Mayhaw Man

Well, near the Capitol, there's Ann Cashion's new place, Taqueria Nacionale. It's good, fast, cheap, and conveniently located on Capitol Hill in The Hall of States (where, if you are lucky or unlucky, depending on your point of view, there is a pretty good chance that you can see some Fox News "personalities" as Fox News and CSpan are in the same building-as are the Teamsters who are, in reality, Fox News's landlords ) right across from Union Station or the Capitol, depending on your point of view. Go get some lunch and take a seat in the shade or by a nearby fountain and enjoy the sights while noshing on some swell tacos with a homemade drink.

This is a very good thing for Windsor Court and a great thing for Greg. The place was, pre Emeril's and just post World's Fair, the best restaurant in New Orleans (that wasn't serving old school New Orleans standards) and I look forward to seeing it rise back to the top under Greg's guidance. The guy can really cook. Hopefully, there will be some kind of reservation system that checks zip codes and bans anyone who is from the area inside of Magazine, below Jefferson and above the park. Let them go to Applebees. They don't know what they missed.

Well, the ironic thing about JP running the trucks out of the Parish is that the very same people who are after them (business owners who have some kind of competing business-small restaurants, primarily) are the very same people who WOULDN"T EVEN BE OPEN were it not for the Hispanic workers who showed up to gut their places, repair their plumbing, hang their sheetrock, and man their stoves. Now that they are finished, they seem to think that they are somehow going to be able to go back to Aug 28, 2005 by simply removing the trucks. Those people are on better drugs than I am apparently able to procure through my meager health insurance. That's ok. I'm good with the trucks and they are good with me. I will be eating lunch at El Chapparal today (corner of MLK and Claiborne Ave in the island of the old Wagner's Meat (you can't beat it!) parking lot. 3 tacos (beef, pork, chiccarone), beef gordita (pancakes made while you wait!) and a large horchata (they're good, but a bit heavy on the almond chunks-they need a better blender, I guess). This place started out as a truck located in the same parking lot just shortly after the city was reinhabited and the business did so well that they got all papered up and moved into a real (if not small) space. That's how this is supposed to work. We need the workers and they need to eat. The trucks feed them inexpensively and they can save that money to buy stuff in our stores and generate sales tax for our political leaders to steal and misspend. It's the American way.

Lunch today on a very rainy Monday. After a long weekend in Oxford attending the nuptial ceremony for John Currence and Bess Reed, I was tired and didn't feel like fixing lunch. The solution? Willie Mae's Scotch House for butterbeans, breaded pork chops, snap beans, fried chicken, rice and gravy, and a big glass of tea to wash it down with. The food was really good. Go there. It's open, really nice, and operating more or less like a Swiss watch. They have plans to open the back dining room soon (their plans hinge on employees rather than money or construction-so now they are just like every other restaurant in town and that in itself is kind of nice. The place is busy, but things move along pretty fast (excepting chicken-they fry to order, so if you get chicken, prepare on about a 25 minute delay between ordering and eating. Chat with your neighbors as they are probably pretty interesting people and you might learn something. Today there were a couple of uptown (though clearly kinda hip beyone the norm) lunch ladies, a couple of guys who were clearly big shot politico types (loudly discussing how Bill Jefferson is going to fry), some contractors and a few of their employees, a film crew from CA who had come from the airport STRAIGHT to the place, luggage and all, and literally cheered when the food hit the table, and a couple more guys who likely didn't make their living in a very legal manner. All in all, it was a great crowd of people with one thing in common, if nothing else-everyone in there liked to eat. I had a great time and I am sure that most of you will too.

I am pleased to announce that Willie Mae's Scotch House will be open for lunch tomorrow and, happily, the day after that and the day after that, hopefully ad infinitum. The family has come to an operating agreement that will allow the place to operate on a daily basis with (hopefully) as little familial rancor as possible. All permitting issues have been dealt with and they are ready to serve all comers beginning tomorrow at 11. Take that all you naysayers and haters and take that USA Today. This project was done with private labor, private financing, and a great deal of hard work from people who didn't know the Seatons and who in most cases had never even heard of Willie Mae's Scotch House. It was done with hard work and love from many people and they all deserve a great deal of credit and thanks, as do the thousands of other volunteers who have helped out all around the Gulf Coast, in so many ways, since Aug 29, 2005. THIS is the way that this place will get rebuilt. Waiting around on our government officials (on every level of government) to do it is not only a waste of time, but a Quixotic exercise is futility and frustration. We are NOLA. We're not like you and we like it that way. Thanks for everything to everybody and hopefully I'll see you at lunch.

