Eat Drink Nola

It's Official! I've Moved!

2011-06-01T08:21:00.000-07:00

I've finally packed up the last of my words and have moved permanently to my new blog:

Do It Yo' Damn Self

Don't forget to update your readers and/or sign up to get weekly posts sent to your inbox.

We've got a good thing going, you and I. Let's keep it up.

Paz afuera,

Annie.

How to Help Nathaniel Zimet

2011-05-25T14:41:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know about the unfortunate events of Sunday morning, Boucherie Chef, Nathaniel Zimet, was shot three times in an attempted robbery. Go here for the full story.

I want to start a directory of sorts of ways we can help. So far all I know about is the Pizza Delicious offer to donate 20% of this week's profits (they operate Thursday and Sunday nights). If you haven't tried Pizza Delicious yet, this would be the week to do it.

Please use the comments section to post info on other fundraising events.

Southern Food & Beverage Museum

2011-05-23T19:59:00.000-07:00

Quick note: after this post, I will only be broadcasting from my new blog: Do It Yo' Damn Self. I was insane to think I could maintain two blogs and a freelance writing career. I will still be posting about local food events in the Louisiana Love Story category, so look for them there.

Earlier this month we were able to stick the bean with a babysitter in order to hit up the World Cocktail Week Celebration at the Southern Food & Beverage Museum. This was my first time to the museum, and had I not been preoccupied with sampling every single drink, I would have spent more time oggling the vintage barware. I also hadn't realized that the museum is on the Riverwalk, so we were able to wander out onto a balcony with our drinks to watch the swollen Mississippi encroach on dry land.

But, like I said, it was all about the drinks. After sampling each one, we were deadlocked in a tie for #1 between two lovely bartenders and their respective libations.

In this corner....Christine Jeanine Nielsen of Loa:

Her offering, Sunshine, was a mix of cucumber vodka, yellow chartreuese, honey syrup, and housemade cucmber skin bitters.

In the other corner we had Star Hodgson, an independent bartender available for hire (ask me for her contact info):

Her drink was dubbed Poplin & Lace and was a mix of St Germain, gin, lime juice, orange bitters, pernod, and topped off with foamed egg whites.

Menu Released for Party in the Garden. TONIGHT!

2011-05-16T09:14:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned last week, tonight’s event at Hollygrove Market is going to be OFF THE HOOK. I just have a feeling. Check out the planned offerings and try and tell me you’re not titillated:

Bayona

- Cold Asian Noodle Salad with Shitakes and Ichiban Eggplant

Boucherie

- Blueberry Gazpacho with Beet and Tuna Ceviche, Red Potato Chips

Blackberry Specialty Cocktail

Crescent Pie and Sausage Co.

- Corn Maque Choux (vegetarian)

Cure

- Berry Rum Punch

Eiffel Society

- Macon Fry Arugula Salad (vegan)

Hollygrove Market &Farm

- 360 Vodka with Pineapple Sage Syrup and Lime

Iris

- Spring Vegetable Soup (vegan)

La Petite Grocery

- Zucchini and Summer Squash Fritter with Herb Emulsion (vegetarian)

Le Foret

- Duck Liver Pate with Shiitake Confit, Watercress Salad and House Made Crackers

Lilette

- Bruschetta with Ryal's Dairy Goat Cheese, Heirloom Tomato, Mint, Olive Oil (vegetarian)

Martinique

- Tea Sandwiches with Herb Cream Cheese, Tomato, Cucumber (vegetarian)

Housemade Pimm's Cup Infused with Fresh Coriander

MiLa

- Chickpea Panisse with Squash Marmalade (vegan)

Slice Pizzeria

- Papaya Mint Bruschetta with Red Onion, Jalapeno, and Cilantro on House Made Flatbread (vegan)

Sylvain

- Fava Bean Bruschetta with Ryal's Dairy Goat Cheese (vegetarian)

Three Muses

- Duck Confit with Housemade Rigatoni

The Muse (Cucumber-Infused Gin, Strawberry Puree and St. Germain)

Two Cook for You Catering

- Farm Egg Salad Crostini, Spring Onion, Easter Egg Radish, House-Smoked Bacon

Ye Old College Inn

- Watermelon Gazpacho

New Blog is Launched. Boo-yeah!

