TAPrice

I got a press release yesterday about MiLa. It's opening November 7. I don't believe much of what I read in press releases, but I don't think they'd announce the opening if the date wasn't reasonably firm. Looks like they will be open before Thanksgiving. Good work. Here is the only part of the release that's not fluff: Sounds good to me.

I don't disagree that it's great place. Over on the Chowhound Louisiana board, which tends to get a high percentage of tourist traffic, it's mentioned quite frequently. You're probably right that Brigtsen's gets less mentions on the eGullet forum than other places. Not sure why.

Does Brigtsen's really get less attention? That's hard to measure. Here are the number of articles written about these restaurants in major newspapers over the last five years (I don't have an easy way to search glossy magazines): Bayona: 29 hits Brigtsen's: 12 hits Commander's Palace: 125 hits (some may be for LV location, although this still promotes NOLA original) Cuvee: 2 hits Emeril's: 197 hits Galatoire's: 100 hits Gautreau's: 9 hits Herbsaint: 31 hits Lilette: 4 hits Long Branch: 11 hits New Orleans Grill: 12 hits Peristyle: 15 hits Restaurant August: 34 hits RioMar: 0 hits Ristorante del Porto: 0 hits Stella: 12 hits While Brigtsen's isn't the most mentioned place, it certainly gets attention. If it's not mentioned as much in the media (which I'm not so sure about), there could be a few factors (I'm just speculating). First, Brigtsen's doesn't have a PR person. A place like Restaurant August has a very effective PR machine working on its behalf. Also, a lot of places get attention when travel writers come in for paid-for trips and are taken around to certain locations. Brigtsen's may not be part of that process. Also, Brigtsen's is outside the main tourist area. Now, many other talked about places are far from the main zones, but they fit a certain idea of New Orleans. They're funky and gritty. Do people in New Orleans talk less about Brigtsen's? I don't know. Do participants on online discussion boards talk less about Brigtsen's? I don't think so. And they always seemed to be fully booked.

For what it's worth, here are the ratings I could find for restaurants that have cracked the top ten. The Picayune's website is a mess, so I'm not sure if some places have never been reviewed or simply are not on the site (maybe because a critic prior to Anderson reviewed the place?). Remember, at TP it's beans instead of stars, so mentally replace the stars with miniature red beans: Bayona (no review) Brigtsen's: **** (5/4/01) Commander's Palace: no beans listed online (11/1/02) Cuvee: **** (2/15/02) Emeril's: **** (9/28/01) Galatoire's (no review) Gautreau's: **** (11/09/01) (Note: Chef was Brent Bond) Herbsaint (no review) Lilette: **** (3/30/01) Long Branch (opened after Anderson stopped reviewing) New Orleans Grill (no review) Peristyle: ***** (10/5/01) (Note: Chef Anne Kearney) Restaurant August: **** (1/4/02) and ***** (6/6/03) RioMar (no review) Ristorante del Porto (no review) Stella: *** (7/20/01) I'm not sure what this all means. Clearly restaurants can change dramatically over the course of a few years. Still, it certainly would suggest that even our best restaurants could be better. Even in New York, though, there are no where near 10 restaurants that carry the New York Time's top rating.

It's not open yet. I'd really be shocked if it's open before Christmas, but who knows. Brooks works with them, so he might have some insight on this. You out there Brooks? ← Ok, looks like they will be open soon. They said on Lorin Gaudin's radio show that they're shooting for November 7. Sounds like it possible.

Sorry, you're early for crawfish. On the other hand, oysters will be at their prime. They're best when the water is cold. If you could just stay a few more days, you'd make the first parade of Carnival!

Yes, NOLA is more casual than Emeril's, so don't worry about the jeans.

It's not open yet. I'd really be shocked if it's open before Christmas, but who knows. Brooks works with them, so he might have some insight on this. You out there Brooks?

