Looka!

I'm actually kind of astonished

Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 +0000

that I only put on four pounds during the two weeks back home in New Orleans, while eating the amounts of food that you are about to begin seeing with today's burst of food porn. And I didn't even exercise every morning with a brisk walk down St. Charles, like I said I was going to.

What's up with that? Did I do that that much walking at Jazzfest? Surely it couldn't be my dancing (which mainly involves bobbing my head).

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My first Talesblog post.

Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 +0000

This year I'm not on any panels or doing any seminars at Tales of the Cocktail, but I am a member of its press corps! I'll be writing about Tales events both here on Looka! as well as the new group blog, moderated by Paul Clarke of The Cocktail Chronicles, called Talesblog, or more properly, Blogging Tales of the Cocktail.

My first post went up earlier this week, in which I talk about "Rye Nation", the seminar on rye whiskey being led by Allan Katz, Director of Mixology and Spirits Education for Southern Wine and Spirits, and sponsored by my two favorite ryes: Sazerac and Rittenhouse. Can't wait for this one!

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Last night's "Down Home"

Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 +0000

is now available for streaming for one week. Last night was the worst drive to Northridge I'd had in 10 years -- apocalyptic traffic, street closures, police and fire investigations on my route, ugh -- and I arrived in the radio station quite literally at 6:59:45. I was all ready to go and it would have been seamless, but, of course, something had to go wrong and we had, shall we say, a bumpy start. Fortunately that endless agony only lasted about 30-40 seconds in real time, and then da show got on da road.

I did a lot of recapping of my own Jazzfest experiences, playing music old and new from Shamarr Allen, The Original Dixieland Jazz Band, The Zydepunks, Barbara Lynn, Big Sam's Funky Nation, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, T Bone Burnett, Terrance Simien & the Zydeco Experience, Eddie Bo, Bobby Lounge, 96-year-old Lionel Ferbos, Egg Yolk Jubilee, Tim Laughlin, Michael Doucet, The Voice of the Wetlands All-Stars, Irma Thomas, Kevin Crawford, Colum Sands, Q, Flook, Pete Fountain, Elvis Costello & Allen Toussaint and Bonerama.

Enjoy!

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Arrival in New Orleans, and priorities.

Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 +0000

We flew home on Wednesday, April 23, and did the usual things you need to do when you travel: collect baggage, pick up rental car, drive to the apartment where we're staying, drop off our stuff, put some decent clothes on, and then go get a drink. All the previous steps led to the latter, of course.

We had plenty of time before our 9:30 dinner reservation at Cuvée, and there's no place in the city I like to drink more than I like to drink at The Swizzle Stick Bar at Café Adelaide. Head bar chef Lu Brow is made of awesome, and we enjoy seeing our other favorite bartenders there. Beeline Downtown from Uptown, and even found a good parking place on Poydras, go figure.

I hadn't seen Lu since Christmas, and she fixed Wesly and I up with two perfect, and I mean perfect Sazeracs. Watching her make drinks is a joy; she mixes, tastes, balances, tastes again, until it's ready. Not many bartenders these days do that (and they all should). We talked about technique, and she seconds Jeff Morgenthaler's advice that one dash of Angostura helps round out the flavor, along with the four of Peychaud's. We didn't get far into our discussion and sampling of lemon vs. orange twists, and whether the latter works in a rye version at all or just better in a Cognac version, but we shall return to that another day.

Wes and I had two rounds of Sazeracs, and she regaled Nettie and Robin with Twentieth Century Cocktails (a bar that actually has this drink on the menu ... bliss, bliss and heaven). After an hour or so we excused ourselves, and told Lu that although we'd be back a week from Thursday to have dinner there, that night we were heading over to Cuvée. "Y'all are going over there now?" she asked. "Can you do me a favor?" Sure, anything. "Can you bring a drink to Bob for me?" That'd be Chef Bob Iacovone of Cuvée, who she suspected could probably do with a drink about then. "Hmm, let's see, what would he like about now? ..." (*mix*mix*muddle*muddle*shake*pour*) Voilà ... a refreshing Caipiroska in a go-cup. (Café Adelaide's new go-cups are really cool too, with the restaurant's logo featuring Aunt Adelaide on one side, and on the other, "The center of the cocktail universe." Heh.)

