza sauce is even available for the non-traditionalists. As for cheese, Stein's offers the aforementioned Cheez Whiz as well as sliced provolone. Can't choose which? Get both, which is exactly what I did.

You might expect such a sandwich to cost a pretty penny, but you'd be wrong (again). $5 for a small and $7 for a large. The size of the bread is the same for both, but the amount of meat nearly doubles on the large. It's a great sandwich, one which I had not yet found in the city until I went to Stein's. What's also nice is that you can enjoy this Philly classic while revelling in the fact that your team is still playing football this upcoming weekend.

Stein's Philly Cheesesteak - Eagle

Lastly, a general note about Stein's. The layout of the deli leaves little room for seating. There is a lone deuce sandwiched between the pickup counter and beer chiller. In the front there are two communal tables with 8 seats each, plus 6 or so counter style seats along the front window and side wall. Two picnic tables outside on Magazine are the best spots when the weather is nice. In other words, seating is cramped, especially on Tuesdays when the cheesesteak draws a lot of people in. I don't mind, but if you have a problem with sharing space with others, this might not be the deli for you. Of course, you could always wait and take a late lunch, but then you run the risk of the cheesesteaks selling out by then - which happens often.

Shalom/Ciao

Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey

Sometimes I wonder if Jewish and Italian people get along with each other. Then I think, "Well, if the Fernando and the Shaggy Joe can live together harmoniously on the menu at Stein's, then anything is possible." After all, sandwiches are much more difficult to please than people...

I don't know if anyone in the city makes a better Reuben than Stein's. Just look at it: thin slices of hot corned beef, melted swiss, crisp sauerkraut, and russian dressing smeared on both slices of toasted rye. The perfect example of how the deliciousness of the whole sandwich can be greater than the sum of its parts. Sure, it will set you back $11, but the inch-thick stack of corned beef justifies the price in my opinion.

The chicken salad is chunky, not shredded, with a nice crunch from diced celery and just barely enough mayo to combine. But I am not going to lie, my chicken salad was an afterthought compared to The Folk Singer's Reuben.

'

We also had a potato knish and a side of potato salad, but neither was very impressive. Next time I am going for the chopped liver. Stein's is a great place for Sunday brunch/lunch if you are searching for something outside the typical eggs benedict realm. In fact, the last time TFS and I showed up at Stein's at high noon on a Sunday, there were 15 people in line ahead of us. Obviously, we are not the only ones who think that the food is worth waiting for.

'

Stein's Deli - Birdie

Steins Deli

In college, I developed some serious vices, not the least of which was being a lard ass. I did the Freshmen Fifteen about 5 times too many. Mostly this was do to poor eating habits, a lack of exercise, Nat Light, and quitting smoking. The rest of the weight came from Cheese Steaks.

I went to school in rural Virginia near the confluence of two major interstate systems (I-81 and I-64). Yet despite this, there were no less than 4 Italian Sub/Pizza/Obesity Dens, all run by Italians who drive Hummers. You do the English.

My favorite Cheese Steaks came from Frank's. I liked to add Mayo, Green Peps, Onions, and Lettuce (for the health benefits). Frank's was within walking distance of the fraternity house, not that we ever tested that theory though. I would say conservatively in 4 years of college I ate close to 250 Cheese Steaks. One time, I ate two in one hour, which led to me almost a) dying b) accepting a bet for $500 that I couldn't eat 20 cheese steaks in 5 days. It was so bad Oprah called me fat.

So imagine my delight in going to Stein's the other day and seeing that the Tuesday special was a Philly Cheese Steak. I had to restrain my inner fat from ordering two! And this Philly was so good, it brought me back to Bush's first term. An Italian roll, more squishy than our french bread, thin sliced rib eye grilled to perfection, Cheez-wiz (authentic and god dammit its good), onions and green peppers. Grease/juice/cheez/angel dust ooze out and drip all over like culinary napalm, so be careful.
Lindsay got the Southern Animal Foundation because she likes to save animals by eating animals. She also likes bacon, provolone, avocado, and turkey. The S.A.F. also has some strips of cucumber which help to lighten up the fattiness of the bacon and avocado.
We also split some Matzo Ball Soup, which we fight over every time. The stock makes it. Full of flavor but with very little greasiness to it. Why is this picture so bad? Because I said so, that's why.

The seating can be a bit awkward in Stein's as people fight to claim the few spaces. But don't let that stop you. Its one hell of a good deli. Steins is on Magazine and Jackson. Also, Dan Stein is one of New Orleans's foremost authorities on beer. In fact, he, Dan Esses, and the visionaries at St. James are hosting a beer dinner on March 26th. Info available here.

Slow Money, Take It Easy

Tomorrow night at St. James author Woody Tasch will speak about his recent book Inquiries into the Nature of Slow Money: Investing as if Food, Farms, and Fertility Mattered. I was fortunate enough to get a copy of this book in the mail the other day from Chelsea Green and am currently reading my way through it. I must confess that previous attempts at understanding economic theory have usually resulted in befuddlement and confusion.