2011-05-10T09:05:00.000-07:00

Hallelujah! Fireworks! Trumpets! Thunderous Applause!

Actually, it’s silent here in my cube, except of course for the constant whir of the overworked air conditioner.

Nonetheless……my new venture is out there in cyberspace for all to see.

Based on the feedback I received from you generous readers, I am keeping Eat Drink Nola (for the time being), and moving certain topics over to the newbie: Do It Yo’ Damn Self.

Here is the breakdown:

Eat Drink Nola: Local food events, restaurants, & food-related happenings.

Do It Yo Damn Self: DIY home improvement, I Love Lucy-style kitchen disasters, black thumb gardening, brat-rearing, pro bono work for the Louisiana Board of Tourism (shhh…they don’t know about it), and an announcement of my mood-altering copywriting services.

So mosey on over and check ‘er out. Go ahead – sign up for the DIYDS mailing list. I’ll pick two random people from those who sign up today to receive Food & Wine cookbooks.

Fellow Over-Indulgers: Do Not Miss these Events

2011-05-09T13:13:00.000-07:00

I promised to debut the new blog today, and I shall, although in true procrastinator form it’ll probably be at 11:59 pm. Additionally, I don’t want to detract from two very exciting upcoming events that I want/need/must attend so badly that I begged my friends to babysit. Friends, as in adults with lives and better things to do with their weekend. Suckers.

Without further ado (in chronological order):

World Cocktail Week Celebration

Southern Food and Beverage Museum (1 Poydras Street #169)

This Friday, 6-9 pm

Live music as well as cocktails and hors d’oeuvres from:

· Windsor Court Hotel Grill Room and Polo Lounge

· Café Adelaide and the Swizzle Stick Bar

· Cure

· Victory Bar

· Sylvain

· Arnaud’s

· MiLa

· Cake Café

· Zea’s

I've been dying to check this place out. Tickets: $25 in advance, $35 at the door. To purchase, go here or here.

Hollygrove Market’s Party in the Garden

Hollygrove Market (8301 Olive Street)

Monday, 6-9 pm

Food and drink from the likes of:

· Three Muses

· Lilette

· La Petite Grocery

· Le Foret

· Sylvain

· Café Amelie

· Iris

· Cure

· Martinique Bistro

I have been to Hollygrove’s events in the past and they are always ballin. Go here for a glimpse.

Tickets: $35 in advance from Hollygrove's website or $40 at the door.

Patois

2011-04-03T19:30:00.000-07:00

New site launcing on Monday! That's right -- I set a goal -- and it's scary. In the meantime, here blows another photo collage. I'll just say this: if you haven't gone for brunch at Patois, you have seriously erred and you must get thee there with a quickness.

Coquette

2011-04-03T07:28:00.000-07:00

New site coming soon! Really soon; I promise. In the meantime, here are some pictures from a recent lunch at Coquette:

This is where I send people when they have one chance to eat out and thus IT MUST BE GOOD. It has transformed a building haunted by the ghosts of restaurants flopped into a cool oasis of deliciousness.

Curse Shmurse.

Two things that really shine at Coquette (other than the food, of course):

1) The service. These people know their shiz, and impart their knowledge without snobbery. It wouldn't necessarily come to mind as a baby-friendly setting, yet the staff has always been exceptionally cool about me bringing Lucia to lunch.

2) The tasting menu. Two courses and a dessert for $20. And this isn't your "let's make a special to use up whatever we have a surplus of and get peeps in here on the off hours" kinda thing. It's thoughtful and balanced and freaky delicious.

A Lesson in Amateur Detective Work

2011-03-31T05:54:00.000-07:00

Look closely.

What do you see?

A ribbon of fat, perhaps?

