State of the Eating: Mexican in New Orleans, Part I

Recently this blog solicited your comments. We wanted to know where you could get authentic Mexican in this city. You obliged, and we have eaten. So here now is a review of Mexican eateries around the 504. This list is by no means exhaustive, just a few spots I have been able to sample so far.

This taco outpost holds the richness of the earth in a converted truck. I love this place. There are few frills, no 21 year old wanna-be-celebutante wearing a big sombrero and sucking down sugary margaritas as she talks to some guy in an Ed Hardy shirt while updating her facebook status on her iPhone. There is no sign stating that McSuperiors put the Fun in queso FUNdido. You cant order fried ice cream. It is just tacos and tortas done perfectly, some Mexican sodas, and a view of one of New Orleans best streets. The only embellishment is two sauces. A green one and a red one. Try them both, srat star.

The tripe tacos are just amazing. I could try to describe them to you but sometimes only Shakespeare's words will suffice: "Tripe tacos you complete me!"

You can choose from steak, a succulent stewed beef, chicken, carnitas, grilled pork, and I am sure many more. The food's quality is not matched by its prices. A plate of 3 tacos will set you back about $5. Take that Taco Bell. The tortas are not bad either. Grilled fluffy bread are stuffed with your choice of meat, dressed, and slathered with some melted cheese. Its enough to make your roast beef po-boy jealous.

Less good was El Rinconcito and Fiesta Latina. The former is really a cantina which it seems is Mexican for bar food. The salsa was good and the pollo frito delivered a bird more closely aligned with confit than with fried food. The loud Central American Pop Tunes didn't make things much better and everyone drinks Bud Light, not that there is anything wrong with that. Fiesta Latina seemed to be the Sysco of the Mexican food scene. Boring food with bright yellow government cheese covering or stuffed in most dishes.

Now Taco San Miguel in Fat City, that place is solid. Delicious tongue tacos, a multi-hued salsa bar, and some very honest cooking. I also loved the chicharonnes with their snappy texture and creamy interior these pork skins were a welcome addition to any of the offerings.

Another place we have enjoyed so far is Le Guadelepeno on Broad near Criminal Court. The only hiccup was the cold chicken enchiladas. But then again it was 10:30 in the morning on a Sunday. I am sure the cooks were still thinking breakfast.

The tacos were well made. The tortillas at Le Guadelepeno were exceptionally tender, but still retained a solid structure. But the papusas were phenomenal. Little pockets of soft corn dough stuffed with pork and cheese, griddled and sent out with a fiery sauce and some pickled cabbage. We got them as our apps, I wish it would have been my main.

The search still continues, but so far the State of Mexican Food in New Orleans is strong. Where else do I need to go?

Oink, Oink

How much do I love pork? Let me count the ways...

"GLT" - Guanciale, lettuce, and tomato. This was on the special board at Butcher a few weeks ago, but hopefully it will become a standard choice if the demand is there. And demand you should. Don't be afraid of pork jowl. Try it once, and you will never look at bacon the same way again.

The pork tongue tacos (2 to an order) are a new addition to the bar food menu at Butcher. The richness of the tongue is cut by the acid of the pickled onions, while the cilantro brings a welcome breath of freshness.

You've seen it before, but it's worth another look. True, the hot dog is 90% beef and only 10% pork belly, but who's counting? Mustard, chili, slaw. kraut, or pimento cheese. You could have whatever you like (yeah).

I guess that you could keep up the porcine theme and finish your meal with the bacon studded pralines, but then you would miss out on this chocolate cupcake stuffed with vanilla pudding and topped with cream cheese frosting. Eat your heart out, Bee Sweet.

'

Cochon Butcher - Double Eagle.

