Month: April 2019

What’s not to like about a place where the walls are literally covered with original art in that bold, surreal Day of the Dead style? A place where the salsa is served warm with fresh chips? A place where as soon as you take your seat ZZ Ward’s Move It Like You Stole It starts playing?

Oh, and the place also has a wonderful water feature out on the patio, along with a bedazzled motor bike.

The only caution I’ll share with you is that some of the flavors are just as bold as the decor. I went with the combination dinner #4 Happy Gilmore only in part because the Master’s was playing on all the television screens but mostly for the choice of one enchilada, two tacos, and two sides. I went with the shrimp enchilada, the brisket taco, and the fried fish taco with Spanish rice and refried beans. I also tacked on a pork tamale, not because I thought I could finish that all in one sitting, but because I wanted to try as much different food as I could.

The enchilada was very nice, the rice and beans pretty much what you would expect, but the tacos and tamale turned out to be a walk on the wild side. The tamale was covered in mole and that is such a complex recipe that you either like the version you get or you don’t. I wasn’t crazy about this one, but not because there was anything at all wrong with it, it just didn’t win me over. Also a mole will kind of dominate and mask the pork and masa. I’d recommend asking for the mole on the side until you know how much you like it and how much you want to put on your tamale. Same kind of thing with the tacos. The horseradish cream sauce on the brisket taco was almost straight horseradish and burned out any hint of brisket or fried onions and cilantro. Easily remedied with bit of plate surgery, scraping off the extra sauce. The brisket, when finally revealed, was very good. Don’t really know if that was a prep screw up or the way they intended but–sauce on the side, please. Same problem, different flavor with the fish taco. They marinated the sliced red onion garnish in lime juice and it was like biting straight into a lime. Again, plate surgery, pull the onions off and the taco was fine. There are a number of really interesting items on the menu. A shrimp ceviche, a Mayan quesadilla with” Pork Pibil with jalapeno and Pepper Jack cheese and grilled pineapple relish Served with a side of BBQ dipping sauce”, and a number of other mix and match combos to try along with a full range of fajitas. I’m not weighing in on their margaritas because it was a lunch visit and a margarita would be a bit too bold a move for me, even at Friday lunch. But don’t let me scare you off the place. At least hit it for the wonderful art and atmosphere and to check out the margaritas. I certainly will.

I know, I know. It’s not there anymore. Indulge me, please. Just because it’s gone does not mean it’s forgotten. I know I’m not the only one who misses this place. The Library Special, the muffaletta, the 20 oz Beast in a waxed paper cup for a dollar on Fridays out on the porch .

Not to mention the thousands of games of pool, or foosball, or ping pong with someone always wandering over to the jukebox to play tunes for everyone else. This place was the bomb, and we can only hope that someone who misses it terribly will go all in on trying to recreate that vibe Joe Anselmo perfected, then sold, then bought back, then sold again. If it hurts too bad you can wander down the street to the Chimes and recreate the Bleu Boy. Just order the roast beef and ask for a side of bleu cheese dressing.

Here’s another blast from the past: The Chimes is using the old front door to let people into the dining room while construction continues on their rooftop bar. You need to go to the Varsity entrance to get to the bar area. Rumor has it they’ll be done with the project by mid-summer.

And here’s a shot of the wonderful hill across from the bayou that was packed with party animals and real dogs wearing bandannas and chasing Frisbees.

And in the overwhelming spirit of this trip down memory lane–here’s a brand new poem about an old love of mine.

Sue Ellen

I still dream of you

forty years down this long,

very long, and very bumpy road

Obviously not you now,

I don’t know you now,

and now that I’m older,

I wonder how much I knew you then

Especially when you blew me that night

in your parent’s den–I was terrified

but you were bold and wicked and loved

not me, necessarily, but certainly the risk

So I’m never sure if I know anyone at all,

especially me, why do I do what I do?

And who would we be together?

I can sleep with you in my head at night,

but could I still handle you in my bed? in

my car? across the table?

Last night we were on a plane going somewhere

and a bad guy tried to abduct you. He distracted

the attendants and was pulling you from the plane

when I caught you both and he would not quit smiling

as I punched him as hard and fast as I could in a dream

and I could not stop beating him because you were gone

and I never know whether I will see you again

even if it is only a dream

Stopped by Mansurs for a soup/app lunch. I went with the duck and shrimp egg rolls and the duck and sausage gumbo. Both very good. The egg rolls were crisply fried and tangy inside, as were both sauces. The gumbo was the perfect compliment. Very rich, very deep flavor profile. I did deal with a trainee and her trainer on the service end though. As you can tell from my foodie pic, the trainee has yet to master the art of serving a soup dish from a tray without a tray stand.

