Gastronomie

New Orleans - The Final Post

After our great dinner at Stella, the rest of our meals were pretty low-key. For my part, I ate about 5 dozen oysters over days 4 & 5. C ate no fewer than 3 oyster po' boys, and we shared at least another order of beignets.

We visited the zoo, where we had a surprisingly tasty lunch of alligator sausage po'boy and red beans and rice - seriously, all zoos should force children to eat food this good, as opposed to the reheated disks they call 'burgers'.

We drank (too much) - though I am still mourning the fact that I never made it to Pat O'Briens.

We went to too many parties, including one particularly, ahem, "interesting" one sponsored by Playboy at Rasputin's where there were fire-eaters, an Adonis-type guy wearing a boa constrictor around his neck and Miss July 2004 signing autographs.

We hit up a WICKED bar called The Spotted Cat on Frenchman St. where we heard the most AMAZING jazz I've ever experienced live, and where a round of drinks for 5 people was $20.

We had our palms read.

We did New Orleans.

New Orleans - Day 3 (Dinner)

Sorry this post is soooo late... I was really busy this weekend adopting a new dog!! Yay - we are so happy. Anyway, on to the Chow (pun intended).

After our superb brunch at Delmonico's that finished at 1pm, we weren't so sure we were up to having a 7pm dinner at Stella!. But a long walk around town and an order of beignets and au laits later, we built up the gustatory backbone to pull it off.

First off, the entry to Stella! is just charming. It's a carriage-type entrance and really harkens back to a time where ladies and gents were ferried around in horse-drawn carriages.

C and I split the starter of ricotta & pine nut ravioli with maine lobster, chanterelles, english peas and white truffle oil. This was an delicious dish, with wonderfully fresh flavors and a really delicate sauce. We each had a cocktail w/our starters - mine a perfect Manhattan, his a Maker's Mark and water.

I was really excited to see that their young sommelier had brought in a wonderful assortment of Spanish wines from Priorat. After much hemming and hawing, our waiter sent him over, and we had a really nice chat about what would work well with our meal. We ended up with 2000 Cellers Ripoll Sans "Closa Batllet" Grattalops, Priorat at $80. A slightly higher markup than I expect in the bay area, but I can't imagine he can make the kind of buys our sommeliers locally can. This wine was pretty tannic when it was opened, and it would have benefitted from decanting. After abou 20 minutes, it opened up quite nicely and was, indeed, an exceptional complement to both meals.

I had the Moulard duck breast. This was served with a foie gras wonton, a mooshoo-type stirfry and a cassis reductions sauce. Everything on the plate worked EXCEPT the stirfry - it was such a strong flavor that simply didn't mesh with anything else on the plate. I quickly pushed it aside, and all was well. The duck itself was cooked beautifully and seasoned perfectly. I actually really enjoyed the whimsical nature of the wonton, though I imagine some purists would call it blasphemy. The wonton wrapper itself was deep-fried but not at all greasy.

C had the stilton-crusted Angus filet, which was served with a bacon and yukon gold potato puree, and cognac peppercorn demi-glace. This dish was also great. The bacon was sooo smoky and delicious. I would have preferred the potatoes slightly chunkier, but I get that the puree works better with the refined presentation of the dish.

C had the bananas foster french toast dessert, with a glass of bual madeira (can't remember the producer - we'd imbibed quite a bit already), which he'd never had before. He thoroughly enjoyed both, and even I liked his dessert (i'm not a banana person).

I had the souffle cake to finish, which was as good as any I've had. I ordered a glass of the late-harvest Jumilla they had to round out our Spanish tour, but it was really awful. Treacly with NO acidity to cut the sweetness. No complexity whatsoever. Tasted like a haphazardly thrown together wine from some 2nd growth grapes that no one knew what to do with. Sidenote: I told our waiter that I really didn't care for it, and not only did he not offer to replace it with something else, but he left the damn $8 glass on the tab. Maybe I'm a jerk, but after cocktails, and $80 bottle, and 3 courses, I would have expected one of the above. Am I in the wrong?

New Orleans - Day 3, Part 1 (Brunch)

After the meal last night, and the ridiculously late bedtime, we were a bit slow on the uptake this morning. But we had brunch plans at Delmonico's, so we hopped into a cab and off we went.

