Daniel

You know the old saying, you don't really buy drinks you rent them... That statement is never more correct then when talking about the Hand Grenade.. Drinking these is like bullriding.. Its just a matter of time until the bull kicks you off.. Like clock work, after a night of drinking these disgusting concoctions, I am up puking at 6 am.. Sure you can tough it out and be miserable all day but, why fight it.. Go back to sleep and wake up hungry and happy by 8... So, last night as we were heading home we asked a cop where the best place to grab something to eat.. "Port Of Call is 8 blocks that way, Clover Grill is a long walk that way but, Oceana is right down the street." By this time of night, the streets were getting shady. We were happy to go some place close and on the way home.. We order a oyster po boy and a side of shrimp etouffe.. I am nursing my last hand grenade and I no its time to stop.. "I think this time I am not going to get sick", I say to Miss A.. "I am not drunk and I feel perfect" "Uh-huh"she replies... This is award winning stuff here.. This easily wins the absolute worst po boy I have ever had.. Some how they were able to mimic the cooking qualities of a microwave in a deep fryer.. The sandwich is way too bready and the 4 or 5 measly little rubbery oysters are pathetic.. Not to mention the sandwich is completely dry.. I had to order a side of sauce... The photos dont do it justice.. It looks decent in the photo..Fries were soggy and poor. After trying this etouffe visions of Gordon Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares on BBC popped into my head.. The sauce was definitely from a mix or a dented can.. It tasted like a generic starchy sauce that could have been from any microwave meal..Just a starchy slimy mess.. One bite and I was done.. Have a good day everyone, off to Galatoires.

So, I was supposed to take an 855 flight last night.. Around 10 am yesterday the im's start to come in.. "You wanna leave now?" "I think there is an earlier flight leaving at 3?" "I think I can get us on stand-bye!" "Yup, we are reserved on stand-bye, first on the list" "I am ready to go and packed, come pick me up?" Before I know it, I am racing up the NJ turnpike heading torwards JFK... We arrive in NO and hit the ground running.. We show up to the Hotel Lafayette, throw our clothes in the closet and are out walking torwards Cochon... We order a trio of small plates.. Fried rabbit liver in a pepper jelly sauce..Little shot of mint takes this to the next level.. Fried aligator again with the mint.. A wonderful combination.. Think of Nobu's spicy rock shrimp with out the citrus.. Here comes the bell of the freaking ball. Oyster covered in a chili and garlic compound butter and then thrown into a 650 degree wood burning smoky oven.. Oven: The next dish the chef sent us out.. Head cheese.. Really well done.. Super rich, really wonderful texture.. Served with super crunchy bread, homemade pickled cucumbers and green tomatoes.. Switching to something a little less heavy, we moved onto fried pig ears.. Must have been boiled, sliced into thin strips and then breaded.. Served over a wonderful rich and deep brown mustard sauce... Fried perfectly and served hot, it was in between liquid and a solid.. Ribs served with pickled watermelon.. I am pretty particular about my ribs.. And though I did not love them, techinically they were amazing.. Fall of the bone, really rich wet ribs.. I am more of a dry rub guy.. Loved the watermelon that was served with it... We ended dinner with the lemon buttermilk pie, a couple of shots of moonshine and plans of returning before the trip is over.. Not only to pick up my andouille but, to get that bacon oyster sandwich... Pie crust was just beyond good.. If the photographer hadnt drank so much white lightening, I am sure you would be able to see the perfect thumb prints in the crust that was used to shape it.. The night ended at around 2 or 3 am.. Instead of going to Vaughn's, we watched Big Al Carlson at the Funky Pirate.. We were able to watch two sets... We havent seen him in a couple of years but, wow.. The guy and his band are better then I have ever heard them.. He is doing this crazy high voice singing now and was just amazing.. He has a live version of I'll Play the Blues for You that is the best I have heard.. And upon request, he did a version last night that lasted 10 minutes.. Fantastic... Miss A was a wonderful tip collector last night as well.. She walked the room with a bucket for him.. It was rather hilarious..

Thanks everyone for all the help and talk.. Its great to have such a great reference and collection of passionate peoples... In terms of andouille, we are all set.. A conversation with the chef at Cochon got me a bunch of stuff to take home.. He sold me there homemade andouille! Pretty excited about that.. I also met this guy at Nola Grocery who is picking me up 6 pounds he is buying at a butcher shop in another town 40 minutes away..

Best place to have a crawfish boil, though the season is over/ending?

Wow, seemed like killer ingredients and not a lot of results.. You can't win top chef with a standard thai meal that you can get delivered to your house.. That whole liquid nitrogen thing.. Richard had a big tank of it at his old restaurant behind the bar.. The amount of care the tank probably needs just for making an ice cream and frozen tabsco seems like a lot of hoopla. All in all with out tasting the food, I say eh, who cares really.. Nothing to exciting about this season.

Ahh Liuzza's.. Its been so built up since the last time we went, I dont know if I can stop that train... Any butcher shops I should stop by on my last day to pick up some andouille and bayou beefs..

Fantastic Johnny! Looks like a beautiful day and a wonderful time..

Ahh yes the Clover Grill.. Now, I am trying to remember something about the Onion Rings.. They were either really good or really bad.. Something about them is standing out in my head.. I also remember there is a very colorful gentlemen who took an extreme liking to me who worked there..

Your dental hygenist gives you a bottle of wine she just made.