The book focuses on the practical and economical implications and benefits of investing in community and locality based farming and ranching. The talk, and dinner by Chef Daniel Esses, is put on in conjunction with the New Orleans Chapter of Slow Food.

The cost is $50 and you need to call St. James at 899-4737 to make a reservation. Remember to bring your own Booze.

The menu is being prepared by Daniel Esses, formerly the chef at Marigny Brasserie. The menu uses local ingredients to showcase the benefits of what both Slow Food and Slow Money espouse.

Saffron-cauliflower mousse

Bacon, collard green and pecan soup

Jasmine tea smoked Cornish game hen with sausage and white bean ragout
or
Broccoli gnocchi over caramelized carrot puree and greens

Artisanal regional cheese course

Sweet potato flan.

And tonight at Cork and Bottle is a Wine, Cheese, and Beer Taste Off. Dan Stein of Stein's Deli, a beer aficionado, Richard Sutton a cheese connoisseur, and Jon Smith, a lush, will have a competition. The goal is to see what does pair better with cheese, wine or beer? For reservations call 504.483.6314. The cost is $30 a person.

Don't Judge Us

We are lazy today. Don't get all that up in our grillz, you barely read us on Fridays. So instead of actually writing anything, here is a link to an article about the renaissance occuring in New Orleans currently. It should brighten your day, and if it doesn't than you are a bore.

Ohh, and its not like we actually found the link ourselves. That, we stole from the blog of the St. James Cheese Shop. So thanks to them for being on the ball.

Are you calling us lazy? You are the person who should be working, jerk store.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/160099

Well I guess it's official

Our second article in Offbeat has run. Check it out. And if you are looking for a hard copy might I suggest Stein's Deli. Just got back from eating there more on the matzo ball soup later but for now just know this Catholic considered converting to Judaism. Also, ran into a Manning brother. I will let you figure out which one.

Top 10 New Orleans Sandwiches

Nothing like starting the week off with a little controversy.

1. Roast Beef Po-Boy - Parkway Bakery: Words cannot describe the magic of Parkway's roast beef. The beef and gravy somehow become one with each other to make for a spectacular sandwich. The only possible way to improve on this po-boy would be to add fried shrimp .... Oh, right. I believe they call that the Surf & Turf, and it's now a permanent fixture on the menu. Then again, why mess with perfection?
2. Muffuletta - Nor Joe's: Sure, Central Grocery may have started it all, but who wants to wait in line and deal with surly service? At Nor-Joe's you only have to tolerate surly service. This sandwich is not for anyone with an aversion to the finer things in life. Things like cheese, Italian deli meats, briney olives, and bread. Its about time someone around town made a Muffuletta Charcuterie Board. In fact, I just did.
3. Roast Duck Po-Boy - Crabby Jack's: This thing is amazing, if only for the fact that you can't get it anywhere else. Succulent roasted duck in a brown au jus - it also wins the "high class" award.
4. Mozzarella - St. James Cheese Company/Fernando - Stein's Deli: So similar, yet so different? Both start with foccacia, pesto, and fresh mozzarella. At St. James they use salami, while at Stein's they layer on the prosciutto. The St. James Girl (surprisingly) gives the edge to the Mozzarella because the cheese is slightly melted.
5. Banh Mi - Pho Tau Bay: The bread might be the best specimen of classic New Orleans style french bread in the city. The fillings are straight from Vietnam. My favorite is the chef's special liver sausage and rolled ham, but you can't go wrong with the char grilled pork. By the way, the sandwiches are small (and cheap) enough so that you can order both.
6. Oyster Loaf - Casamento's: Oysters - it's what they do, which is why Casamento's is closed during those dreaded summer months when oysters are not at their peak. Piled high on toasted and buttered "pan bread" with a few pickles and a couple of dashes of hot sauce. You can't get much better than that.
7. Meatball Parmesan Po-Boy - Mahony's: The fresh mozzarella alone catapults this sandwich to the Top 10, but the handmade meatballs and red gravy are integral ingredients of the final product. The anise flavor in the meatballs provides a sweet overture to the final product.
8. #4 - Bud's Broiler: Onions? Yes. Double Meat? Yes. Chili or Sauce? Yes. (Wait, I said "or" - I have always been a sauce man myself, but I don't judge the chili lovers out there.) And if that wasn't enough, you can get this sandwich late at night.
9. Fat Kid Special - Liuzza's: Have you still not tried this yet? Panneed chicken breast topped with roast beef and gravy. How can that NOT be good? And if you wanted to be really fat, may we suggest putting fried pickles on top of all that. Dear God, my keyboard just went into cardiac arrest. Someone get me a bushwacker, STAT!
10. Italian Special - R&O's: Slices of Italian sausage and meatball, covered in red gravy, and topped with mozzarella. The seedy Italian style bread is unconventional for a po-boy, but it works. Plus, ordering a po-boy called the Italian Special makes it seem like you just put a hit out on that jerk from third grade.

Coming Tomorrow - the sandwiches we once loved, but now they are gone.