Nothing better than a good, cargrilled oyster. I usually cook mine on an old Chrysler New Yorker. Plenty of room for lots of oysters in that big, old roadhog.

Starbuck's has, indeed, come through with a bunch of money for many worthy causes in New Orleans and I feel less strongly about them than I used to (though I still say their regular drip coffee can easily be outdone by the average Zippy Mart-the stuff just tasted burnt-completely overoasted). That being said, I would be ok with a Starbucks there. It would be mainly used by tourists, as there are lots and lots of coffee options within a couple of blocks of that spot and most of us these days are shopping as locally as possible (or so it seems to me) and will continue to support the local guys over the corporate behemoths. Besides, they make a crappy cafe au lait and don't even have chicory coffee in the place-poseurs, for sure.

Clearly the fix was in. Cochon shoulda won, but I think the fact that it is not fine dining and it still got nominated says much about the place and the quality of the people running it. Also, when you consider how "New York Heavy" the voting block is, it's a pretty steep hill to climb for someone from the hinterlands to win. I saw Steven (actually, it was a pretty star studded affair with alot Southern nominees in attendance at a very fun lunch (and very delicious)) at Butter where Alexandra Guarnischelli put together a great menu that included a dandelion, blue cheese and pear salad, a wild green salad with duck cracklins, a delicious ramp soup, some roasted beef tenderloins, raw oysters with mignonette, fava beans and grilled artichoke hearts, incredible filleted and grilled sardines, and a bunch of other stuff that was all pretty swell (including this chocolate bomb thing for dessert that was one of the best chocolate desserts that I have ever tasted (and stolen from mingling dining companions-you snooze, you lose). Steven, Donald Link, The Lee Brothers, John Currence (sporting a handsome new pork tattoo on his left arm-his lovely mother Becky, who was also there, was so proud...), Chris Hastings, Hugh Acheson, John Fleer, Mike Lata, Scott Peacock, Karen and Ben Barker, and on and on were all there and mostly in fine fettle given that half of them were hung over like 2 day old laundry. Congrats to Donald Link, Scott Peacock, the Lee Brothers and all of the other winners. Nice work.

Pableaux Johnson is a New Orleans based writer and photographer and a pretty fair maker of red beans and liquid pork. He has a book coming out in July, 2007 written for ESPN. He writes, and shoots photos, for lots of magazines and is a regular contributor to the New York Times for both Dining and Wine and for the Travel sections of the paper.

Well, those water bottles are a pretty serious weapon- They are custom made for Antoine's and you used to be able to buy them at Adler's, but I can't seem to find them online. No matter though, trust me-it would be like whacking someone with a crystal bowling pin. Those things are heavy and indelicate (which makes them a perfect match for the food at Antoine's ) \

Well, you can be pretty sure that they weren't fighting over any food...

Ian should not be allowed to use the secret restrooms. No one has ever revealed that in print. He should be drummed out of the food writing corps in N.O. and sent off to the hinterlands to cover hot dog eating contests or something. Sheesh, just when you think that you know a guy... Gambit Weekly: Back to Basics ←

I've been thinking about this and here's what I wanted to eat after it was all taken away from us on Aug 29, 2005. It's funny, but I think for many of us, besides our families and friends, we missed the food as much as we missed whatever we lost in the storm. The food, well, it was truly comfort food to many of us and when it was taken away, it hurt. Oyster Loaf at Casamentos Galatoire's fried potatoes and the oysters en brochette Nectar Sno Bliz from Hansen's Chicken ala Grande and Oysters Mosca Roasted Duck at Upperline Roast Beef PoBoy at Parkway Bakery and at Parasol Oysters on the 1/2 almost anywhere (Bourbon House is where the 1st ones I had were) Gnocchi and Truffles at August Spumoni at Brocato's Chicken Livers at Jacques Imo's Satsuma's from Plaquemine parish (out of season now, sorry) Strawberries from Pontchatoula (pretty swell now) Boiled Crawfish in my backyard Red Beans at Pableaux's (a private dining establishment with high member standards French Fry PoBoy at Johnny's Eggs and Rice at La Spiga French Bread from Leidenheimer's A Burger at Port o' Call (though the one at Coop's sure was good in Oct 2005) Reuben at Verti Mart And a whole lot more. Those are just a few of my favorites

