NOLA Food/Art Mashup

The image above is "Flaming Watermelon Ship" by Floyd Shaman. The Ogden Museum kicked off it's new season with the opening of several shows, one being Self-Taught, Outsider and Visionary Art from the Collection of Alexa Kleinbard and Jim Roche. Of which the ship is a part. Also on tap was Mississippi Photographs, 1860s-Present featuring friend and Monkey contributor Seth Boonchai. And I ended up having a camera conversation on the rooftop with Birney Imes and his daughter – he has his Whispering Pines photographs up now also at the Ogden.

That was the catalyst for the trip, but of course we had to eat. So, we start off with an incredible lunch at the Green Goddess where we discover Timanoix, a washed-rind cheese made at the Abbey of Timadeuc in the Brittany region of France. And let's face it, monks know how to do these things. We were tipped off that St. James Cheese Company supplied it locally. Unfortunately, they're closed on Sundays in August, but they ship. Or, forget running liquor across state lines, I'll bring a cooler and run cheese.

We then took a short break from eating and went to Euclid Records. I found a few things to pick up, including Cameo's Word Up!. Interestingly, in the credits, Jean Paul Gaultier did their wacky outfits and Paula Scher designed the album.

 Dinner was had at a Mano, and I can now say I've had some good Italian food. We had a large table of 8 and they offered us the Chef's tasting menu served family style. It won by unanimous decision, and a good decision it was. It is more food than you can ever hope to eat, but we gave it our all. I have to confess that I was pretty much all washed up by the time the Secondi came out. Have a Chinotto cocktail while you're there.

Thinking we may never be hungry again, but of course being wrong, the next day we had lunch at Middendorf's. I've heard about it for years, and now understand the pull of the "thin" fried fish. Cheers to a light dinner and the week ahead.

Hot Dog Wishlist

1. NO BRAINER
Dog House, Flowood Way ass out in Castlewoods, but I'll make the trip anyway ASAP. As in tomorrow.

2. NEXT TIME I'M THERE
Dat Dog, New Orleans Did you see the photo? It looks like the happiest place on earth.

3. TRAIN RIDE
Hot Doug's, Chicago OK, so this is on everybody's list but it's "The Sausage Superstore and Encased Meat Emporium." Need I say more.

Snap Dragon

From MISC FOR BLOG

Just back from an estate sale where I picked up a 1944 edition of "New Orleans Recipes" by Mary Moore Bremer who was from Waveland, MS. Lots of creole recipes that sound pretty good in there along with some obscure sounding things like "Crab Chops," "Dimples," a recipe for tomato ketchup purported to be "over 100 years old," and lastly, why not, "Chop Suey." But in the drinks section, something odd caught my eye – Snap Dragon.

From MISC FOR BLOG

But apparently this was a longstanding Christmas tradition from the 16th - 19th centuries. It died out because, well, you could get burned and safety and all that crap. So, here's a more useful drink recipe from the book:

ROCK AND RYE (Old Recipe) Pour into whiskey glass one teaspoon pure rock-candy syrup; add a small bar spoon and allow guest to help himself to the whiskey – if you think it advisable.

Bud's Broiler

There's no excuse for eating at a fast food chain in New Orleans because there's Bud's Broiler serving up char broiled burgers 24 hours in a row. Saved my life this weekend.

And while you're there, check out the Birney Imes show at the Ogden Museum – portraits that are part of his personal work.

Genius

In New Orleans recently and a friend clued me into Meltdown Popsicles. It's New Orleans, it's hot, it's humid (even in winter), sometimes it smells funny, and what's better than an ultra-portable popsicle to make you feel better. Unfortunately, they were closed for vacation while I was there. I guess if you own a popsicle shop, January is a good time for some vacay. But the flavors sounded great – coconut milk with lemongrass, salted caramel, strawberry basil, and Thai ice coffee are the ones I remember. They reopen after January 18, so stop by. I'll see you there.

New Orleans Voodoo

Back to New Orleans again for work but also plenty of play. First I have to give a shout-out to my favorite hotel down there, the International House. Close enough to the Quarter, and yet just far enough away, they're always friendly and have a great little bar downstairs. Also, in celebration of All Saints Day/All Souls Day, artist Linda Sampson had installed in the lobby an Immortelle exhibition which is worth a stop-in if you're in town. Immortelles are a tradition of beaded memorial flowers to be hung on tombs on All Saints Day, then removed and stored at home until the next year. On to the food.

