saturnbar

Thanks for the heads up. Nice write up. ch

Not sure about wild duck, actually never had wild duck with the skin on. But Gregg Sonnier has a recipe for Long Island duck where you remove the skin at the end and put under the broiler. Came out great. ch Sorry, I just can't get the hang of adding hyperlinks. ch

I can't really comment on how things are at the fine dining level, but from walking around in the Quarter you wouldn't know that things were bad at all. For some reason the Quarter was absolutely deserted in September. It must be expected as the Napolean House was closed for over a week for vacation. But come October and the tourists were here en masse. Johnny went from walk up service to ten deep at the counter overnight. Its funny, the news has been so bad that when I walk outside I expect the streets to be empty.

That's easy, Mosca's. Charlie

At Bienville and S. Peters to be exact. Although I have passed there a million times, I can't recall what was previously in the space, but I don't think it was a restaurant. All new furnishings and shiny new stainless steel equiptment, and a large horseshoe bar, for the margaritas! These guys seem to have perfected the Mexican as cafeteria food form. Can you say Dilly in spanish. It looks like they will be open in a few days. I wish Scott Boswell would wander down there and get Felipe's contractor's number. But that's another story. It should be interesting to see how they do. That stretch of S. Peters is pretty dead. Speaking of dead, I have never seen the quarter so deserted. Oh and it looks like something is going on at the old Bull's Corner two doors down, well by something, they are applying for a liquor license. Well, thats all the Quarter news that I've got. Happy trails. ch

FYI, Langensteins on Metaiire Rd. is open and is fully stocked. They have their own generator and kept it on the whole time. Fresh milk and bread as well. ch

Did you do Brooks suggestion? I wish I had loaded a cooler with everthing and ffity pounds of ice. Thinking we were staying, I went to the store Saturday, through it all awa y Sunday morning, then bought about exactly the same thing today. This evacuation stuff gets expemsive. For reclaiming the freezer, I layed out newspaper on each shelf with ground charcoal on top and a dozen of those arm and hammer fridge packs and let it run for a month, worked great. I like the almong extract idea. Or maybe some gardenia blossom's.

Its funny, I used to be the same way, hit the store, stock up, fill the propane tanks, freeze a bunch of protein, buy lots of water, make a ton of ice in the stand alone freezer, fill all the ice chests with ice and beer. Lay in a case of wine. Restock batteries and candles, etc. Hurricane season used to be a real boon for the local groceries, Home Depot, and especially for Kentwood. I am thinking not so much anymore. Now the theory is don't buy any food, eat everything in the fridge and freezer, becuase most of it is getting thrown out anyway. I wouldn't want a lot of unfrozen produce or unfrozed anything laying around. If you make a big pot of gumbo, freeze it all like HungryC said. Freeze the butter, freeze the cheese, freeze the milk, freeze the bread, freeze the mayo. Three of my neighbors invested in gas fired generators, that would be the way to go, maybe next year. The house will certainly hold up, and flooding isn't a threat, but we are very lucky and have access to a nice little house in the country, Lettsworth, it will be crowded, if it gets too crowded there are cabins across the road. So I am like why fight it. Hit the road early and often. Leaving Saturday a.m. if it goes elsewhere, we'll have had a pleasant weekend in the country. With three kids, there's no good reason to put them through any more trauma. Lots of work to do around the house though pre departure. I really hate trampolines. Here are a few tips though. 3/4 full milk cartons for making ice. Great for the cooler because when they melt, no water. Absolutely don't put an unopened or full gallon in the freezer becuase the carton will crack during freezing and leak water everywhere when it thaws. You can drink the stuff too. Your broiler pan makes a great ice making rescepticle. Lay slabs on top of each other in the master cooler and remove when needed for the auxilliary coolers. A small bowl of ice in the freezer will tell you how long the power was out, clocks do too I guess, but I can't imagine anyone will be leaving one speck, nay one crumb of food behind in the fridge if they leave town. Also, charcoal works better than baking soda, and activated charcoal works best. ch

Chad, I was wondering whether you had an opinion on the "epicurean" cutting boards. They say they are knife friendly but they seem a little hard. ch

I knew I was having trouble followng. I think it was the reference to a nice little pot roast that threw me off.

Just to make sure I am not a complete idiot, but the larger of the ltwo cuts/pieces (on the right) is the chuck eye? Thanks for the excellent write up. They have been selling something at my local independent grocer that they call a chuck tender roast. I am going to have to give it a closer look. It may in fact be the vaunted chuck eye. Charlie

I am glad to see he is not imbibing as much. He looks much healthier for it. I was beginning to worry about him. ch

Another excellent starting place, other than the many posts here, is egullet member Danno's website nolacuisne.com. He is a died in the wool creole cuisine afile and has recipes and photos of many if not most of the real standards that made the old line restaurants famous. I go there often for inspiration. A great resource. ch

An egullet member did his thesis on culinary traditions/roots in New Orleans cuisine. It's online, but its in french. http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-03232007-130307/ The topic is here: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...01732&hl=thesis Sorry for the url's. ch

I think the problem is that many vegetables can't set fruit in this kind of heat. The problem is nightime lows. For tomatoes, I believe you need lows below 70. Thats why our tomato crop peters out end of June or so. There is fall season, not as abundant as the spring though. Charlie