This is Martha Foose and her mom giving a quick mayo lesson during the (shameless eGullet sponsor plug alert) Viking World of Flavor Tour of the Mississippi Delta last year. They made several types of mayo during the demo (as did the tourists who got to make some for themselves after the lesson) on the backporch of "the big house" at Pluto Plantation in the Mississippi Delta last year. It was a fun demo and everyone came away with the feeling that making mayo in one of those old Wesson mayo plunger devices is dead easy and highly efficient. I had owned one for years and it had served as nothing more than an interesting tchotcke on a shelf in the kitchen. I use it all of the time now. Making flavored mayo is fun to do and not a little satisfying, though doing it on someone's back porch in the middle of the catfish ponds, cotton fields, and pecan orchards made it just a bit more entertaining than it might have been otherwise.

If you need any local help-with anything-let me know. I'll be glad to help or put you in touch with someone who can job or living situation or advice wise. Oh, and the local place that most everyone uses is Caire Restaurant Supply. It's a great store and after the storm, easily the biggest full service rest supply place in town. I love going in there. They have reasonable prices on knives and a pretty good selection to boot. It might not hurt you at all to buy your stuff here, as you might learn a thing or two about who is hiring, who does what, and who uses what, from the local supply place rather than one somewhere else. Besides, alot of us are pretty crazy about shopping local these days. You'll get used to it, eventually. Good Luck and let me know if I can help, B

I cut alot of fish-primarily speckled trout, red and black drum, flounder, the occasional yellowtail, and some freshwater fish like white perch (that's crappie to you from the Northern Climes), bream (once again, for those of you up there in the North Country, those would be sunfish, perch, whatever) of various sorts, and the occasional bass (we don't eat them so much as we spend massive amounts of money getting them in the boat and the whole eating thing seems to be not quite so fun) and other fish. I get by with one of these http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/s...t=SearchResults And one of these when we are running through tons of specs- http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/s...t=SearchResults That's a great video. Makes me want to go cut some fish.