The Downtown Deli Diagnosis - Part 1: Welty's

Blogger's Note: Here is a diagram of my thought process on Monday morning:

Monday --> Start of the work week --> What's for lunch today? --> It's Monday, so I have a lot of work to do and need somewhere quick near my office --> My office is downtown --> "When you're alone and life is making you lonely, you can always go... downtown" --> Seinfeld is still the greatest sitcom of all time

When you're working downtown and need a quick lunch, you usually duck into the corner sandwich shop. But which ones are worth waiting in line for? Welcome to the Downtown Deli Diagnosis, the new Monday series on Blackened Out aimed at you captains of the cubicle. Over the next month or so, we'll start off the week with a review of one of the more popular CBD lunch spots, and at the end we'll take a vote on who's the best. Feel free to play along by commenting on your likes and dislikes of each week's feature. First up...

When you eat lunch at Welty's, one thing is for certain: you will not leave hungry. Just look at the stack of corned beef on that reuben. Ham, turkey, roast beef - they are all piled high on your choice of bread and served with a pile of kettle chips. Tina Welty works the register in the front while her husband Donald runs the kitchen right behind her. It's a family affair - the kind of place where the woman takes your order and says, "Thank you, baby."

Feel like a muffuletta? No problem. Only want 1/2 muffuletta? Sorry, you can only get a whole, and it'll cost you a hefty $9 for a sandwich that can feed 4 people. Or try the New Orleans AK with your choice of 4 meats and 4 cheeses on toasted muffuletta bread.

The menu only has 6 or so sandwiches and even fewer salads, but the daily specials usually look and sound like the best choices. Every day there is a special salad, sandwich, and entree, and you can even check them out online before you go. One day it might be the above 12" bratwurst, the next maybe a plate of fettuccine alfredo topped with paneed chicken.

Other idiosyncrasies include a delicious creole potato salad and a lagniappe bar where you can dress your sandwich your way with a wide range of toppings. (I know, it seems inconsequential, but I appreciate the no hassle opportunity to get extra pickles, honey mustard, and horseradish mayo without feeling guilty about slowing down service.) The german chocolate brownies in the display case look heavenly, but I only reward myself with those if I run 6 miles in the morning. I'll be sure to report back if and when that ever happens.

Welty's Deli - Par

Blackened Out Needs Your Help!

Readers, you have stuck with us through thick and thin. You have watched us grow - more of the former than the later. And we love you, in a totally creepy way. Your comments have been always appreciated. The leads on Mexican restaurants have proved invaluable. And you have even helped Peter with his Asian fetish.

And so now we turn to you. Again this "blog" was started as a joke. We never thought it would last or lead to random interviews with real food journalists. Following a furious round of multiple intense boardroom meetings between Peter and I (read here: GChat, once), a decision has been made to start moving away from a blogspot and into the big time on the world wide web.

Here is the problem: Peter and I know how to find porn on the internet and that is about it. So anyone with internet hacking skills, web making skills, graphic design skills, nunchaku skills, or just skills, please contact us. Since we don't make much money on this, cash money would be limited, but available.

However, in this time of economic crisis we firmly believe the barter system is due for a comeback. So we are prepared to offer the following perks in exchange for services. Lunch or dinner for you and a guest on us. Having a party? How about we cook for you. Want a free subscription to Appetites, hell we will even introduce you to the scoundrel behind that site. A trip to Bud's Broiler on Clearview at 2 am with the Pope to scarf down arterial damaging cuisine? Well you may have to sign a waiver or something, but sure.

We literally know nothing about webpaging. So any help is appreciated. You make the offer, we will tell everyone how cool you are via this here spot on the internet, and everyone wins. Well, everyone except the Eagles, they suck. Help us, please.

Great line up next week - Rene's wrap up of Mexican eateries in the area, Peter interviews James Beard after running into him at a Big Lebowski costume party, and we end the week with a whimper.

Thanks,
Management

'Za

When in doubt, order pizza. When too lazy to cook and too exhausted to go out, order pizza. When hungover and can't leave the couch, order pizza. When ____, order pizza.

For the above reasons and many others, pizza too often gets a bad rap as "garbage food." But eventhough NOLA may not have the same pizza tradtion as New York and Chicago, we still have several local pie shops that put out a pretty good slice.