Ssshhh. Listen. This is not just any fat ribbon. This fat ribbon has a story to tell, and we must listen closely. This gelatinous leftover is the crux of a mystery that has slowly developed over the course of one long and convoluted night, effectively tying together a series of previously uncorrelated events.

This fat ribbon is the smoking gun.

EVENT 1

3:00 A.M.

Awoken by a strange mechanical rumbling.

"Is Max drying clothes? At 3:00 am?! WTF?"

Not until I heard the unmistakably annoying "beep beep beep beep" did I realize what I was hearing was actually the microwave. Still weird, but not as weird as the dryer.

EVENT 2

3:25 A.M.

Awake again, but this time the culprit is an overweight pug who has spontaneously chosen my bedroom as his place of repose and is performing his usual rooftop-lifting snores.

"How did that fat bastard hoist himself up onto the bed without waking me up?"

I sweep my feet back and forth under the covers searching for his hot, smelly body so that I can catapult him to the floor. I come up with nothing.

Annoyed, I pick up my head to look for him, and that's when I realize that the cacophonous snores are not coming from overweight pug, but from husband! Repeated prods in his back and shoulder do not rouse him. Adult tantrum including tearing the comforter from bed does not rouse him. I sleep in guest room.

And that brings us to the present. The ribbon of fat laying on my counter is my "aha" moment -- the final clue to the mystery of the night's clouded events.

"Why would Max have been eating the WEEKS OLD proscuitto? More so, why would Max be MICROWAVING proscuitto? In summary, why would Max be MICROWAVING the WEEKS OLD proscuitto at 3:00 a.m.?"

Only one conclusion can be drawn:

ALCOHOL.

How to Secure Financial Instability in Your 30's

2011-03-22T19:22:00.000-07:00

Go to Stein’s deli to buy an item that you were tipped off to by another blogger, in this case Caputo 00 flour.
Upon finding that the item you need is not yet available, ignore common sense telling you to leave.
Buy copious amounts of alcohol and expensive coffee.

Spring Has Sprung!

2011-03-22T19:03:00.000-07:00

A Cure for Taking Yourself Too Seriously

2011-03-14T10:24:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, I don’t have it. I can, however, tell you where you will NOT find it: Cure.

In the past, I have looked past Cure’s idiosyncrasies because I enjoy their delicious (albeit diminutive) cocktails. Although Max wrote them off when they wouldn’t let him in because he was wearing shorts (in AUGUST, in NEW ORLEANS), I still bring friends from out of town there when they pass through Nola. While I shudder every time I read their website copy, I’ve tried to look past it so that I could see what new things were being done with their cocktails.

(Quick note here: referring to one’s self as “esoteric” is maybe more offensive than a self-imposed nickname.)

An incident that occurred this past Friday, however, is what I will henceforth refer to as “the last straw.”

My sister had reported that Cure had branched out from the traditional pisco sour with an inventive new use of pisco that included rooibos tea, lime, and orange bitters. Thanks to my in-laws, I have a surplus of Chilean pisco, and I’ve grown tired of pisco sours. Thus we made a date to sample this new libation: Friday, 5:00 pm, Cure. I brought my camera so I could take pictures and blog about it. I also brought my 7-month old baby.

As we entered, the hostess headed us off at the pass: “Oh, sorry – we don’t allow anyone under 21.”

Thinking she was kidding, we all chuckled and I was about to say “good one” when she continued:

“As in: no babies.”

ERRRR! Music stops.

Before you chime in with “who brings a baby to a bar anyways?” let me assure you of the following:

1) Cure serves food
2) It was 5:00
3) You cannot smoke inside
4) There is an outside patio
5) We were the ONLY customers

It’s not like I carted her stroller down to Bourbon Cowboy and strapped her to the mechanical bull while I grabbed a shot or five at the bar.

However, I was certainly made to feel that way by the interaction described above.

I would not presume to say what “is” or “isn’t” New Orleans, but I can say that the city’s lack of pretension is one of qualities I’ve found most endearing.

