Wandered back over to Yvette Marie’s a couple of times last week for lunch. I’m really digging their menu, the sweet mango iced tea, and the easy atmosphere of being around all the original art and old artifacts of Circa 1857 and all the original art and brand new artifacts of Mosaic Garden across the courtyard/parking lot. First and foremost, the food. There’s a lot to like about this menu, mostly the fresh, high quality ingredients. Dressing the sandwiches with spring mix and using it for salads is a plus. Soup/salad/sandwich can be done heavy handed, or performed with grace and style. Yvette Marie’s has an abundance of grace and style. I went with half a chicken salad sandwich on wheat berry bread paired with their version of a Sensation that has a creamy sensation dressing along with the spring mix, candied pecans, and blue cheese crumbles. Great combination and a great pick me up on a viciously hot summer day in Baton Rouge.
Now all food has to look, smell, taste, and feel good to be successful, but I think the visual is more important and more difficult in salads. You cannot be ham handed in the pantry. So much depends upon the right balance and arrangement of all the elements and adding just the right amount of dressing. You can power out on grill or fry, but sautée and pantry both require touch and a good eye. Yvette Marie’s is staffed by pros. Here’s another example, a quarter muff with their new potato salad. The shaved ham was excellent with the perfect balance of cheese and olive mix and salami inside the pressed muffaletto bun. The new potato salad was smooth and spicy.
After lunch I managed this score at Circa 1857:
The painting is by Christopher Stafford, and he has several more pieces at Circa. And I’m pretty sure you all recognize the guy on the album cover. Mosaic Garden has many local artists on display as well, along with a good bit of jewelry, some new age scents and lotions, some high end sun hats and windchimes. and some four dollar stones and crystals that I can never resist.
And here’s the stone I went home with. I’m thinking I’m going to see a lot of Yvette Marie’s this summer. Great food, sweet tea, and cool art.