The two above came from the ovens at Slice Pizzeria on St. Charles. Both the pepperoni on the left and the "white pie" on the right had a crispy crust and a restrained amount of cheese (which happen to be my personal preference). But the best part is that you are looking at a $6 lunch. If you like to cut your carbs with a little vegetation, Slice is running their COOLinary lunch special through the end of the month - any small salad, a slice with 2 toppings of your choice, and a scoop of Brocato's gelato for $9.99.

With football season in full swing, we are eating more pizza now than at any other time of the year. In today's poll, tell us what is your favorite place to grab a slice. As always, if your preferred pizzeria is absent from the ballot (or if you are like Rene and prefer to bake your own), please enlighten us in the comments.

Slice Pizzeria - Par

The Mecca in Manchac

Some restaurants are worth driving for. I'm not really sure if Middendorf's fits into the 30 mile category, but it's definitely worth the 15 minute detour on the drive between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. The above shot is of the annex building, which is where The Folk Singer and I ate late last month. But as Brett Anderson alerted us a few weeks ago, the original building has since then reopened for business.

The thin fried catfish is a must try, and you can order it in combination with shrimp, oysters, frog legs, stuffed crab, or all of the above. The portions are enormous, and to-go boxes are de rigueur. Personally, I think that eating reheated fried seafood tastes as good as the styrofoam container it came in, so I would suggest splitting the seafood platter with a friend (or foe).

The thin catfish is almost like eating potato chips, though the breaded exterior does not overwhelm the flesh of the fish as you might expect. A squeeze of lemon and a dash of Crystal is all you need. I wish that I could say that the french fries, cole slaw, and potato salad were as good as the seafood, but I would be lying.

As long as at least one person is ordering the thin fried catfish, such that you can steal a piece or two of theirs, then you should strongly considered ordering your seafood broiled. I had the broiled whole flounder, which was served skin on to help protect the flesh from drying out. Catfish and shrimp also come off the grill basted with lemon butter.

'

We had banana bread pudding with rum sauce for dessert, but I hear that the white chocolate pecan pie or banana split is the best way to go.

'

Middendorf's - Birdie

Domenica

The buzz around town is that John Besh opened a new restaurant in the Roosevelt Hotel called Domenica. And that is partially correct. A more accurate statement would be that Alon Shaya has a new restaurant in the Roosevelt called Domenica. This is not to take anything away from Chef Besh, but Domenica is Shaya's restaurant. And although it needs some improvement, in a few months I suspect this will be one of the top restaurants in New Orleans.

Domenica is Chef Shaya's place because you see the general concern in his face as he walks over to your table to ask how your meal is going. When you tell him the pea risotto was salty, he says, "That is something I will fix." Alternatively, when you tell him how marvelous and stunning the octopus carpaccio is, he responds, "We love that dish, and we are glad you did too." Notice the difference?
The menu is such that appetizers and pastas can be ordered either in half-size or full size. This allows you to try a bunch of options without stuffing yourself or draining your wallet. With a large, and ever increasing selection of house cured meats, this also would not be a bad spot to pop in for a cocktail and a plate of prosciutto before heading out. The watermelon basil bellini was impeccable with the herbacious basil, sweet watermelon, and bubbles of prosecco creating the profile of the classic aperitif in a modern drink.

That octopus dish is worth the trip alone. Thin disks of octopus, each one like an ancient mosaic coin of purple, brown, and white, are topped with a light and refreshing salad of thinly sliced fennel and juicy segments of orange. Upon taking a bite, you are immediately transferred to a beach in the Mediterranean. Breathe deeply. There is the salty, oceanic air. You sip on a pastis while smelling the citrus groves. It is a beautiful dish.

Other admirable starters include the delicately fried squash blossoms stuffed with goat cheese and the aforementioned house cured meats. The bresaola comes fanned on the plate and crowned by a nest of arugula and Parmesan - a dish which can be shared and enjoyed by the entire table.

Another favorite was the stracci pasta. Triangles of spinach pasta are tossed with slow cooked oxtail ragu and topped by a few nuggets of fried chicken livers. You expect the dish to be heavy and cumbersome, but a barely imperceptible hint of acid washes across the palate. "That is a shaving of lemon zest," says Shaya. The lemon lightens the dish, creating a harmonious bite of savory, rich, salty, and sour.