First stop, Lüke. I've talked about them before, but the thing I go back for again and again is the Rillette of Berkshire pig. And again. And again.

Next stop, Katie's Restaurant & Bar in Midcity. As soon as I gave the cab driver the address, he asked if we knew a local. No tourists here at this place deep inside a neighborhood. Fine by me, I'll keep the po-boys and hamburger steak all to myself. By the way, if you need a cab in New Orleans, always call United Cab.

Last stop on the food train, the Green Goddess. An amazing meal cooked with love by Chef Paul in a tiny (cozy) restaurant on Exchange Alley in the Quarter. Not looking to define a "type" of cuisine, they seem to concentrate on flavors that just taste damn good together. Started off with a bacon smoked duck soup with red wine and mushrooms, and things only got better. Fresh crab with pickled vegetables and wasabi roe. Black sticky rice and coconut milk rice pudding (the "Saturn Calling"). Oh, and did I mention that I had an heirloom tomato bloody mary? Green Goddess (pictured above), I'll see you again.

24 Hours in New Orleans

Just got back from the Big Easy, and it's the only place hotter than here. But good friends and good food make it all OK. All the places I ate were new for me which was fun. So here's the rundown.

Cochon Butcher Little sister of perennial Monkey favorite Cochon, Cochon Butcher serves sandwiches, small plates and wine, but the real meat is, well, the meat. Everything from head cheese to duck pastrami to salami and chorizo is made in house and delicious. The pickles were awesome too.

Hansen's Sno-Bliz A definite for summer in New Orleans, Hansen's has been around since 1939. Ernest Hansen actually patented his machine for shaving ice which makes a particularly delicate flake. I got the Banana flavor, and apparently, the locals can tell whether or not you're a local from the flavor you order. Banana was a dead giveaway. The line forms out the door quickly.

Perino's Boiling Pot Out in the West Bank but worth the drive, Perino's serves up tasty seafood. Because it's on the West Bank where the fishermen come in, the seafood is technically fresher than in New Orleans proper. We ate 15 pounds of crawfish, 3 dozen oysters, fried soft shell crab and alligator all for a price you'd never find in the Quarter.

Elizabeth's Elizabeth's features homey mugs (see slideshow above), a tasty brunch and enormous biscuits. Specialties such as Red Neck Eggs, Cajun Bubble & Squeak and a drink called the Corpse Reviver keep things interesting.

Some non-perishable items:

The Front Check out Seth Boonchai's work, "Between the Searching and the Need to Work it Out" showing at The Front through July 5. Or find out more about Seth's work here.

Riverfront Redevelopment A cool project is about to be underway at the Mandeville Wharf to turn it into a really great public space. It's part of the Reinventing the Crescent Master Plan. More information at Eskew+Dumez+Ripple.

The Fried Chicken Diaries

So, living in the south, you would think that golden, crispy fried chicken is on every street corner. Even hangs off fried chicken trees. Not the case. Other than the usual chains – Popeye's and KFC – the only other place that treats fried chicken as a specialty takes the skin off. Blasphemy! So, with some shame, I have never eaten at Willie Mae's Scotch House in New Orleans. I know, I know. You thought better of me than that. Well, this injustice has been rectified, and my first meal there will not be my last. The crust is crispy and perfectly seasoned (tasting faintly of bacon) and the chicken moist. If you want to keep it real, get the dark meat and the butter beans. Normally, I dislike butter beans, but I love them at Willie Mae's. Mr. Loaf and I went down to hang out with friends and check out Prospect 1 New Orleans, which was awesome. But more on that later.

Sazerac Declared Official Cocktail Of New Orleans

From NPR. Read the full story here.

The Louisiana House of Representatives made a historic decision Monday: In a 62-33 vote, legislators proclaimed the Sazerac — the famed mix of rye whiskey, bitters and absinthe that originated in the bayou — New Orleans' official cocktail.

The drink's origins date back to the 1830s, when a Creole apothecary named Antoine Peychaud concocted a potent recipe at his pharmacy in the French Quarter. Peychaud combined his family's secret recipe for bitters with cognac and began serving the drink to friendss

Moonshine

So, here I'll elaborate on our Cochon moonshine experience mentioned in the previous post. Cochon offers four different ones. We sampled the Catdaddy which was purported to be the most drinkable. We were told that one other was not as good, and the last two were described as high alcohol content and pretty rough. The Catdaddy was surprisingly drinkable. Almost too drinkable. It had a very floral aroma and a taste that was hard to put a finger on, but we all enjoyed. It seemed a little like honey, but not overly sweet. Piedmont Distillers in North Carolina is the maker of Catdaddy, and according to their web site they don't really like to say what's added to it. However, our waiter said it was vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg.