It was a big, big weekend here for all of us who have spent the last year and a half working to restore a 90 year old woman's restaurant and attached house. This place has been, in mine and many other's minds, a really nice metaphor for the struggle that is putting this place back in semi working order. With absolutely nothing but privately donated money and labor, a rotating group (eventually totalling over 200 people) of incredibly dedicated volunteers, and a hell of a lot of whip cracking, cajoling, and generally good natured prodding from our fearless leader, Johnny Snack(John Currence), we all managed to, unbelievably, put Mrs Seaton back in her house about three weeks ago and then to, yesterday, let her get back where she wants to be-behind her stove making "good food for the people." Willie Mae Seaton with a big can of baking powder (That's the only part of the recipe that you'll get from me. I know better than to tell secrets that might get me banned from the modest, but hallowed doors on St Ann and Tonti St in Treme. Mary Beth Lasseter, John Currence, and Mrs. Seaton's niece taking a break before the onslaught (and it was) of diners. Miracles, it would seem, do indeed happen- even in New Orleans. Getting things rolling on the line in Willie Mae's kitchen. That's her daughter in law cooking there in the foreground and a couple of visiting heavies from the East Coast helping to get things underway on the first day. Also, Joe York, soon to be world famous documentarian (and snappy dresser) and part of his extensive crew of assistants are in the background. It's good to have a personal film maker. John Fleer, formerly of Blackberry Farm and now of his house (and really happy about it) coming out with one of the first plates (that veal gravy was off the hook) Ann Cashion, standing in front of a bowl of Mrs. Seaton's secret batter mix, getting some chicken ready for the pan. She turned out to be a good student. Perhaps someday she will be ready to move out into a kitchen of her own. My hero, directing traffic. Between Mrs. Seaton, Ms. Cashion, Mr. Fleer, and Mr. Snack, that adds up to better than 10 Beard nominations and at least three medals (I'm not really sure, but it's plenty of them). I'm betting that's pretty close to the first time that's ever happened in a commercial kitchen open for business (happens at fundraisers all the time, though) Before all of this started, John had a full head of hair and a semi functioning liver. Now? Not so much. Willie Mae's niece and her son Slim (back from Houston, where he evacuated, to help out for a while) washing up. The dishes were flying around pretty fast back there all day. I'm sure that some of you geeks want plate pics but this is as good as it gets. I don't do that. Also, this would be pretty typical of the way that it looked all round yesterday-boarding house reach was the rule of the day. Those plates were coming back as clean as a whistle. What you see there is braised veal on one plate and fried chicken on the other. Yesterday's sides were butterbeans, redbeans or snap beans. No bread pudding and I, your ace reporter, can FINALLY explain why she only has it every once in a while....She only makes it with bread ends. That means that she only makes a pan when she has saved up enough bread ends to do it. When it's gone, it's gone. Now you might say, "Why doesn't she just buy some bread for that?" Well, you don't stay in business long if you aren't sharp and by way of her thinking, it is an expense she could ill afford when times were lean. As she puts it in Joe York's excellent documentary, Above the Line, Saving Willie Mae's Scotch House , "I'm all bidness, baby. All bidness." And she is. Don't kid yourself. I saw a couple of signs yesterday (most welcome signs at that) that, though she might have lost a couple of steps, she's as sharp as a tack when it comes to that place and the way that she wants it run. Believe me, when she corrected one of those Pros from Dover they did what she said. Same for her son, Slim. He's kind of the fry guy and has been for a long time. Ann Cashion was frying chicken during the rush and she pulled a basket which she says (and still does and I'm not arguing with her-she's a great chef and crazy smart) was perfect, even now, but that Slim quietly took out of her hands and quietly put back in the grease (peanut oil for those of you keeping score at home) for another couple of minutes. Apparently this happened with someone else two years ago at the Beards. Willie Mae Seaton likes it on the dark side and who's to say she's wrong-the results speak for themselves. The stuff is crazy delicious. Even Barbie tried to get fly in for lunch. Pableaux conducts the post game breakdown with Mrs. Seaton. She's a tough nut to crack, but the charming Mr. Johnson has no trouble with her. Boys will be boys. When a man, even one as old as John sees wet concrete, they have to, they are compelled to, write their name in it. I'm sure even the Romans did it when they were building aqueducts. At least he spelled it right. After service- my friends Mary Beth Lasseter, Joey Lauren Adams, Bess Reed, Ann Cashion and John Fleer take a break on the sidewalk and discuss what bar it would be best to get it over with in. They settled on the Bon Ton and then off to Pableaux Johnson's for his weekly Bean Salon. It was a great day. It was, in many ways, a great year and a half. Who knows what's going to happen? I surely don't. What I do know is that I have made some friends for life and we finished what we set out to do. The rest is up to someone else much bigger and alot more benevolent than I. Also, just for the record-that chicken? It really is all of that and a bag of doughnuts. Really. I NEVER order fried chicken in restaurants but I have always eaten Willie Mae's. But, over the last year and a half, I and many of my friend have questioned whether it was legend or whether it was fact. I'm here to tell you that it is an absolute fact that this stuff is consistently the best chicken in the land. The best. Get there while you can and while she's still making it. Plan a trip-you won't be sorry. Also, Leah Chase is opening up Dooky Chase on Holy Thursday, so you can do a twofer in the same block. That's a good day of eating, dear hearts. A very good day. Thanks for watching. Tune in next time for a new episode of, "As The City Drowns." Check your local listings for showtimes in your area. Best, Brooks

You might call Johnny's Half Shell. I believe (I would check right now, but I would rather spread rumors and innuendo-after all, I realize that I am dealing with DC folks who are used to this kind of behavior) they might be doing some later in the Spring. I know that Johnny, earlier in the year, was planning on doing some boils out on the patio (it's a really good space for that kind of thing)-but I'm not sure where that is at the moment. They're pretty tied up with getting the Taqueria/Take-out up and running. I'll check and try to let you know.