I spent the money I would have paid for my drink on orange bitters and rooibos tea so I can make MY OWN GD PISCO COCKTAIL. I can write it off as a bad experience and not return. But it irks me. What I come back to is that had this happened to someone visiting me from out of town, I would have been mortified. Most likely their visit would have been the result of hearing me blab on and on about how and why I love New Orleans so much, and an interaction like the one described above is such a harsh contrast to what I love (and likely what others love) so much about our home.

I’m really curious to hear what you guys think of this. Can you weigh in please?

Even Blogs Can Have Dopplegangers

2011-03-07T10:21:00.001-08:00

I’ve been having a bizarro experience as of late. After two years, I’ve finally lit a fire under my own ass to whip this blog into shape. Part of said whipping is to buy my domain name, but in attempting to do so I discovered it was already taken. That, my friends, is how I learned of my blog’s doppelganger.

My Twin

Oh no –sorry -- that was a picture of me and my doppelganger. My blog’s doppelganger is also called Eat Drink Nola and is some sort of restaurant directory, with a call for writers to submit content (for free, no doubt). I don’t know guys, I feel like blogs should start because someone has something to say, and go from there. Not vice versa. What do you guys think? Maybe I’m just sore about another entity snatching my name.

There is the tab devoted to attracting advertisers:

“Advertising packages are very affordable and have a three month minimum. We will create your ad, write your copy and even arrange a convenient time for photo or video shoots.”

(So they do write their own copy, as long as they’re paid to do so?)

And then I saw this, and the plot thickened:

Want your own Eat Drink website for your area?

You can have your own Eat Drink website with the support of a network team, all without having franchise type fees. Only hosting, initial setup charge and minimal support fees if you need additional help.

* Markets must not overlap and cannot have two in same market area.

Get in touch with us for more details!

(So you have to pay to have an “Eat Drink” blog? WEIRD! I don’t like the sound of this.)

But, then again, it’s the internet, and there are no rules. That’s what makes the internet so great, right? Like the internet, my real-life doppelganger believes she is above the law:

Lead Wide Web

After the Dutchess’s recent fall from grace, I consider the frequent comparison a compliment. Intrigue? Blackmail? Shady deals in shady hotel rooms? Ummmm, YES PLEASE! Who doesn’t love a good-girl-gone-bad, RIGHT?

However I am not as excited about the intrigue happening with my blog doppelganger, but I suppose the lesson in it for me = you snooze, you lose.

I snoozed big time.

Thus, I need to change my blog name. Suggestions welcome. So far I’ve come up with the following:

Eat Meat Nola
Eat Drink Cola
Drink Mead Nola

In any case, be advised that a name change is in the works. You win this round, doppelganger.

King Cake as a Way of Life

2011-03-03T10:50:00.000-08:00

The cornucopia of king cake options is perhaps the most flamboyant demonstration New Orleans’ “go big or go home” philosophy on all things celebratory. Come early January, you can expect to see the ubiquitous king cake in some form almost everywhere you look.

I’ve only lived here for four years, so my opinion isn’t biased by brand loyalty or childhood nostalgia. Despite whatever passionate response this might stir up, I’m putting it out there that Sucre’s version is my favorite (I’m not paid to say so). Put this in your pipe and smoke it:

Last week my mom was visiting from California. She and I went to Creole Creamery to satisfy a craving for ice cream cake. Yes, it is possible to crave an entire ice cream cake, and no, neither of us is pregnant. However, if we were both pregnant, it would give me endless opportunity to say "mother and daughter have baby together?" in my best German accent (for you Father of the Bride and Father of the Bride Part II fans).

As I’d dreaded, you have to order ice cream cakes in advance.

“You mean an ice cream cake already made?” asked the attendant. “Noooo. We need at least a day to do those. We do have a king cake ice cream cake though,” she said, as she held up this beauty:

My mom has never experienced Mardi Gras, and thus has no knowledge of such things. With a puzzled expression she asked: “What does it taste like?”

