I dropped by to see Denton Hatcher and Molly Taylor play (Molly didn’t make it that night, bummer, but Denton held his own) and I saw enough good stuff coming out of the kitchen that I went by for lunch. Haven’t tried the breakfast yet, but this is a really comfortable and laid back little joint with very interesting art on the walls. You know by now that I really get off on places that want to be a part of their neighborhood and build a community, and La Divina certainly ffits that bill.
I tried the La Rocca panini for lunch, thinking that it would bring me back to the Library Special from long ago. Was I wrong. The sauteed greens and gorgonzola and rare roast beef on excellent bread had a whole different vibe from the pub grub Library Special. Seriously, I have to think on how to work that greens and gorgonzola combo at home. And I followed up with a house made tiramisu gelato that really made my day. I want to do their breakfast, I want to try their pizza. I’d really like to work through the entire gelato menu. This is a place to be, and be well.
This dish started with a couple of shortcuts and add-ons and developed over time into something I felt really good about bringing to the first cool weather tailgate of the season. It seems like a lot of ingredients, but if you look close, most of that photo is made up of seasonings, and that’s a platform that is entirely up to the individual. The basics are boneless skinless chicken thighs browned with Frank’s Red Hot sauce, then add the chopped red onions and mushrooms and garlic while cooking it down some and seasoning as you go. I’ve got fresh basil and chives and sage and rosemary, so I make a sachet to toss in with the bay leaves and go with white and black pepper, salt and Tony’s and some rubbed sage. Like I said, you can take that profile wherever you want. Once the veggies are tender, I double up on the McCormick country gravy, two packets to two cups of chicken broth and once that’s thickened and bubbling, I add ten Pillsbury biscuits quartered and a can of petit pois peas, then put the lid on the pot and toss it in the oven at 300° for about 15 minutes (long enough to shower and dress in my LSU gear) then transfer it to my Stanley 3 quart container and head off to campus. Geaux Tigers!
Some places you know you’re eating well. Some places you know you’re eating healthy. Some places you’re just refueling, or grabbing a quick bite, or getting some down home goodness, or the chef is excellent, the food exquisite, the lighting, the music, the wine are all superb. But every now and then you find a place where you just want to chow down. Where you wish you would never get full so you could eat everything the kitchen has to offer. That’s the way I feel about Blue Corn. I want everything on the menu, right here, right now. And I’ve accepted the fact that whatever I order, I also have to get a taco lengua, almost like an obligatory appetizer to go with whatever else I want to try. Today I went with the house enchiladas that came with carne asada and roasted carrots and potatoes. The steak was like a side of bacon with an omelet. The enchiladas were wonderful, and the roasted carrots and potatoes with onion and queso fresco were incredible. There’s so much more to explore here. Can’t wait to return.
If you don’t know where this place is, you could easily drive right by it. They’ve been around a long time, part of that older generation of seafood restaurants that includes Mike Anderson’s and Ralph & Kacoo’s. Way, way back they had a seafood market next to the restaurant and, at the time, they served up the best boiled crawfish in the city by far. Now there’s no signage, no advertising, no billboards–not gone, not quite forgotten, but sometimes hard to remember it’s a place you need to stop by.
The interior is not run down at all, but it still suffers a bit from that old school generic feel, kind of like the inside of a McMansion where they hired an interior decorator looking for their home to make it into a local magazine or newspaper. There are some nice pieces on the walls, but the quality and originality isn’t consistent, and the good pieces seem lost in a sea of so-so pieces. The staff, however, has been there and done that, and you know right away you’re in a real seafood restaurant in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and that you’ve come to the right place, darlin’. But I’m pretty sure the place wouldn’t still be around if the food didn’t continue to carry the show. Water and hushpuppies from the backwaiter hitting the table as soon as you’ve placed your order definitely reinforces the old school practice of taking care of guests and making them feel at home.