The gnocchi, no bigger than a thumb, pack a wallop of flavor in the density of a cloud. The anolini pasta are more like nonpareils stuffed with mushroom, topped with pecorino, and a delight to snack on, but maybe too much cheese on top. The fazzoletti pasta could have been a tad thinner, but there was no denying that the rich burrata cheese added an amazing depth of flavor. The salty risotto is likely the result of combining peas blanched in salted water and adding rendered pancetta on top, but the concept is there.

Some of the other pastas were a little salty as well. Often when a restaurant cooks a lot of pastas, throughout the night the pasta water evaporates leaving a saltier solution than would be desirable. By properly monitoring the pot, and refilling with water, this can be avoided. These are the hiccups which will hopefully be fixed with time.

The menu also has a selection of pizzas and mains. Those pizzas can suffer when the place gets busy. The center came out slightly undercooked and soggy on a busy Friday night. Management told me people are sending back pizzas that are crunchy, blistered, bubbly, and black in spots because they are "burned." Personally, pizzas like that are a delight. On a busy night, redoing 20-30 pizzas would destroy the kitchen, so they anticipate a problem and adjust. So if it's busy, mention to your waiter that you will wait for the pizza to be cooked properly. The best of the pizzas is the Calabrese with capers, olives, and spicy salami strewn across the crust.

The wine list at Domenica is broken down by region, with a handy map on each page pinpointing the exact location of the region. The prices are reasonable enough to allow one to casually order a bottle or two with dinner, while there is just enough variety and depth to keep a wine geek occupied. Order the tart, vibrant Bastianich Sauvignon Blanc for your apps and pastas. The 2007 Marcani Dolcetto D'Alba is a great match with the pizzas.

For the sweet portion of your meal, go for the ricotta and fig fritters with the muscadine sabayon. So delicate, so flavorful, and exotic, yet so similar to those beignets from 'round the corner. One order can feed a squad of five comfortably. With a glass of nocello, limoncello, or grappa, your evening is complete.

Some have often said the interior is smart, handsome, and stylish. Considering as how my interior decorator skills tend towards posters of John Belushi, zebra print chairs, and a coffee table to put my feet on, I will defer to others.

On the two separate occasions we went, we have enjoyed good service, at times great food, and had a lovely time. Will you have the same experience? I hope so. Domenica is not perfect, likely never will be. But it is getting close to being Shaya's perfect restaurant.

Domenica - Too early for an official ranking, but second visit was in the birdie range.

My Walk With Bourdain

“You at the Rio Mar party? Is that tonight? Bourdain is there.”

Rewind: Thursday night Rio Mar had a “kegger, Basque-style” where Chef Adolfo tapped a cask of txakoli and planned on pouring the whole thing. I made reservations to go with a large group, but they all backed out and so I canceled too. Instead, I wound up with Triple B and two others at Sukho Thai, where I received the above text message from Rene.

Upon reading this message, I immediately called for the check and headed for Rio Mar. Triple B decided to tag along too. When we arrived, there were far fewer people than I expected, and the cask of txakoli was long gone. “Is Bourdain here?” I asked. “Yep. He’s in the main dining room,” replied a waiter. “Really cool guy. Go get a picture.”

I waited next to the greeting stand while Triple B powdered her nose in anticipation of her glamour shot, but next thing you know Anthony was strolling past me on his way out. I stopped him, said hello, and asked for a picture, to which he graciously obliged. Triple B was right behind me and snapped one of her own.

So now what? We walked outside to contemplate our next move, and Anthony said goodbye to his companions and made his way down Julia toward the river. “We should have asked him if he wanted to get a drink,” I said. On our walk back to the car, we noticed Anthony standing on the corner waiting for a cab. This was one of those moments. I wish I could say that I played it cool instead of acting like a 1980s Aerosmith groupie reincarnate, but we were basically stumbling over ourselves to catch him before he left. I sent Triple B in first because as a member of the light-haired female tribe, she is much more convincing than I.