So, here is what I have from the birthday girl/organizer.. "Here's what I have so far Thrusday 10pm: Arrive 11pm: Kermitt Ruffins @ Vaugans After Midnight: Verti Marte (late night food) Friday 10am: Get in Line for Galatoire's (hopefully we'll be sitting at a table by 11:30) 3pm-6pm: Leisure down Frenchman Street 8:30pm: Bayona, Lilette, Mosca's, Upperline (having trouble choosing where to eat - any help?) Saturday 12pm: Willie Mays 4pm: Liuzza's, Central Grocery, Po Boy Spot (Help us - who really makes the best?) 9pm: 30th Birthday at Cochon Sunday: WHAT SHOULD WE DO?!?!? WHERE SHOULD WE EAT?!?!?! WHAT PLACES ARE WE MISSING?!?!?! 3:30pm: Leave for Airport back to NYC What 24 hours restauarant spots are there in New Orleans?"

I think you are pretty much going to hell for the pork/veal thing... The chicken stock thing is pretty bad too.. The other stuff is just in really poor taste and makes me question why you are wasting your time in such a shit hole..

I have never had anything besides wonderful meals there.. They are such a sweet couple.. They still have the original spot.. I hope they change it back to a restaurant.. That was me and the ladies special bday spot. Also, anyone who didnt have that fried duck leg for brunch, missed out on something special.

And please keep discussing, a buddy of mine just told me him and his girl are coming with us. We are pretty excited about that.. We are really flexible, we can do Bayonna as easily as we can do a sandwich shop attached to a gas station.. As long as the food is awesome and the mood is right, I am happy anywhere.. So thank you for all the perspectives.. I am bringing one set of nice clothes, one set of street clothes, and a couple of pairs of drawls.. We will be ready for anything..

I have read the Breakfast at Brennans cookbook and made several items off of it.. Though I want to go, something tells me we are going to be doing Galatoires mainly..

Wow thanks Brookes.. I can definitely see us doing a lot of these things.. However, Liuzza's is a must for the lady.. Despite the fact that I make there stuffed shrimp po boy, she is demanding we go..

Hansens and Cochon.. Definitely in the mix.. Thanks guys.. Frenchmen street is definitely a must..

I started watching QVC yesterday for some reason.. I saw a grill and turned my brain off.. Am seriously contemplating a purchase.. The idea that you can carry the grill with out waiting for it to cool or removing the charcoal sounds good to me.. Bang out a quick burger in central park. The rotiserrie is stupid.. Here is a link but, one can just google son of hibachi.. http://www.sonofhibachi.com/

My buddy rolled over with a fatty dry aged ribeye..(2 lbs) He told me he was coming but, surprised me with two really nice soft shell crabs.. They were half molted and the shell was almost forming.. Everything was edible, but it had a really nice crunch.. I would call these guys Hotels. I dipped the crabs in some frying mixture I picked up along the coast in South Carolina.. It was fine like wondra but, even more so.. When you poured the mixture out, it like weaponized leaving us all coughing.. Cooked in butter and a shot of Olive Oil.. The nice guys threw in two extra claws.. Made a mayo then added srirachi.. Took Savoy Cabbage and made a champagne vinegar hot dressing with mustard seeds as a slaw type thing.. Served on hot and buttery brioche rolls.. Me and my buddy literally walked a mile to pick up these buns.. Complaining along the way, ("were walking a half hour for a bun?") he thanked me as he took his first bite. Served with a Muscadet.. Dry Aged ribeye got pan cooked in a cast iron.. Covered in salt, duck fat on the pan, finished off in a 400 degree oven.. Served baby potatoes from the Green Market with roasted garlic, little thyme, olive oil, then the drippings from the steak pan.. French beans involved on the side with a dressing made from egg yolk and banyuls.. Dorigo '01 for the wine folks. http://www.ditalia.com/product/Dorigo_Pign...o/103Overpriced over priced shite. Levaine or however you spell it cookies and milk.. Cafe con leche and spirits.

I went about a year ago.. Found the food to range from excellent to good..The tasting menu started out really strong and kind of ended on a flat note.. However, the high notes were pretty damn high.. The previous poster was right in saying how wonderful Rob is.. He was one of the better waiters I have had recently.. We also had the wine pairing... I think dinner was 5 or 6 hundred.. Which I found to be expensive. But it certainly was the best restaurant I have been to in Atlanta.. Though, I have not been to many of the high end spots.

Yes we started re-creating A, meaning one dish, with more sustainable meats and produce" What we did was put this wax casing over meats so it would sustain longer and not rot.. We then threw a whole bunch of vegetables on a plate.. Thus re-creating this one specific dish.. It was an amazing process.. I dont remember which dish we were re-creating but I believe it was Chicken A la King.. Instead of chicken though, we re-created it with several different type of deli hams.. It was amazing..

http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/tipsheet/ar...nderground.aspx We made it into Newseek.. I dont know if this is in the mag or not.. But above please find a link.. I hope I did it according to the rules.. Pretty ridiculous quote considering she never spoke with Alicia and I would never say that but, its at least a mention.. I think the real quote was, "we went to the best restaurants in the world and thought they all sucked"

You dont have to pay big money for Ilan's cooking, Casa Mono is well priced.. And whats best is, Casa Mono has seasonal menus.. I am sure it take Ilan a little longer to copy there menu, then it does for the chef's at Casa Mono to make it themselves.. Same thing with Jose Andres, I am sure Jose cooks his food better then Ilan would copy it..

Spike almost went home in that boxed lunch episode where he picked lettuce, bread, and tomatoes.. He served a pretty ugly looking lunch to the Po, Po... Frozen scallops. what the hell.. If they were that ugly, why didnt he wrap bacon around them and serve them a la Mortons, or just chop them up and make them into a paste, or a sausage, or poach them... There are things you can do with a scallop besides searing them.. But sitting here in my apartment, there is a lot less pressure.

I am sorry your husband got burned but, I frankly think that is pretty cool.. Great scam, has to be a lot of fun to pull off..