At one point I was certain the entire bowl of gumbo was going to land in my lap, which certainly would be quite the downer, but she managed to get it on the table one handed, even if she did leave a flood ring around the bowl. Trainees are a fact of every work environment, and while we need to help and encourage them, more than one person coming to your table is almost like two cops approaching your car. Definitely one more than you wanted or needed. Enough about the service (though I could go on for hours about trainees) Mansurs has a way with duck, which obviously influenced my soup/app decision. The warm duck salad is fantastic, and although I’ve yet to try the twice roasted boneless duckling, it is very high on my list. I always direct those who don’t want to cook their own duck to Mansurs. There are a lot of different directions to go with a soup/app combo lunch, especially at Mansurs. I’m thinking hard about pairing the seafood stuffed mushrooms with their famous crab and brie soup for instance. Here’s a parting shot. Literally, I was leaving when I snapped this pic.

Here we go. Fresh crawfish tails, your favorite boxed rice, chicken broth, green onions. Dump the first three in the rice maker, swish it all around, throw the switch. Tell Alexa,Alexa, set a crawfish rice timer for thirty minutes. Go read a book, watch tv, do laundry, do Facebook or your nails. When it’s done, sprinkle liberally with green onions. Voila! dinner.

Forget everything I’ve ever said about style and ambiance. Sometimes all you need is a very, very good sammich. These guys do one of the best ham and cheese poboys I’ve ever had. The only one I really remember being better than is the one I used to get at Watson Grocery when our base of operations for LeGrange Catering was out on Hwy 16. And that was mainly because they used a par-baked French bread that they would run in the oven that morning before they made sandwiches. Bread is certainly central to a good poboy, but balance is necessary as well. The right amount of lettuce. Tomatoes sliced to just the right thickness. A pro slapping the mayo on both sides of the bun. Serious ham. The right cheese. The only one I can think of right off hand that’s as good as is at Logan Farms on S. Sherwood. Whichever one is closer will do. So Po-Boy Express does everything right. The bread is always soft and chewy. Probably due to the high volume they do. So you never get that bread that turns to dust in your mouth and will choke you if you breathe in at the wrong time. And they have fried okra or fried mushrooms as sides. I love fried okra and the only other place I know to go get it is Elsie’s Plate and Pie on Government. They didn’t have any today, so I went with the fried mushrooms. Very good.

The servers are friendly and don’t get rattled, even though the counter is pretty busy with people trying to order, people picking up their order when their number is called, a hot drive thru business, and Waitr drivers filing in one after the other. You can always tell a pro from a rookie just by the look on their face. Calm, focused like they hear their favorite song in their head as they go about their business as opposed to that total deer in the headlights I need to run to the bathroom and smoke six cigarettes or I’m going to pass out look that rookies always wear. This isn’t the only place around that does poboys, but they do them better than almost everyone else.

Before you even get to the pizza’s and hoagies, Rocca pulls you in with their style and atmosphere, something a lot of places don’t pay nearly enough attention to, or shortchange everyone to save a few bucks. A carafe of water at the table, original art on the walls, a non-traditional water glass–all of these things cost money, but they also show the owner cares about the environment he’s sharing with you. In a world of “good enough” any attempt to be better counts a lot.

The owner’s Pandora playlist is jazzy and bluesy and you can tell the Rocca intent from this giant Ray Charles mural.

On to the food. The pizza is traditional Neapolitan–hand tossed and wood-fired. The hoagies come out with crispy bread and very Italian stuffing enhanced by the local ingredients from Iverstine Farms and Maggie’s Mushrooms to name two of my favorites. (Rocca doesn’t beat you over the head with the farm to table theme, but they did name their meat lover’s pizza The Iverstine and they have a low key chalk board by the front door listing and thanking local suppliers.) The pepperoni pizza was lean and mean, with just enough marinara and mozzarella to compliment the fresh fired dough and pepperoni. And yes, a lot of pepperoni. It has a folding style crust, not super bready and certainly not board stiff so you really need to carefully fold each slice or lose toppings.

If I only had one word to sum up Rocca, that word would be commitment. They commit to the food. They commit to the guest. They commit to the space. “Good enough” isn’t good enough for Rocca.

The true beauty of Soji is that you know there will always be something new and exciting there for you to try. This place is the exact opposite of same old, same old. I still haven’t worked all the way through the exotic cocktails menu. But I am giving it my best shot!

This was a great cocktail, but I have to admit the burnt rosemary garnish connected by a tiny clothespin was the most fascinating thing about it. Congratulations to whoever came up with that presentation! And of course I had to ask after the Vietnamese Crawfish appetizer I saw advertised last weekend on Facebook. Luckily it hadn’t gone away. Where most Louisiana powdered boils have a strong element of clove and fenugreek and cayenne, these were dominated by lemongrass and chili peppers and garnished with onions, garlic, butter, and cilantro. A bit different, but cooked perfectly, easy peel, salt was spot on, so a thoroughly enjoyable snack.