“Do you want to go get a drink with us?” she asked.

“No, I am exhausted,” Anthony smilingly replied. “I’ve been on this corner for 5 minutes and already 3 people have stopped and said, ‘Hey, you gotta go to this bar.’ Plus I have a flight to Prague in the morning.... How do you catch a cab around here? When the light is on, that means there is already somebody in there?”

“Yeah. I’ll call you a cab,” I offered.

“I’m staying at the W next to the casino,” he said, " but I have no idea where I am."

“Well, that’s right there,” I pointed. “We’ll walk you over.”

So we walked. And talked. Anthony told us that he was in town to meet with writers for “the coolest f*cking thing on television,” but he was tight-lipped on the details. We told him how great it was for him to film an episode here back in 2007. I asked him what he thought about the food at Domilise's, to which he responded, “You know, you can probably get a better tasting po-boy elsewhere, but that place has history. It's been open for a long time, and it was perfect for our show. It’s the neighborhood and the people which makes that place great.”

He asked if I had ever been to Prague, and I told him yes. “How’s the food?” he asked. “Eh,” was my reply. “That’s what everyone else has told me,” he said. We talked about his daughter and how she loved olives and sardines and everything salty, and how when he gets back to New York his wife is going to handover the reigns for a while because she has been on solo duty for long enough.

But mostly we talked about New Orleans and what a special place it is. He asked if we had grown up here and told us how great it was that we stayed. “Every time I come here, it’s like a big hug,” he said. "The chef and cooking culture here… it’s like coming home. Nowhere else in the world is like it. I just feel this warm embrace whenever I am here.” Triple B and I told him why we thought NOLA is such a special place, but I’m embarrassed to say that Anthony probably said it best: “People come to New Orleans, and they either get it right away or they don’t. They either say, ‘OK, this is why this is an amazing place.’ Or they just never will.” I offered to take him to the Westbank for Vietnamese for lunch, but I’ll have to wait for another time. “In a perfect world, I would stay here for a week and eat at all of these places that everyone keeps telling me about. It would be two o’clock in the morning, and I’d be scarfing down Verti Marte.”

I wish that I could tell you that this story ended with Anthony, Triple B, and I downing Flaming Dr. Peppers at the Goldmine followed by a 4:00am feast on an All That Jazz. But I cannot tell a lie. When we got to the W, Triple B and I offered to buy Anthony a scotch, but he politely declined and thanked us for our hospitality. And then he was gone.

I’ve met Paul Bocuse. I’ve eaten at The French Laundry. Maybe I’ll make it to the Fat Duck one day. But my walk with Anthony was pretty special. I doubt it was as good for him as it was for me, but that’s not the point. And if you don’t get why, then you never will.

Please note that the camera adds 20 pounds (but apparently not for professionals like Anthony).

Chefs vs. "City"

Tonight is the premiere of the "Chefs vs. City" New Orleans episode. Last month we eluded to potential spoilers procured from our source at The Creole Creamery, but who knows if those segments even made the final cut. The "City" will be represented tonight by Alfred Singleton and Stephanie Bernard. I wish them good luck and hope they bring home a victory for The Big Easy. I am very, truly, honestly happy for them.

But I am also extremely bitter. Why? Because I'm a sore loser. See, Rene and I auditioned for this show back in early March. We missed the open casting call, but fortunately the casting agency allowed us to advance to the on-video auditions the next day. We were so excited and truly believed that this could be our big break. I have never had goose bumps like I did on the drive that Sunday to Spudley's Super Spuds...

WHAT?!?! Yeah, you read that right. The auditions were at Spudley's Super Spuds. I didn't even know that place served food. I always thought that the catchy radio commercials were just additional cover for whatever money laundering scheme was being run out of that blue Quonset hut, farmhouse looking thing on the I-10 service road. My presumptions were confirmed when we walked inside, which consisted of an ordering counter, no apparent kitchen, and a video poker machine. Auditions were taped in the hay loft... er... I mean "second floor."

