Yummers on food orleans

ready to roast: Susan Spicer's jalapeno roast pork

By foodorleans · September 4, 2011 · 2 Comments · 430 Views

Ah, September...I don't know what the weather's like where you are, but here in New Orleans, it's pretty darn wet. But once the rains of Lee move northeast, we should get some fall-like weather, topping out around 75 degrees! Practically winter. I'm always ready to do some roasting as soon as the major summer heat subsides, and I'm jumping the gun a little here, but with good reason. We're making this scrumptious jalapeno-roasted pork from Susan Spicer's wonderful cookbook, Crescent City Cooking, so we can use the leftovers in a Labor Day/Paul's Birthday jambalaya tomorrow. Hooray!

[two pork shoulders (double recipe) about to go in the oven]

Tagged with: WEATHER, juice, fall, orange, shoulder, rice, garlic, september, Pork, thyme, grits, roast, jalapeno, Yummers, spicer, susan

surprised by pie: Mother's

By foodorleans · June 9, 2010 · 0 Comments · 259 Views

Mother's is a New Orleans institution, famous for long lines, great grits, and heavenly baked ham. The first time I went there, I ordered a ham po-boy--the ham is what's touted on their sign, after all. But maybe I shouldn't have gone for the ham the first time. It's the most perfect ham sandwich in the world. The problem is that I can't order anything else on the menu. I'll try the jambalaya or red beans or grits that other people at my table order--and bless them for doing that--but I'm committed to the ham po-boy above all else.

This is it. I know it doesn't look like much, but trust me, it is the holy grail of ham sandwiches. The truth lies in the simplicity and honesty of the ingredients: shaved baked ham, shredded cabbage, mayonnaise, Creole mustard, pickles, and fresh French bread. The ham is slightly sweet, the cabbage has a PhD in crispness, and the mayo and mustard create a background chorus that Ray Charles would hire on the spot. I know I'm hyperbolic, but do you know that I would never get hyperbolic unless I felt it was my duty? Because I wouldn't, I promise you.

Tagged with: pie, mother's, greens, beans, ham, sweet potato, CBD, Yummers, po'boy, jambalaya, red beans

high standards, surpassed expectations, and getting a little awesome: Restaurant August

By foodorleans · May 2, 2010 · 0 Comments · 64 Views

I was talking to my friend Chana the other day about dining in New Orleans, and we have the same philosophy:

If you charge $5 for something, it doesn't have to be fantastic. Kudos to you if it is fantastic.
If you charge $40 or $50 for something, it better be awesome. It better not be something that I can taste and say, "You know, I think I could make this better."

We're just trying to get the best dollar-to-awesomeness ratio that we can, and in a city where the prices can be as high as diners' expectations of the food, that's important.

We went to August the other day for a celebratory family lunch (see #2, above). I've only been to one other John Besh restaurant, Luke, but I've been there a few times and enjoyed it. The food at Luke is not fine dining, but it's quality. August is in a different league of dining experiences, along with places like Stella!, Herbsaint, and Bayona, where you arrive expecting a fantastically prepared meal and usually leave shaking your head in disbelief of how good it truly was (see #2, above, again).

Tagged with: crab, restaurants, august, chocolate, Bass, luke, crepes, trout, oysters, crawfish, toffee, gnocchi, blackberries, macaroons, Yummers, john besh

fat and happy at mat and naddie's

By foodorleans · July 3, 2009 · 1 Comment · 42 Views

Guess what? I had a really good meal for my first birthday as a New Orleans resident (surprise, surprise). We went to a great little place in our neighborhood, Mat and Naddie's, which our neighbor Mark has been telling us we should visit for months. Mark was right--this place is a gem. I'm so glad it's in our neck of the woods.

The only cocktail I ever want to drink during a stifling New Orleans summer: the Pimm's Cup. I've been trying these at different locations to find my favorite. Mat and Naddie's was smooth, so I don't think they use ginger ale or 7-Up...maybe lemonade? The cucumbers always make me happy.

A nice sampling of olives, artichoke hearts, roasted peppers, and fresh mozzarella to nibble. Everything was marinated in olive oil and herbs.