I say almost too drinkable, because it still has a substantial alcohol content, and after a few sips you can feel it in your legs. So watch out. It's for sippin' not shootin'. Cochon also has a cocktail whose name escapes me that is Catdaddy and Abita root beer. We mixed our own at the table and it was good, but we actually preferred the straight stuff.

I was curious about legal distillation of moonshine, because I had thought that it was illegal across the board. From the Piedmont Distillers web site:

Real moonshine comes in two "flavors" - legal and illegal. The essential difference is taxed and one is not.

You can go into most any liquor store and buy moonshine such as Georgia Moon Corn Whiskey, Platte Valey Corn Whiskey or Catdaddy. The federal tax on a gallon of whiskey is $15.50.

It is legal to own a still; you can buy one online for less than $800. If you want to produce any alcohol in your still, you need a federal permit. Under the alternative fules law, you can make up to 10,000 gallons a year of ethanol, which can power engines when mixed with gasoline.

"Yes, you can have a still, but it must be permitted and you can produce spirits for fuel use only," said Art Resnick, director of public and media affairs for the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau of the U.S. Treasury Department. "Let's make this perfectly clear: It's illegal to make moonshine, which is untaxed spirits."

Even if a person wanted to make moonshine at home and pay federal taxes, it's not that simple. It requires a federal distiller's license and is cost-prohibitive for anything other than a business."

48 Hours In New Orleans

Here are the high points. More later.

1. As many parts of the pig as possible and moonshine at Cochon (see above).

2. Handmade marshmallows and the hot white chocolate & lavender I almost had at Sucre.

3. eat.shop new orleans guidebook. All locally owned businesses.

4. Oysters and a beer list as long as my arm at Cooter Brown's.

5. Ambrotypes and alumitypes at the Photo Alliance.

6. Breakfast and pastries from the Cake Man.

7. The Frenchman Hotel. Small, not too pricey, nice people, far enough away from the Quarter, close to fun stuff on Frenchman Street.

8. Satsuma & Fennel gelato and San Pellegrino Chinotto at La Divina.

Savory

Had a great dinner at Luke, one of John Besh's restaurants. The highlight was the Choucroute Maison consisting of kielbasa, pork belly, knuckles, and one other pork product I can't remember atop kraut. The menu is a little French and a little Austrian. Everything we ate was excellent and the service was really good as well – European style where they don't bug you every five minutes, and you can linger as long as you want.

On our way out of town we stopped at Theo's Pizza for lunch because it smelled good. We were rewarded with a cracker-thin crust. The Eccentric: olive oil, garlic, spinach, feta, pepper-jack, mozzarella, chicken, jalapeños, yellow squash, spicy tomatoes, and Anaheim peppers.

Also, I neglected to put Adolfo's on my previous post of New Orleans Top Ten places to eat. I apologize to the food gods for such an oversight.

Sweet

Made a trip to New Orleans over the holiday weekend and ate at all new places. Restaurants and ice cream parlors seem to be sprouting up like crazy there. For chocolates and patisserie, we tried Sucre on Magazine. Can't speak for the pastries, but the chocolates are wonderful. Flavors pictured are Port, Avery (caramel and salt), PB&J, and Chinese Five Spice.

Had gelato at La Divina a couple doors down. Interesting flavor combinations. We had: Asian pear & ginger, watermelon & Sambuca, Earl Grey tea, plum & Beaujolais.

Fry Me a River

The one good thing about Food Network is Alton Brown, and the new season of Feasting on Asphalt has placed him in my neck of the woods. He's traveling up the Mississippi River starting in Louisiana and moving north. It's fun to see what places he finds or doesn't find. I did discover a fried chicken joint that even I was unaware of in Lorman, Mississippi. Alton swore it was the best fried chicken he ever had. I'm there.

I was a bit concerned, however, that his experience in New Orleans wasn't all it could've been. He spent the first part of the show trying to locate a locals place (he never said the name), but was unsuccessful. He ended up eating across the street from where he stood. So, Alton, if you're out there, here's my New Orleans Top 10 Hi & Lo:

Hi
1. Stella
2. Restaurant August
3. Cochon
4. Herbsaint
5. Jacques-Imo's

Lo
6. Pho Tau Bay
7. Mimi's in the Marigny
8. Sugar Park Tavern
9. Bacchanale on Sunday nights
10. Angelo Brocato's