Honestly, we were nervous and easily could have blown the interview. All I remember is Rene blabbering about how Legend got drunk one night, and then next thing you know we were writing this blog. I also may have slightly embellished Rene's culinary resume to make the casting people believe that we had professional cooking experience, so if they checked our resumes then we were in trouble. In sum, we could have shot ourselves in the foot (multiple times). It also probably didn't help that I was in mid-recovery from a severe stomach virus caused by a bad batch of lamb vindaloo, but I will spare you those details.

But that is not the point. My beef is with this whole "Chefs vs. City" concept. OK, the Food Network team is comprised of chefs (and very good ones at that). But the "City" team almost always consists of ... two chefs! Alfred and Stephanie both come from the kitchen at Dickie Brennan's Steakhouse. Shouldn't the show then be "Chefs vs. Chefs"? We should have known that something was up that day at Spudley's when Bob Iacovone walked into the House of Smurf. Rene said to me, "Hey Bob, you were on freaking Iron Chef. Give the rest of us a chance." It also didn't help our chances that Bob's casting partner was a 6ft blonde who was slightly more attractive than us schlobs.

So what was it? Did the Food Network gods not think that Rene and I could shuck oysters or go crabbing? Or were we too intimidating? Did the casting director watch 15 seconds of our video before stopping and saying, "We can't take these young 'uns. It wouldn't be fair. They look like they eat 8 scoops of ice cream as a warm-up."

I guess we'll see at 9pm tonight.

The Spicy Stuff

We natives of Louisiana have a reputation for a disposition to spicy food, and bottles of Tabasco on restaurant tables are as customary as salt and pepper shakers. I like to spice up my food just as much as the coonass sitting next to me, but lately I have been tantalizing my taste buds with a wider range of hot sauces. In fact, I would say that on average I probably use more sriracha than traditional Louisiana hot sauces. I like it with sushi, pizza, and even (gasp) red beans and rice.

But I have not forsaken our homegrown sauces all together. I still douse my fried shrimp po-boys with plenty of Crystal and hit a few drops of Pepperdoux (a gift from a friend) on a pork tenderloin. But I am just as likely to use sambal in my pho or piri piri (a recent discovery in Portugal) on my roasted chicken.

Variety really is the spice of life. So what's your favorite hot sauce?

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

Royal China

There is a lot of talk these days about "real authentic (insert cuisine of choice here) food". To me that is like saying a person has fake breasts. Let me go on record here, there is no such thing as fake breasts. Food is food, and if it tastes good who cares if it accurately reflects the specific sub-genre of food known as Cantonese? There is such a thing as authentic American-Chinese food and you can find it at Royal China.

A few weeks ago, craving a straight up old school, MSG throbbing Chinese meal, Lindsay and I headed over to Royal China on Vets to eat pork fried rice, pot stickers, Kung Pao chicken, and Shanghai Noodles. We even sampled something new for us: paper shrimp. The paper shrimp was wrapped in a delicate little package which flaked like a croissant when you bit into it. Inside the pungency of basil contrasted with the plump shrimp. Delicious.
The chicken in the Kung Pao was cooked perfectly. Juicy, tender and soft-we almost thought it was undercooked compared to the often deep fried, battered nuggets at other Chinese restaurants. The sauce could have been spicier, but had I never discovered Thai food, the spice level would have been bold. The pork fried rice was just how it should be, slightly nutty, perfectly greasy and studded with red tinged cubes of pork and strips of fried egg.

The surprise may have been the Shanghai noodles. Thin, glassy noodles tossed in a fragrant and flavorful brown sauce with big shrimp anchoring the dish. And even better two nights later after a long bout of Trivial Pursuit and her good friend Old Fashioneds, the noodles were perfect heated up with some butter, Rooster Sauce, and soy.

For an old school, first time eating Chinese food meal and some more authentic dishes, Royal China does what it seeks to do very well. Sure it may not be "real" Chinese food, but it certainly is real good. What is your favorite Americanized Chinese spot in town?

Royal China- Birdie.