[Confused staring. Eyebrow scrunching. More confused staring.] “LIKE KING CAKE,” she said, enunciating every syllable and no doubt biting her tongue to hold back the next part of the reply: “What the hell do you mean what does it taste like?”

I LOVE that king cake is eaten so widely (albeit in this small city), that it has become a flavor unto itself, and that not knowing what king cake tastes like is almost inconceivable.

I imagine this interchange was akin to visiting Dollywood, Tennessee, and after riding all the rides and winning a giant blond wig and having Dolly Parton’s face painted on your bicep, you raise a hand and ask the Dolly look-a-like tour guide “Excuse me, Dolly? Why do they call it Dollywood?”

Cookbook Winner!

2011-02-23T08:01:00.000-08:00

Image from Amazon

Thanks to everyone who filled out my survey. I LOVED hearing your input and learning more about y’all. Lots of good feedback on how to proceed with next month’s planned upgrade.

I got uber nerdy determining the winner of my favorite cookbook. I put the email addresses in an Excel spreadsheet, printed that shiz out, cut them up into individual slivers, and had Max pick one out of a box. It was time consuming. I felt stupid. The winner is: Ashley.samadhi.

Ashley: holler at me with your address and you shall receive. Send it to flojindamesa@gmail.com.

Last Day to Take Survey!

2011-02-22T05:53:00.000-08:00

Thanks to everyone who’s taken my survey so far; it’s been really interesting to learn who you are and what you like. I’ll announce the cookbook winner tomorrow. If you haven’t taken the survey, please do so. It’s painless, I promise (only ten questions).

Answer these ten questions for a chance to win my favorite cookbook.

We’ve Come a Long Way, Baby

2011-02-17T05:52:00.000-08:00

Ahoy readers. Next month I’m coming up on two splendid years of blogging, and as such I’ve decided to finally shimmy out from under my web-related fear and insecurities (read: I’m old and don’t get this technology stuff) to give this blog the revamping it deserves.

HOWEVER, before I do so, I want to find out about you and why in the hell you read my blog anyway. Who are you people? What do you want to see more of, and more importantly, what do you wish I’d stop subjecting you to IMMEDIATELY?

Please take my survey and deliver your brilliant opinions thusly. For your trouble, I’ll randomly select one lucky survey filler-outer to whom I will send my favorite cookbook. T’is merely a trifle, but as Eat Drink Nola is a non-profit (as in no profit), our giveaways are modest (but our love and admiration is vast).

Without further ado, please participate in my short yet gratifying experiment:

Click here to take survey

ad hoc at home (aka, Why You Aren’t Fit to Scrub Thomas Keller’s Dirty Pots)

2011-02-14T12:16:00.000-08:00

For Christmas, my mom gifted me Thomas Keller’s new cookbook, ad hoc at home, because it was a book ~~I’d long desired~~ sold at Costco. My mother is tre European about Costco, and by “tre European” I mean she shops there like a Spanish mother of five frequents the local carniceria. Daily.

So far, 90% of my interaction with the book has been to stare at the photography, mesmerized. Check it:

A banana split has never looked so lovely. I’m sure you’ll agree.

However, randomly strewn between the pages are what I suppose are meant to be glimpses into the world of Thomas Keller. Every time I come across these winsome tableaus, I imagine a scene like the following took place between Keller and the publisher.

"Okay, Tom. Let’s show your readers what ad hoc means to Thomas Keller. Let’s reach down deep and pull up the raw stuff. Mike, put on Jefferson Airplane. I don’t want us to be afraid to get weird in here. Take your socks off; explore the kitchen; grab some of your favorite kitchen tools and be intimate.”

(And in a slightly lower, ominous tone: “Don’t worry about the copy, we’ll fill that in later.”)

Because that is the only way we could have ended up with this, right?

Or this?

So far the Eat Drink Posse has attempted the burrata salad, the ad hoc version of the wedge, and a swiss chard dish.