First, Delmonico's has been a New Orleans institution since 1895... it had slipped into disrepair when Emeril Lagasse bought the property in 1997 and revitalized it. FWIW, I don't much care for Emeril, but I have to give the man props for bringing cooking back to the American masses. I had heard that Delmonico's was the best of his spots, and a great brunch, and since we didn't want to do the Commanders Palace/Brennan's thing, this seemed like the obvious choice.

New Orleans - Day 2

On Saturday morning, I awoke bright an early in anticipation of my panel discussion. It's only the 2nd one I've done, and the prospect of 50+ people listening to me talk about multi-channel marketing was, ahem, daunting to say the least.

So, I had to eat something but was not hungry at all. A couple pieces of buttered toast, and a nice tasty cajun sausage later, off we went.

After the session, I headed back to the hotel to meet my better half, who arrived around 5pm. He hadn't eaten, so we ordered him up a fried oyster po'boy, which was really very good.

Didn't want him to fill up, though, as we had 7:30 dinner reservations at Restaurant August with SG and her hubby JG. They are the cutest, sweetest couple you've ever met - I love them both (individually and together) .

OK... so first of all, the space is just gorgeous. The building itself was built in the 1880's and has the most amazing coffered ceilings, and this romantic glow as you walk into the foyer. Enormous floor to ceiling French doors lead into the main dining room full of exposed brick, magnificent chandeliers, velvet, gold and flowers. Somehow, this overblown decor is perfect and not garish in any way.

The banquette seating was perfectly comfortable (unlike those at Michael Mina). Directly in front of SG and I was the wine cellar room, a smaller room with lots of wood and wrought iron. Also beautiful, but more intimate and not as opulent as the main room where we sat. Above that room, you could see this amazing cellar with what could only be thousands of bottles. (There was yet a third dining room even farther down the hall, but we couldn't see it from where we were).

New Orleans - Day 1

So, after arriving into New Orleans, and finding my hotel, and getting a bit of work done, I was so desolate to find that I had missed the chance to hit Casamento's, the oyster joint I'd heard so much about (in fact, this whole trip was loaded with strange food mishaps... more later).

Not to be deprived of $7/dozen oysters, I hit the old standby, Acme Oyster Co.
- whatever you want to say about this place, it's a good, jovial place for a single diner, and the oysters are plentiful and fresh. There I ordered a dozen oysters, a small cup of gumbo and a Killians.

Off to New Orleans

I haven't posted much in the past week because, really, I haven't eaten that much interesting stuff. A lot of salads, good Bo Luc Lac (again), and lots and lots (like 100 oz/day) of water.

All in preparation for this trip to New Orleans. The current (planned) itinerary is as follows:

Friday Lunch: Casamento's for oysters ($7/dozen, people!!)

Friday Dinner: Brigtsen's - we have 6pm reservations, and hopefully K & J's flights won't be delayed. I think I have to get the seafood platter here after everything I've read on Chowhound.

Saturday Breakfast: Cafe du Monde for coffee & beignets, of course!

Saturday Lunch: Something light and healthy in preparation for my conference session at 2:30... (I finally started getting nervous after I printed out my slides).

Saturday Dinner: Either August or New Orleans Grille with SG & JG. We have reservations at both of them, and neither of us can decide. She's going to check them out tomorrow when she gets in and decide. Either way, it will be a fabulous dinner.

Sunday Brunch: Delmonico with SL, FzK, one of his friends, and SB. Before I get any shit about going to one of the "oversized ewok's" restaurants, know that this place consistently gets raves from locals and tourists alike. We just weren't up for the brouhaha of Commander's or Brennan's brunch.

Sunday Dinner: C & I are finally alone for a romantic dinner at Stella! - appropriate if you know what our pup's name is, and how much we adore her. We're really excited about this one...

Monday & Tuesday are more flexible, but I'm hoping to hit Jacque-Imos, maybe Upperline... we'll see... stay tuned for more action, and updates on each of the reviews and photos.

Laissez les bon temps rouler!

Cline Harvest Party (and more)

So, today was apparently the "day for many food & wine events".

Alder at Vinography raves about SF FallFest 2004, while Sam of Becks & Posh and Pim of Chez Pim both attended the Chowing with the Hounds 2004 picnic.

For our part, we drove up to Sonoma with our friends K & O for Cline's Annual Harvest Party.