And covered parking to boot. The only bad thing about about it was that it made the one on Esplanade superfluous, subsequent iterations notwithstanding. Now if Mimis would only open up at the old K&B on Canal as rumored, that would be great. I must say Cochon is really putting out some good food porn lately. Reminds me of all the mouth watering shots from Jaquimo's. And I had forgotten how much I liked the super melty cheesy enchiladas at Taqueria Corona, love the tacos too. Will have to bypass Felipe's next mexcian night. Just wish they had some parking. Seems like people are really digging New Orleans lately, good to see. ch

Southern Hospitality Catering comes to mind. More of a big event type thing catering service though. If you are just looking for boxed lunches, I am sure most restaurants would be willing to accomodate. Try Crabby Jacks, I am sure they could put together something different and Martin's Wine Cellar has an excellent deli department that could handle it. There are a number of caterers who do crawfish boils and fish fry's, boudin balls, jambalaya etc. If thats what you are looking for let us know,a nd I am sure someone would have a recommendation. ch

Alton Brown had an episode recently on smoking fish. He used a cardboard box and a hot plate. You should do better with the BGE. As Andrew suggested, he cured the meat with salt and sugar, if I am not mistaken, in tinfoil and added some weight, a brick I believe. Check around foodnetwork for times and internal temps. ch

Well I guess you won't be attending Brooks' funeral. Seriously, the waiters at Galatoires are definitely no help, they have been staring at the same menu for way too long. Although, if I am going the fish route I like to get confirmation before I commit. My go to items at Galatoires usually involve something with crabmeat and/or Bernaise. I had some excellent oysters en brochette last time I was there, and the filet or the lamb chops are always good. But really, the menu there is quite daunting, that's why I posted the question initially. I have committed myself to try the chicken bon femme and/or chicken pontalba next time I go. Funny thing, my father-in-law lunches there every Friday, and they usually ask what they are making for the staff and get that. They make some mean red beans. ch

I am usually pretty happy with the pulled pork at Hillbilly Bar-B-Que in River Ridge, its only about a 9 iron from inlaws so I stop by often. Good sauce, which he sells by the jar, and his baked beans with pork debris are excellent. He trucks his hickory in from Kentucky. I really wish we had something like Sweatman's in Charleston that cooks a whole hog. And why won't anyone cook shoulder clods. Thanks for tips on the Cue Truck and Pull My Pork, I am going to have to get out to more local events for the food. Need to hit Walkers also. ch

That's because of places like F&M's, the Mayfair, Miss Mae's, not to mention the one and only, Saturnbar, along with so many other legendary hangouts, are simply part of our collective psychie. We can't help ourselves, like moths to a flame, we just love that funky vibe. And what's not to like. People talk about our food, but I'd put our funky hangouts up against any other place in the world. ch

A couple thongs I guess. One they just didn't develop any chemistry. The idea of the show is that the dinner takes place after service and everyone has a few and lets their hair down, which gets pretty interesting when there are some real heavyweights or highly talented newcomers sitting at the table. The Commanders epsiode read more like a formal dinner party with a bad seating chart. Also, there is something to be said about being too familiar with the subject matter, so maybe I was biased. At one point, Ti or Lally made a statement to Boulud about the best boudin being made in (eee gad, would you believe) gas stations, and Boulud's reaction was somewhere between confused and , oh really, how quaint. They had to explain to Boulud that our boudin is made with rice. At another point someone said something about boudinlink.com. One of the attractions of the show is that you get a really good look at some compelling new restaurants and the people that drive them, and other than a couple shots of Commanders luxurious interior you didn't get any sense about what makes the restauarnt tick. They didn't even discuss the fact that they had to completely refit the whole restauarnt after the storm. Also, the food was a little underwhelming. For Commanders part, all they brought to the table was a board of charcuterie and some, what else, boudin, whcih I am not even sure they serve. Boulud also brought his own boudin noir if I am not msitaken. They did do a riff on Boulud's $29 hamburger, with a duck poboy made with some foie and a poached egg, which wasn't much more than cute. Even Boulud's contribution, pot au feu, was a little flat. When it came out it just looked like grey meat with broth, which of course is what it is, nonetheless, not exciting. Although he did serve brain with it. Everyone was like eew, yucky, and they never did get a reaction shot of anyone eating it or whether anyone like it. It seemed like the whole show wasn't about Commanders or even New Orleans, but about Louisiana. Consequently, they managed to give the impression that all we eat or serve here is boudin and alligator. They could have at least extended the stereotype to include crawfish and boiled shrimp. Maybe I am overstating things, but I am so tired of seeing New Orleans cuisine being painted with such a broad one dimensional brush. Whats really ironic is that its practically impossible to get decent boudin in New Orleans. Hopefully, Bayonna will do us less disservice. ch

I don't know if anyone is familiar with Daniel Boulud's tv show After Hours, but he filmed two shows here at Commanders and Bayonna. If you get Cox's HD programming the show airs on the MOJO channell, 754. Basically, Boulud travels to different cities and showcases some notable restauarants by hosting a dinner with a variety of guests most of whom are local culinary professionals in some form or fashion as well a few people from the entertainement industry. Boulud usually cooks some over the top dish and the host chef usually puts on a good fead as well. Its actually my favorite food oriented show. The Commanders episode already aired but they rerun the episodes quite frequently. At the table were Ti, Lally, and Ella Brennan, Tory McPhail, Eman Loubier, Danny Trace, Lorin Gaudin, Bryan Batt, and Irvin Mayfield. Strangley, it was one of my least favorite episodes. Anyhoo, the Bayonna episode airs Sunday night and it should be interesting to see who shows up for grub. ch

I am glad to see you enjoyed your trip. ch

Praline Connection: grilled chicken livers with hot pepper jelly. Killer. ch