Indeed, each was delicious in its own way. But, as my sister pointed out, had she followed the swiss chard recipe exactly, she would have mussed almost EVERY POT IN MY KITCHEN, for a FREAKING VEGETABLE SIDE DISH. I respect what Thomas Keller does for food, I just don’t know that the average home cook has the same time or resources to devote to the glory that is the vegetable.

(Or, in other words: I’m lazy.)

Did the stalks of the broccolini need to be gently peeled away with a paring knife? Did the cremini mushrooms need to be uniformly paper thin, sliced so by a recently sharpened mandoline? Perhaps not. But it warms my shriveled raisin heart to know that someone out there thinks these vegetables deserve such treatment.

Domenica on Domenica

2011-01-31T10:00:00.000-08:00

Some pics from a recent Sunday (get it?) lunch at what is becoming my standby: Domenica.

Y’all know how I feel about burrata. If not, you can read about my love affair here.

After announcing (upon seeing the menu) that I would be ordering an affogato (my new obsession) for dessert, I spent the next hour internally jousting with myself over whether to actually follow through with my threat.

The internal debate goes a little something like this:

“Really? Burrata, cream-based soup, a cheese-laden salad, pizza, AND dessert? Why must you be your own worst enemy AT ALL TIMES? It’s not so much the calories as it is the fact that you are so full you’re on the verge of vomiting. If there were ever a moment to defy one’s self, t’is now. DON’T DO IT.”

My stomach is never one to listen to reason; however, as I opened my mouth to let my order spill out, the waiter approached with a plate of chocolate espresso cookies, thereby rendering my inner turmoil obsolete. And this, Domenica, is why I love thee.

But it’s hard to have a bad time when these are your dining companions (my in-laws):

Oh, and him, and her (looking like a deer in headlights):

Anthropological Reflections: The Hot Dogis Chilenis

2011-01-24T13:13:00.000-08:00

At Chez Eat Drink Nola, we recently had an event worthy of busting out the fine china: my honey’s bday. So…..what gastronomic delight did I concoct for my man? What culinary feat could possibly mirror my admiration for the father of my child? BEHOLD: My sister, sister-in-law, and I attempted to recreate the glory that is the Chilean hot dog. Here’s the real deal: Be thee wary of attempts to emulate greatness. Tragically Chez Eat Drink is not equipped with the very special hot-dog holder used to maintain proper uprightedness of hot dogis (as seen above), nor does it boast a pastry bag with an extra wide fitting for dispensing a perfect (some might say “too perfect?”) line of mayonnaise, but we make due. You may recognize the hot dogis chilenis from the Anthony Bourdain – Chile episode: An extreme example of course, but you get the idea. The moral of all of this is that Chileans are loco for hot dogs. Entire restaurants are devoted to them and the topping combinations are more than I could ever sample while there, much less recall now. However, the two most popular versions are as follows:

Completo: chopped tomatoes and sauerkraut

Italiano: chopped tomatoes and avocado (as pictured above)

Regardless of the toppings, the common denominator on the hot dogis chilenis is a serving of mayonnaise large enough to produce a shudder from even mayo-friendly eaters. Because of this, I would usually ask for it “sin mayo,” which my sister-in-law informs me is Spanish for “please add your saliva.” However, this is the same sister-in-law who breaks into my facebook account to change my status to musings such as “I want to start a dance crew” and once asked me if I was pregnant while I was WEARING A BIKINI, thus we do not know whether her translation pertains only to herself, or to hot dog assemblers across Chile. She is NOT a reliable source.

2010 Wrap Up Continued: Please May I Have / Bout Damn Time

2011-01-21T12:46:00.000-08:00

From Tuesday: I want to spend the next few days touching on my high and low points from 2010, as well as a wish/request/demand for 2011.

Please May I Have / Bout Damn Time

Better Sushi in New Orleans Proper

Kanno, I love you. You were my first and you’re still my only. But your status as “My Only” is starting to put a strain on our relationship. I’m a baby mama now, and my girl doesn’t like the car. I can’t just haul my cookies out to Fat City any time the urge for quality sushi strikes, if not for the exact reason that the urge strikes SO FREAKING OFTEN. We both know that my appetite for you cannot be sated, but what I’m trying to say is that I can’t do this long distance thing any longer.