We've been Pendulum Club members with Cline for four years now, but this is the first Harvest Party we've been to! Free for members, and $25 for guests, this was a really wonderful way to spend the day. There was a ton of tasty food (and yes, I avoided all the pasta, bread and potato salads) - there was a duck sausage that was amazing - including an apple pie (which, again, I refrained from) which everyone said was amazing. I did sneak a quarter-sized piece of the crumble on top, which was AWESOME.

Food deprivation, in the name of weight loss

Ugh. I have a work conference coming up, and as I've put on, oh... let's see... 25lbs since my wedding last year, I'm hell-bent to lose at least 10lbs before I leave next Friday.

So, I've started the damn Atkins thing. Now, let it never be said that I met an animal-based protein source I didn't like. But really, can I live the next week with almost NO carbs, and minimal wine? Perhaps the more germane question is, will my dear husband survive my cantankerousness during said deprivation?

Yesterday was a good day. I drank a full 50 oz of water, had Bo Luc Lac for lunch and (bless my little heart) told them to "hold the rice". For dinner, I improvised with what was in the fridge, and actually made quite a lovely dinner, as follows:

Short-brined 4 chicken breasts with peppercorns, garlic, and rosemary. Wrapped said chicken breasts with some lovely Speck Tirolese and a spring of rosemary from the rooftop garden.

Set these into my trusty Calphalon Everyday Pan, and brushed with a bit of very good dijon mustard. Poured about 1/2 cup Sauvignon Blanc into the open space in the pan, and cooked at 325 degrees (turning once) until the chicken reached an internal temp of 160.

Served with a gorgeous baby lettuce and edible flower salad from Happy Boy Farms (who, incidentally, have the tastiest salad mix ever, and are the ONLY place I've seen peppercress, to which I may have formed a mild addiction). Here's a picture, from their website, showing the gorgeous salad:

After dinner, I was DYING for something sugary, starchy, whatever. Instead, I drank two big glasses of water, watched CSI, and went to bed. Sigh.

Day 1 down...

WBW2 - Spanish Reds

In honor of Wine Blogging Wednesday (this time around hosted by Alder), I broke out the bottle of 2002 Casa Castillo Monastrell from Jumilla.

I've been enjoying this wine (well, starting with the 1999 vintage anyway) since 2001. It was originally packed for me as part of a sampler case by Sheryl at Amphora Wine Merchant. Back then, they were my wine purveyor of choice, and Sheryl always packed some really interesting cases for me.

First, a note about Monastrell. Basically, in other parts of the wine drinking world, it's known as Mourvèdre, that very dark and dusty grape that most often used for blending. On its own, it produces a dark, almost black, wine with lots of tannins and acidity. Whether the wine is drinkable is, well, a sign of the talent of the vintner.

Now, a bit about Jumilla. The area has long been a producer of grapes for "bulk" wine. Its location in the south of Spain puts it on a dry, hot latitude, and the vineyards situated on dry, rocky/sandy soil. In the past few years, more effort has gone into making fine wines, and I personally think the Casa Castillo is the best value out there at under $15. (Side note: After doing more research, I learned that the replantings are actually due to a bout of phylloxera that hit the region in the late 1980s. Ironically, Jumilla was one of the only regions spared from phylloxera in the 1800s, when much of France was devasted)

The 2002 Casa Castillo Monastrell is Monastrell with some Syrah. It's aged for a few months in French and American oak. I actually think that, if held at proper temperature, this bottle could have withstood another year or two of cellaring, but my conditions haven't been ideal so I think that the maturation was a bit sped up.

The first pour on the bottle was very tight - this wine REALLY needs some air to open up and soften. It also really cries out for food, which I hadn't finished cooking. After about 10-15 minutes, it really started to show beautifully.

Almost immediately you could pick up the slight gaminess that comes from the addition of the Syrah (which actually distinguishes the '02 from prior vintages quite dramatically). Dusty and earthy on the nose with what I perceived as a bit of licorice...

On the palate, this wine is BIG. It's muscular like you expect mourvèdre to be, but with a beautiful finish and roundness - it's not overly tannic or acidic but it stands up to even a rich braised pork loin beautifully.

There's a rustic quality to this wine that begs to be served with warm, braised, earthy foods - it's not meant for nouvelle cuisine.

It would also be lovely with a selection of Spanish cheeses (Manchego or Iberico, Drunken Goat... you get the idea) served with some Marcona almonds and membrillo. I think I'd avoid serving jamon serrano with this one, though.