Lu looked us all in the eye, determining which of us was the least shady-looking and which of us was least likely to drink Bob's drink during the three-block walk to the restaurant, and I was deemed the most trustworthy. (Ah, that innocent-looking baby face of mine. Muwahahahahaaa.) I kept my promise, and we walked a couple of blocks down Poydras to Magazine, then over to the restaurant, where we passed the cocktail to the host, who then brought it to Chef Bob in his hot kitchen.

Only in New Orleans.

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Restaurant Cuvée.

Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 +0000

It seems to have become a bit of a tradition over the last few years, having our first dinner upon arrival in New Orleans for Jazzfest be at Restaurant Cuvée, generally within a few hours of arrival, in fact. Why? Um, well .. because we like it. A lot. Like, this much.

I felt a little guilty, as we were arriving fairly late (9:30, in fact), but as I recall they serve until 10, my guilt was assuaged somewhat. There were still several tables filled when we arrived, which helped. The staff lavished us with attention as is their wont, and we got a glimpse of their delightfully frightening POS system, in which they (and most good restaurants) store reservation information and histories, as well as the preferences of their customers. "Hey, y'all were here almost exactly a year ago, right? And you two guys had ... Manhattans." Gulp. I have a dossier. That's okay, it's cool if it's a restaurant and not the FBI.

A round of Negronis started us off, and as we perused the always wow-inducing menu we all seemed to get the same idea -- hey, how about doing the chef's degustation? We'd always ordered off the regular menu here, and never got the prix-fixe tasting menu. Why not? (Well, because there was probably someone on the line cursing our asses out for ordering a degustation that late -- I would have -- and I did feel a bit guilty for that. Mea culpa.) And since we had had two cocktails at the Swizzle and one here, maybe I'd order one course of the matching wines and we'd all taste them from the one glass (cheap bastards, you might say, but we didn't want to get completely soused). Only problem was ... there were a couple of things on the regular menu we wanted too. Okay, so we each get our own degustation, but we order the two extra things and split 'em. See, how easy is that?!

Chef Bob came out and greeted us and, as a little thanks for our delivery I suspect, brought out a pretty spectactular amuse bouche:

This was Cuve´e's signature dish, Spiced Shrimp Napoleon Rémoulade, with Crisp Mirliton, Cayenne Beurre Blanc and Frisée, in an amuse bouche-sized version (well, bigger than an amuse, but smaller than a full appetizer portion -- my bouche was very amused). We'd had this dish several times, in its full version, as a starter, and it's an old favorite.

Now, for those two extra dishes ...

Wes spotted this one first, I think, as he is Mr. Duck. He loves duck so much, and eats it as often as he can, such that I wonder if he'll wake up one morning with a bill. ("Good morning!: *quack*) Not only that, this was the very first mention we'd seen of The Best Strawberries in This and All Other Universes ... Louisiana strawberries, particularly Ponchatoula strawberries. And the name of the dish ... Lacquered Duck Meat Pie with Rhubarb, Red Wine & Louisiana Strawberry Jam, and a Louisiana Strawberry Cream Soda. Oh ... my.

Oh, and in the background of this photo you may notice a dish of something that looks like risotto. That's because it is, one of the side dishes listed at the bottom of the menu, Truffled Parmigiano-Reggiano Risotto. "Oh, we've got to get one of those," said Wes. Who am I to argue?

Let's have a closer look at that pie.