Donald Link (also nominated for Best Chef Southeast) and Steven Stryjewski (aka Sausage Boy-and I mean this in only the most admiring and complimentary way) built a shrine to porky goodness in post Katrina New Orleans and their dedication and savvy has paid off with Beard Nomination. I love the place. I have eaten there at least once a week since it opened and on several different stretches, as many as three days in a row. Did I mention that it's all about pork? Congrats to both of them. They deserve it. It's a great place (that would be even better if they would put some pads in those seats. Then again, I guess that they figure most of their customers will come with some padding already attached to their own seats.) I'll be there for the awards and I hope to see some home boys take it all home-but the competition is pretty stiff and, in fact, they're up against Momofuku and I love that place, as well. The category also has the usual suspects-a bunch of high end, namby pamby places that probably don't have yeast rolls, head cheese, or housemade bologna on the menu- and as many of the voting members can't make it down as they are not willing to brave our mean streets, well, this win will be an uphill climb for the Cochon Boys. Then again, everything here kind of has that quality attached to it these days, so it won't be anything new for either of them.

What kind of egg would be the best for this dish? And, as I am a neophyte in the rodent dining realm, what kind of beverage might be a good match for this developing delicacy?

Well, except for that Deadhead thing (everyone has something in their misguided youth that they might want to take a look at), Ronnie is one of the most standup guys that I have ever met around here. He did a tremendously interesting, important and pain in the ass thing by putting together that whole Alinea project. That work is referenced in just about every article that is written about Grant Achatz and for good reason-it was really the first time that one of those avant garde space chefs really put his thought and work process out there for wild eyed foodies to see. It was fascinating to be involved with, in even a small way, and watching the work he did made me admire Ronnie all the more. His input over that last few years has been large and varied-kind of like Ronnie, now that I think about it. We'll all be poorer without it. Hopefully he will make up for it as a poster and participant. I'll look forward to that. And I hope, if I write enough nice stuff (ever the unapologetic suckup am I) I too will be invited to one of his giant Holiday soirees or, better yet, a Cubs game, or, better yet, I will be able to take him out to eat sometime in our not so fair city by the river. I would like that very much. We don't have those weird hot dogs or upside down pizza, but I'm pretty sure that I can get him away from the table with a smile on his face. Good luck, Bubba.

Well, let's put it this way-I painted that ceiling and I love it. There had to be choices made based completely on financial issues-plumbing or a dropped ceiling-we thought that plumbing might be the way to go. Also, as opposed to her old place, there is a central unit in there and that should handle things better than those old ginormous window units that she used to have. If anyone out there would like to donate 25K for a dropped ceiling and the rearrangement of all of the services, well, I'm sure that we can get it done in no time. Until then, well, I did a very nice job painting that ceiling.

Well, for those of you with a Kitchen Aid, you can be one of the Cool Kids too! Pimp my mixer, mister!

I don't think you can get out of Waffle House in 22 minutes. Robyn ← Oh ho, you are wrong about that one Robyn. I just timed it-less than an hour ago. 19 minutes for a short stack with two over easy, an order of smothered, covered, scattered, a couple of patties, and a couple of cups. The food, incidentally, was on the counter in something around 7 minutes, so I wasn't even particularly in a hurry. It was exactly as it always is-hot, well prepared given the quality of the base ingredients, and the coffee was fresh and pretty tasty (way better than most of the coffee that you will find in any kind of speedy service place). In fairness, though, there were only about a dozen other customers and the ones that were actually eating (as opposed to sitting there endlessly kibbitzing with the workers) had already been served-so my survey was based on me knowing exactly what I wanted and pretty much an instantaneous cooking process. Chez Waffle is, in fact, one of the amazing wonders of the semi fast food world. I haven't eaten in a Mc Donald's or any other true fast food joint in a long time, but I probably go to WH a couple of times a month.

Right again, Brooksie, and thanks, Todd, for bringing this blog to our attention. Immaculate Planet -- brilliant. All those organic veggie yuppie townies who shop and cook for validation, not pleasure. ← Here in this place, for good or bad, for better or worse, for right or for wrong (and that's for US to decide, thanks) it's Always for Pleasure