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.

We Live To Eat Friday: Part II

The entries keep rolling in, so send yours along. This week we get a bite at Crabby Jack's, a one two combo of Cochon and Boucherie, and this weird, cryptic day. Vote away, pals. And hey, if you are in a voting mood, how 'bout voting us the #1 Blog in New Orleans?

The Turpenator

My ideal feasting day in New Orleans:
Breakfast - Manhattan Omelet at Camellia Grill (a/k/a the "Crack Omelet").

Lunch - Po-boys at Crabby Jack's.

Snack/Cocktail: Beers at Avenue Pub along with guacamole and chips from the restaurant within it, J'anita's.

Dinner: Any of the shredded meat delights at Cochon.

Brother O'Mara

I'd head out as early as possible to Huveos on Banks to get myself a plate of their huevos con tamal. Nothing beats pork tamales and eggs for breakfast, and their coffee's decent. However, even though they have a few sweets in the case there I'd have to go over to Angelo Brocato on Carrollton to get something truly tasty. No gelato, still too early in the morning, but something from their pastry case (like a prussian, mmmmm) and some espresso to wash it down would be fantastic.

For lunch, as soon as I would be able to eat again that is, I'd head down to Domilise's on Annunciation. There's a lot to be said in the debate about the best fried shrimp po-boy, but for my money nobody does it better than they. Obviously I'd have to have a Barq's to go along with it, because I think God cries if you eat a fried shrimp po-boy without drinking a Barq's.

After all this I think I'd have to go lie down for a while, but I would make certain to get up in time to make it over to Cure by 5PM, right as they opened. If I have time before my dinner reservations, I'd order a Ramos Gin Fizz, something soft to sit and sip for a minute. If things are rushed, I'd grab a Nervous Light of Sunday, the perfect palate-opening drink, a delightful combination of gin, grapefruit, and magic.

Dinner would have to be at Cochon, because their ham hock haunts my dreams. I find it almost impossible to visit and not order that incredible mass of soft succulent pigflesh. It doesn't appear on the table instantly, though, so the boucherie plate would have to hold me over until that ham hock graces me with its presence. The flavors are rich and slightly smoky and wonderfully complex, so depending on my mood I'd either get something from the southern Rhone or some fuller-bodied Pinot Noir to accompany it.

As if I hadn't put enough miles on my car already, I'd head out for a late-night dessert at Boucherie just off Carrollton. I know Cochon has some killer desserts but one thing they don't have is Krispy Kreme bread pudding, and that's what I'd be craving. I'd have to drive slowly, though, to make sure my stomach had time to deal with all that dinner.

To finalize the night I would honestly head home and pour a shot or two of Amaro on ice and sit and sip that while I waited for my body to stop hating me for all the abuse.

And Finally, a Rambling Entry from McLovin

5am snack: F&M's - The cheese fries and enough booze to kill a horse.

7am: Slim Goodies - I forget what it's called, but it's something like the Mexican Slammer.

Lunch: Radosta's - I usually get their catfish poboy.

Dinner: Crepe Nanou (if I'm paying) / Clancy's (if someone else is) - Crepe Nanou: mussels and/or the spinach and crabmeat crepe (i think those are the two most cliche things on the menu). I haven't been to Clancy's since before my brother-in-law became a part of the family so I'm not sure what I'd get. LOL...haha.

PS - My mom thought she was so cool that you wrote about Meauxbar and she saw you there!

PPS - I get free drinks at a bar up at school because the bartender actually thinks I'm McLovin... haha.

EDIT: Blogger Polls are down and working about as well as government. So for now, just leave your vote in the comments or come back later.

Craft Beer Week

In the 1990's, beer finally broke free of the bonds of mass production and ushered in the era of the microbrew. There are many reasons why Americans began sipping better beer. Some believe it was due to Jimmy Carter's signing of a bill allowing homebrewing. Others claim the desire for great beer swelled with the Baby Boomer Generation and halcyon days of traveling through Europe.

Whatever and whyever is no bother. The American Brewing scene has never before been so strong and diverse. One can now walk into a bar and enjoy a piney, teeth-searing, hoppy ales of the Northwest or the sweet flavors of Lazy Magnolia. Abita, part of the vanguard of the microbrew movement, is now a big boy in the world of beer and newcomers like NOLA and Bayou Teche are staking a claim to be the new black.

American Craft Beer Week celebrates beer this week. The events are scattered around town and showcase the offerings of top craft brewers from San Diego to Brooklyn. So if you like beer check out the list of events and partake in the pleasures of the pint.

Your Call - The Avenue Pub/J'anita's

Editor's Note: Your Call is running today due to yesterday's May's Sink Article. We apologize if you spend the rest of the day thinking today is Wednesday.

The Avenue Pub is the city's best dispenser of beer. The selection of beers from local, regional, national, and international brewers of pilsners, porters, ales, and lagers would mesmerize even the biggest beer geek. Situated in a an unfolding, ramshackle building on St. Charles, the bar boasts two levels, a balcony, and an interior that can best be described as Frat house chic. Quite simply, this bar kicks ass if you like beer.

Inside of The Avenue Pub, J'Anita's slings upscale bar food to a willing and ready crowd. While some of the food served as shining examples, other options served only to befuddle. For instance, the much-talked about St. Chuck Duck sandwich could only be developed or liked by a stoner with the munchies. Cabernet braised duck meat, blue cheese, cheddar cheese, balsamic reduction, currant tapenade, apple, the kitchen sink, and nuclear launch codes rested uncomfortably between two slices of sourdough. Admittedly the first bite is interesting, the second more so, but by the third your palate is exhausted by the assaulting cacophony of competing flavors. The cool potato salad, however, had many redeemable qualities.

A good idea would be to shift the some of the attention from the St. Chuck Duck to the burger. Absent from this bar staple was any discernible flavor or juiciness. While this burger may be wonderful after three glasses of Stone Rumination I.P.A., after only one, it fell way short of what a burger can be.

All the missteps aside, the kitchen crew at J'Anita's turns out nearly perfect examples of bar food staples. And let's be honest, if you are drinking beer, you would be hard pressed not to order cheese fries anyway. Although the cheese fries could use more toppings to justify their price tag, they are a shining bacon covered city of sturdy potatoes and flowing rivers of melted cheddar. Or get your hands on their impeccable guacamole. In fact, J'Anita's guac is the best in the city. Creamy, tangy, and just a touch of heat make this the perfect foil for cold beer.

Which at the end of the day, is why you came here. Come for the beer, but stay for the appetizers.

The Avenue Pub - Eagle
J'Anita's - Par