Can’t get much more old school than a ham and cheese and a hot or mild sausage poboy on the menu. Poor Boy Lloyd’s has been downtown forever, and they pride themselves on doing everything the old way. There’s a cashier booth at the front with lottery tickets for sale along with candy and gum and you can walk up and tell them what you had and they will ring you up right there if your waitress is too swamped to get you your ticket in a timely fashion. They offer breakfast and the usual plate lunches with a lot of fried seafood dishes thrown in, but they are first and foremost about their sandwiches and poboys. I got the mild smoked sausage poboy because they’re not that easy to find anymore. Really good. And since I had the chance to get a side of rice and gravy, I got that instead of fries or onion rings. Good debris gravy, so I’m pretty sure their roast beef poboy rocks too. I’m about to go on a meatball poboy tear, so I think I’ll throw these guys on the list along with Rocca’s, Po-boy Express, and Anthony’s Deli. Maybe Phil’s Seafood as well since they do more than just talk a good Italian game. Coming soon.
Started the night with a happy hour Envie and cheese curds at Overpass Merchant. Really enjoy talking shop with the bar staff there. We share where we’ve been and where we’re going and what we think would or wouldn’t work in BR. I floated my idea of a Spanish place with lots of local seafood tapas and five different house sangrias and while they all agree it would be fun and people would go there, none of us thought it likely to happen. We were all excited for the upcoming opening of Bumsteers on Perkins where Crispy Catch was after Kean’s Dry Cleaning bugged out.
I really love the cheese curds at Merchant. They are flash fried with a crispy light batter that just warms the cheese through without turning it into dairy napalm. Said bye to everyone and caught an Uber downtown to Bengal Tap Room to continue the celebration of the end of the work week.
The tap room is a good place to aim your Uber downtown because they have a great draft lineup and are just enough outside the traffic snarl of downtown events to get you out of your Uber and on the streets as quick as possible. Don’t get me wrong, I really get into talking with Uber drivers and seeing how they’re doing and all. It’s funny, but the short window of an Uber ride seems to free up the conversation. Kind of like speed dating, but without even that much commitment. After a pint of Jucifer I headed down 3rd to Galvez Plaza to check out the Chris LeBlanc Band.
That’s an old friend from the service industry on drums, Joey Breland. The band rocked it, and it was a beautiful evening. I don’t know who came up with the Live After Five concept, I know I went to my first one down in Lafayette, but it is a very satisfying event. To see so many people outside, putting their cares aside, groovin’ to the music with a beer in hand and Jambalaya by Shake in their belly is just a good thing. The other thing about Live After Five is seeing all the kids playing on their phones, and in the little playground they set up behind the stage, and all the dogs and all the kids playing with the dogs. Not something you normally encounter watching live music indoors at a bar. And maybe that is the key to a festival atmosphere, whether it’s a state fair or a company crawfish boil, but events with all generations in attendance just seem to be a much fuller experience. Alas, it was over too soon so I headed back down 3rd to The Gregory in The Watermark Hotel.
Normally I don’t lead with a bathroom shot, but this is another instance of someone dropping some pretty serious coin to make you feel better about being in their place. Normal practice for upper end hotels, but so much more effective than billboards in my opinion. When you are trying to build clientele, I would think at a certain point you would turn most of your advertising budget to retention. Just seems like so much more bang for your buck, but that is just my opinion. The Gregory has all the upscale trappings, but since it’s a hotel bar, there’s no real dress code. Festival gear is fine at the bar. I got into another good conversation with a guy from New York passing through on business. We talked about Tiger in the Masters and I pointed him towards Soji and Elsie’s as great new Baton Rouge restaurants. We talked a bit about the different regional cuisines in the US. I had a conversation with the barkeep as well about Carmo on Julia Street in New Orleans where they don’t use simple syrup at all in their mojitos and she assured me she didn’t like overly sweet drinks either then served up this beauty.
The Watermark also has some very interesting art and a wine room that would probably be a great place for a rehearsal dinner if you know anyone that’s getting married anytime soon. It seems like it would also be a great place for the wedding party for an interstate marriage since there are so many churches downtown and both Capitol buildings, and the river is right there in walking distance which is very convenient for folks flying in from out of state.
I felt like I had one more stop left in me before I was done for the evening so I wandered over to Cocha on 6th St for another Envie and a late snack of Thai Curried Mussels made with “leek, fennel, lager, red curry, and coconut milk” and they were quite delicious.
The owner Enrique was at the bar since it wasn’t a very busy night due to Live After Five complicating traffic and pretty much keeping his clientele away. We talked about the underrated influence of Spanish cuisine on Louisiana culture and together sketched an idea for a jambalaya that would move closer to its paella roots. Maybe ham and shrimp and pork belly with a saffron base that was cooked much quicker than our jambalaya. You have to think that the original Cajun jambalaya was a slow cook because it was probably a way to use and stretch the old hens that had quit laying as well as the tougher meats of whatever else was available like squirrel and rabbit all of which do best low and slow. The Creole tomato based version is a lot closer to the Spanish paella than the country style. Enrique wanted to know how I knew about Cocha and I gave all the credit to a pair of sisters I know and love who stay gluten free and love Cocha not just because the food is very tasty, but also because it is mostly organic and locally sourced and dishes that are vegan and gluten free are easily identified on the menu. And of course it has become a place for me because they have original art and host poetry readings and art shows and I really enjoy having all the things I like under one roof.
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
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.