While the tank-topped guy relieving himself on my car tire did give my last trip a keen sense of occasion, I’m beginning to feel a little squeamish about Fat City. Granted, it has its own aesthetic, but it seems to go from hilariously tacky during the day to downright scary at night.

So look, I’m not so much breaking up with you as I am pleading for you to come a little bit closer. And if you don’t, well, I just might have to see someone else should a new act come to town. So there it is – either come hither or I’m putting the vibe out there for another.

Consider yourself warned.

....2010 Wrap Up Continued: The Bad

2011-01-19T12:37:00.000-08:00

From yesterday: I want to spend the next few days touching on my high and low points from 2010, as well as a wish/request/demand for 2011.

The Bad

Jon Smith Sells Cork & Bottle

No explanation needed. If you’ve been there lately, you know what I mean. It’s just not the same.

2010 Wrap Up

2011-01-18T14:18:00.000-08:00

Par for the course, I’ve been absent from the blogosphere yet again. I probably won’t be back to a regular blogging schedule until March, but in the meantime I want to spend the next few days touching on my high and low points from 2010, as well as a wish/request/demand for 2011.

Against my true nature, let’s start with The Good.

Affordable, Quality, Interesting Food = Mixed Crowd of Diners

I moved here four years ago from San Francisco, a city in which the social scene and the dining scene are inextricable. I was always baffled and pleased that even people who worked low-paying restaurant and bar jobs (er, me), would still factor dining out into their scanty budgets.

However, on the occasions when Max and I would scrape together our pennies to go to a nice dinner here in New Orleans, we found that our fellow diners tended to be a pretty homogenous crowd, specifically old white people. I do realize that a people trying to rebuild their lives after a hurricane might not factor fine dining and 50% wine mark ups into their list of “must haves.” I know it should just be about the food, but the situation always left me feeling very BLAH.

So it makes my shriveled raisin heart go pitter-patter to see a change in this trend as of late, thanks to places such as Boucherie and Three Muses. The food is interesting, constantly changing, AND….drum roll please: it’s moderately priced. And just like that – your dining out crowd looks completely different. I’d like to thank these establishments for throwing out the ten-page wine list, the cream sauces, and the $38 entrée to show us that something different is indeed possible.

Can you guys think of any other places that fall under this category?

Update: Celeste, one of my very astute readers, hinted that Green Goddess should have also been extolled in this post, and I couldn't agree more.

NOT Your Grammy’s Fruitcake – Sucre Macaroons

2010-12-10T07:10:00.000-08:00

I’ve tried my hardest to make it known among my nearest and dearest that I will happily receive gifts of alcohol and food. So far my friends Gourmet & Gourmand are the only ones who’ve received the message (e.g. forgoing the typical baby present for a bottle of champagne).

Thus, when Sucre sent me their holiday macaroons to review, I was verklempt:

"Me? Review your macaroons??! As in COOKIES? Little old me? Well....if I must."

While I realize I may be painting myself into a cookie corner and will never be asked to review cookies again, I must be honest: crunchy cookies gross me out. Sucre’s macaroons certainly LOOKED crunchy, but I was joyfully surprised when my teeth sank easily through them. Apparently this sensation was due to something called “mousseline.” Here blow the official descriptions:

Double dark chocolate macaroon: Extra dark chocolate macaroon coated in caramelized cocoa nibs and filled with single bean Venezuelan chocolate Mousseline.

Candy cane macaroon: Delicate macaroon coated with crushed candy canes and filled with luscious pink peppermint cream.

While I wouldn’t eat a whole box of them, they were markedly better than your average store-bought Christmas cookie. And of course, much more gorgeous. Look at that sparkle:

FAMOUS!

2010-12-10T06:55:00.000-08:00

Very happy to see our own St. James Cheese Company grace the pages of national magazine, Ready Made. Check it out.