I was almost diverted from my purpose when I saw the stuffed flounder on the special board (Drusilla still has that stuffing that has a hint of herbs like sage and tarragon which most stores have abandoned over the years for Tony’s and black pepper) but I stuck with my decision to go get a shrimp remoulade from Drusilla Seafood as the heat fell from 95 to 85. When summer finally starts to let go I do want to cook gumbo, but I also think of everything I should have ordered this summer and didn’t, thus, shrimp remoulade. I don’t think there will ever be a remoulade as good as the one that didn’t make it back onto the menu at Pinetta’s when they reopened. The sliced green olives and red onions and jumbo boiled shrimp sliced in half lengthwise and the marvelous dressing garnished with horseradish sauce will always be there in my dreams, but somehow wasn’t included when they brought back most of the old menu. This one was good though, fresh boiled 70/90 shrimp, mixed greens with romain, purple cabbage, and carrots, and a milder non-mustard sauce that went well with the greens as well as the shrimp. Often a problem with remoulade sauces, they work well with the shrimp but not the salad. This one worked, like everything else at Drusilla. If the place felt a bit haunted, that’s probably just me, or the proximity to All Saints Day.
When you do pancakes and grilled sausage for breakfast on game day, you’ve got a lot of options come Monday. Large order of Popeye’s red beans (with or without chicken) is one of the quickest ways to utilize the leftovers. Also you can add green onions at the house. The two things that are always missing when you do red beans at Popeye’s–sausage and green onions. Nice to have everything the way you want it.
Made it over to Mid City for their first ever brunch opening. They had some nice breakfast-y things on a special brunch menu, but the regular menu was available as well. Hard to beat a brat and an Urban South Oktoberfest at a beer garden in early October. It would have been a bit nicer if the weather was right to light up the outdoor fire box, but I’ll take what I can get, whenever I can get it.
I could go on and on all day about this place. I’m really happy with it, but ambiance in words isn’t easy to accomplish if you’re not talking about a shared experience. The only reason we can even follow Wordsworth is that we’ve seen enough movies and read enough books to at least imagine what he’s describing in his poems. Suffice to say, if you visit, you’ll get it. Here’s a pic of the star of Sunday’s show.
When I’m trying to lose a few pounds, or five, or fifteen–I like to plan when I’m going to fall of the wagon of healthy eating. We all know avoiding rice and sugar and bread and potatoes isn’t going to last forever, so I try to extend the number of good meals I eat in a row by planning on jumping off the wagon for something I love. That could be bread pudding, a huge bowl of pasta, or, in this instance, a pair of chili cheese dogs. The onions and the cheese aren’t all that bad, but processed meat, canned chili, and white bread hot dog buns are all bad actors. I did use Nathan’s Franks. So good. But I believe that if I plan a nice reward for chasing down a salad or two with dressing on the side, I’ll be less likely to fall for other traps. Cheers to chili cheese dogs!
There’s nothing more iconic in Baton Rouge than this pizza, with or without the anchovies. Easily the best pizza pie in town. And they have 6oz bottles of Coke. Great lunch outing. Every time.
I went there hoping to get the Ants Climbing Trees that I’ve been looking at for awhile now and just never got around to ordering before it left the menu. I thought the house made noodles would really provide some separation, but I didn’t stay disappointed. I got the Crispy Beef and was amazed that the honey/soy/sesame glaze actually did crisp up in the wok and add some crunch to the otherwise very tender beef. The bok choy, the pickled veggies and basmati all worked very well together. Every dish at Soji is an excellent surprise. (Beware the abundant chiles in this one though. They can be very challenging.)
Finally made it down the road to Cafe Mimi on Florida. Super friendly and enthusiastic staff. Counter service, then they bring everything out to your table and keep coming around to check on you. Nice to order and pay then settle in, but not be forgotten about just because they’ve already got the money. The menu isn’t extensive, but it does cover the basics. Pho and spring rolls and vermicelli bowls, plus they’re open for breakfast downtown, and they run a jambalaya and some Louisiana style poboys. I was actually thinking won ton soup and banh mi, but they had neither, so I went with the Shaking Beef and (of course) an iced Vietnamese tea. Very sharp flavors. Really nice.
I think what I like the most about the place though was how open and airy it was. I’m pretty sure the place used to be a bank lobby. Very high ceilings with drop fans and columns and they didn’t pack the place with tables. Also had some nice, light wall art, and a buddha shrine in the corner. I’m pretty sure I’ll hit it again, but I also saw another place on the way there, the T&T Cafe with milk teas, sushi, and poke that I’ll have to check out as well. Here’s a couple of interior shots.