I wonder why there aren’t more obvious similarities between Vietnamese and Louisiana cuisine. Both are delta cultures with a lot of rice paddies. Both were dominated by the French at different points in history. Not sure whether this interpretation of crawfish is native or just another wrinkle in the Pan-Asian inventiveness these guys excel at, but you can rest assured, you have not heard the last from me about Soji: Modern Asian.

This is an easy dish to make as long as you can afford the trout. They don’t give it away at Whole Foods or anywhere else for that matter. Lucky you if you caught a few or were gifted some fillets, fresh or frozen, but if you love speckled trout, rank it with your very favorite fish, local restaurants are going to disappoint you because they only run it as a special and not very often. And it is a lot cheaper to cook it at the house. Now this is an excellent fish to deep fry, and it holds up well on the grill as long as you’re careful with it. If you are planning on grilling it, freezing it for one day will firm up the meat and make it less likely to fall apart on you. But I prefer to pan fry it. You can do that with or without batter.

I like to use a little roasted garlic olive oil to keep the butter from burning. Chunk cut the fish, season it and sear it in the pan. Before you get to that stage though, you want to get the mushroom rice going. I learned and loved mushroom rice when I was a kid in my teens. Cut up a pound of mushrooms, a bunch of green onions, open one can of Campbell’s cream of mushroom, one of beef broth, fill one of the cans with long grain white rice, mix it all in a Pyrex dish and bake it in the oven for forty-five minutes to an hour. Once I bought a rice maker, I moved on from that. Now I use a boxed product with beef broth instead of water and get my mushrooms from the Farmers Market and sautée them with some chopped garlic and red onion before putting it all in the machine and pressing the button. I’ve been happy with the results.

I know a lot of people love the ribs at TJ’s, and some people are into the steaks, but a couple of years back I went with some friends for happy hour and we got the sampler plate with ribs, brisket, sausage, and bbq chicken, and I was really impressed with the chicken. BBQ is a hard thing to sell all day. It takes a lot of time to cook, and it’s hard to hold it on line without drying it out. You see ribs a lot of places because they reheat quickly and you can make up for any dryness by wrapping the ribs in foil and saucing them heavily then popping them in the oven. That’s also one of the reasons that wings and boneless skinless chicken breasts have taken over the menu from bone in chicken (except fried of course, and even that is starting to be dominated by “tenders”} so finding a really good half chicken somewhere has gotten kind of tough. There’s Jay’s, and Podnah’s, and Sonny’s, and whoever has the shack on Government this week, and there’s a lot to be said for all of their ribs and brisket, but chicken that still has some juice to it is a rare find. I suspect that TJ’s has found a workaround in sous vide. That’s where you brine the chicken first to get some extra flavor in, then seal it in a plastic bag and bring it up to temp in water. Kind of like boil in bag, but you never actually come to a boil. You can hold whatever it is almost indefinitely, then take it out of the bag and finish it on the grill or in the oven, sauce it and serve it. Not sure that’s what TJ’s does, or if they have some other magic at play, but the result is outstanding.

TJ’s underwent a renovation about a year ago and they transformed from a kind of almost upper end, country club style to a straight up sports bar with a lot of draft beer and TV’s. Luckily they hung on to all the memorabilia, including Billy Cannon’s Heisman, so I think they did exactly what they hoped to do–update the setting for the younger crowd without alienating the old folks. By now the old folks have probably internalized the changes and think the place always looked that way. Here’s a peek inside the new TJ’s.

When I saw they had changed the Friday fried pork chop special to fried fish for Lent, I just had to check it out. That’s their picture on top. Mine below. I guess I’m always looking for an excuse to hit Phil Brady’s for lunch because it reminds me of going over to the Bayou as soon as the lunch shift was over at The Gumbo Place (whether I was on schedule for a double that night or not} and just hanging at the bar with a Bud, or High Life, or PBR waiting for someone else to show so we could shoot pool. Back when I used to work at The Chimes, people would come in and talk about how they remembered going to The Chimes back in ’68 or ’69. I’d never bother to tell them that it was still a drugstore then, that they were conflating Chimes with Magoo’s or The Library or The Bayou or The Gumbo Place. Maybe even The Brass Rail and The Bengal and The White Horse. In a way, all those cool dark bars are portals to the past. Times we’re desperate to remember, and also times we’re glad are long gone. Hard to think of any place better to deep dive into nostalgia than a bar stool in a bar that reminds you of a bar that you used to know.