This was great. The flavor combination of that shredded duck with the jam was heavnely, and the housemade strawberry cream soda (red drink!) made us laugh. The other day on "Top Chef" Nancy Silverton, a chef whom I adore and whom I admire greatly, pooh-poohed the trend of putting glasses of some kind of drink on a plate with a dish, but in this case ... sorry, Chef Nancy. This rocked.

Now, time for the commencement of the degustation. (I.e., gangway, food coming!)

First course: Foie Gras Mousse with Brandy-soaked Cherries and Toasted Brioche. Oh. My. Foie gras mousse as a rule is pretty intense; I had one at Spago years ago that nearly killed me (but it was fantastic, don't get me wrong). This one wasn't as heavy as the other, but rich and delicious and lovely with the brandy-soaked cherries that reminded me of the Manhattans I put them in (in fact, I kinda wished I had had a little taster Manhattan for this dish). I think I removed every molecule from that little dish.

Second course: Maine Lobster Consommé with Sweet Corn-Ricotta Ravioli. Clear as a bell (natch), great lobster flavor, and after the magnificent Cjalsons I had at Tratorria Tré Venezie, I think I may want all my ravioli to have sweet corn in it. This was a simipler, and beautiful little pillow of pasta. Yum.

Third course: "French Onion" Risotto with Sweet Spring Onions and Gruyère de Comté. This was a really fun dish. The flavor was like the best-ever French Onion Soup, but here with the added texture of risotto. Delicious, and a great twist on a classic dish, spinning something staid into something new.

Fourth course: Black Sea Bass wrapped in Parma Ham, with Crispy Parmesan Polenta and Olive-Peppadew Relish. You could wrap a shoe in prosciutto di Parma and I'd eat it (well, maybe), but this lovely piece of fish reminds me of one of my favorite ways to prepare certain kinds of fish at home -- wrap the sucker in Parma ham and into the oven it goes. I love the contrasts of texture here, the crisp ham on the light, flaky fish; the crisp polenta in a little creamy potato purée, and that nice spicy relish. Chef Bob loves peppadew peppers, and I love eating them here.

Fifth course: Grilled Lamb Tenderloin with Herbed Brabant Potatoes, Arugula Salad with Shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano. I love lamb, and was really looking forward to this one. It was slightly different from the version listed on the menu, though. Chef Bob came over to the table personally, bearing the plates and an apology -- the dish was supposed to be Parma Ham-wrapped lamb, with grilled ramps and fava bean purée, but an overzealous kitchen crew member had thrown away the rest of the fava bean pur´e, not realizing that there was one more degustation table in the house and thinking there was nobody left to eat it. (Whoops.)

This kind of stuff happens in kitchens, and is actually a great opportunity for a chef to think on his or her feet. Bob quickly rejiggered this and the dish before, wrapping the bass in prosciutto di Parma (which was fantastic) and doing a quick but tasty Brabant potato accompaniment, and described the salad as "salt and pepper, with the pepperiness of the arugula playing against the saltiness of the cheese" to accompany the lamb.

It was still a terrific dish -- I still love meat and potatoes!

Sixth course, dessert! Triple-Stack Chocolate Moon Pie with Dreamsicle Ice Cream and Spun Sugar. We've had this one before, and we were glad to have it again; it's Cuvée's signature dessert. Moon Pies, mmmm. Very Southern. That, plus the Dreamsicle ice cream made me feel like a kid again (although I must admit none of the Moon Pies I had as a kid tasted this good).

At least we tried not to be that kind of pain in the ass late-seating customers, and apologized profusely for keeping them later than they might have ordinarily stayed, but we were out the door by midnight, which isn't too bad for such a late night town. Once again, Chef Bob (whose wife arrived while we were hanging out chatting outside to whisk him home in one of these, which was way cool), the guys on the line and the front of the house took great care of us, and made our first night back home another memorable one. Hie thee to Cuvée when you're in New Orleans for a whimsical and wonderful meal.

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Whoa!