This photo doesn't do justice to these fantastic oysters, on the menu as "Grilled Oysters with Brie Cream and Shiitake 'Bacon.'" That's right--they make a "bacon" out of sliced shiitake mushrooms, I can only guess, by cooking it low and slow in a skillet until it intensifies its shiitakiness and dries out a little, like a mushroom jerky. Or maybe this happens in the oven. There's also a little garlic and pecorino-romano action going on here.

My fabulous entree, "Spicy Tempura Fried Gulf Shrimp Tonkatsu." This is one of the most exciting dishes I've had in New Orleans. The shrimp are butterflied and coated in a light tempura batter, and somehow remained outside-crispy and inside-silky the whole time I was loving this dish. I didn't know what Tonkatsu meant, so I asked the waiter if this was a good item to order, and he said it was one of the best things on the menu, which I totally believe. Apparently, Tonkatsu is a Japanese combination of fried pork served with something crunchy, like cabbage, and a sweet-spicy sauce. Mat and Naddie's serves their seafood version with a fresh bok choy slaw, sticky jasmine rice, and a sauce--it's one of the best sauces I've ever tasted--of red chile and a deep, complex sweetness, maybe plum, maybe lemongrass, a small piece of sun for brightness, a drop of dew from the Garden of Eden? I will meet this sauce again.

Paul's "Grilled Filet Mignon with Smoked Marrow Compound Butter." Nice. It looks like Paul was eating in another restaurant because this photo was taken with flash. But he wasn't! He was sitting across the table from me! Thank goodness, because I really wanted to taste this, and he was kind enough to let me. Rosemary steak fries (not too exciting), but (continuing from the menu description) "wilted greens and a Maytag blue cheese and bacon buerre rouge." ?!? Please, sir, I'd like some more. While the potatoes were a little too basic to stand up to the rest of the plate, the rest of the plate was divine: a smart combination of beefy, winey, tart, creamy, burgundy, and leafy.

Sorry to say we couldn't squeeze in a dessert to show you. I would've done it too, because I was so impressed with everything else I ate that night. To all my friends: come visit already, so you can go here too!

Tagged with: seafood, Birthday, shrimp, steak, oysters, Yummers, riverbend, mat and naddie's, pimm's cup

virgin no longer: a seafood love story

By foodorleans · October 10, 2008 · 0 Comments · 47 Views

I'm an Oklahoma girl, born and raised, so it should be understandable that I never had much occasion to sample raw oysters. There is a popular oyster bar, P&J Oyster Co., in Tulsa's Brookside (near my stomping grounds), which my dad visited occasionally, but when the family went, I only ordered fried shrimp. I should admit here that I was fifteen or sixteen before I could even abide the texture of shrimp.

But after a few years of eating shrimp, I palated scallops, then lobster, then clam strips. Then I tasted my first fried clams "with bellies"--the whole animal--at Cape Cod. After those, I was hooked on all the secret, dark wonders of the fruits of the sea.

I became a sort of sushi wunderkind. I craved mussels, relished snails, and devoured squid. And now, I can slosh oysters down with all of you. Order up.

My de-flowering experience took place at Felix's Oyster Bar in the French Quarter--romantically, also the place where my Paul had his first raw oysters (though he was ten years old--what a pro!). The oysters were so juicy, cold, and fresh; they tasted like the sun-drenched air above the seawater. That's the best way I can think of to describe it.

I'm still quite a fan of all the different cooked-oyster treats I get to sample here in New Orleans. At Felix's, I had my first serving of Oysters Rockefeller, with their casserole-like spinach topping, and Oysters Bienville (left side of plate), which has a rich, custardy sauce. Serious yummers. (Check out John Folse's Bienville recipe here: http://www.jfolse.com/recipes/seafood/oyster06.htm)

What also happened: turtle soup. Gosh.

Note: I'd like to ladle on some advice to all you raw oyster-eaters trying to convince non raw oyster-eaters to try them. Don't say anything about texture. If you can eat steak, you can eat an oyster. I was shy for way too long due to texture comments. That's all.