How could you stay away so long? The Hummingbird has been gone for ages. The Blue Bird is a popular breakfast spot, although it's not all that unusual. What kind of breakfast options are you looking for? For Cajun, the options are slim. Cochon is very good. Le Bon Ton Café is still solid. Creole: too many to name. Don't miss L'il Dizzy's for the latest Baquet family restaurant. Fried chicken: Willie Mae's (no surprise). Pampy's was still doing the late Austin Leslie proud recently. With the owner about to go to prison, there was a change of ownership. I can't say how it is right now. Dunbar's, now located in a Loyola cafeteria, is also good. Muffaletas: I would direct you to a relative newcomer--Cafe Freret near the universities. They make the their own olive salad. Top notch. Hot dogs: Two post storm newcomers. Shaggy's in Mid-City has styles from around the country including an original Muffaleta dog. It's really good. Olive salad and yellow mustard are a great combination. If you scroll down to the bottom of this page you'll find my review. Also, Easy Dogs in Gretna is new. Here is a link to a review this week in Gambit. (This link will change next Tuesday.) Nope, Felix's is certainly no longer the place. My favorite is Casamento's uptown. My second favorite is the oyster bar at Pascal's Manale. Third favorite is the oyster bar at Bourbon House in the Quarter, although it's a lot more expensive. Bozo's is good, but I think of it more as a fried oyster place. I'll try to come back with more replies later.

Kim Severson of the New York Times visits New Orleans and tries the chicken at both Dooky Chase and Willie Mae's click). This blog entry includes a video of Kerry Seaton in the kitchen, but she won't give away Willie Mae's secret. [Note: I cross posted this on the Dooky Chase thread.] I was there a few weeks ago on a Saturday. It was pretty outstanding. Not just the chicken, but everything.

Kim Severson of the New York Times visits New Orleans and tries the chicken at both Dooky Chase and Willie Mae's click). This blog entry includes a video of Leah Chase making fried chicken. [Note: I cross posted this on the Willie Mae thread.]

Last I heard it was open Mon-Fri for take out only.

Are these posted anywhere? I can't find them on Tom's site (although I did see his list of 20 best restaurants not included in the Picayune guide--in general, he likes Brett's effort.)

The Picayune's big annual dining guide came out last week. For me, the most interesting part is Brett Anderson's picks for Top 10 restaurants. As far as I know (I should probably ask him), his first list appeared in the 2003 guide to 100 "great" restaurants. To give us a little historical perspective, I pulled up the older lists. Are these the best restaurants in New Orleans? Are worthy contenders being overlooked? What does it say about New Orleans dining that there is so little movement in this list? Note: The restaurants are listed in alphabetically order, not by rank. 2003 Bayona Brigsten's Commander's Palace Cuvée Emeril's Galatoire's Herbsaint Lilette Peristyle Restaurants August 2004 Bayona Brigsten's Cuvée Emeril's Galatoire's Gautreau's Herbsaint Lilette New Orleans Grill Restaurant August (Exit Commander's Palace, which never makes the list again. Any idea why? Exit Peristyle. Anne Kearney sold the restaurant in 2004, so I'm guessing the change bumped it off the list. Enter Gautreau's. Was that around the time that Mathias Wolf took over? Enter New Orleans Grill.) 2005 No list that year. I think you know why. 2006 Bayona Brigtsen's Cuvée Emeril's Galatoire's Herbsaint Lilette Long Branch Restaurant August Stella (Exit Gautreau's. It was still closed at this point. Exit New Orleans Grill, which lost chef Jonathan Wright after the storm and was still in serious limbo at that point. Enter Long Branch (since shuttered) and Stella.) 2007 Bayona Brigtsen's Emeril's Galatoire's Herbsaint Lilette Restaurant August Rio Mar Ristorante del Porto Stella (Exit Long Branch, because it closed. Exit Cuvée. Cuvée, along with Commander's Palace, are the only restaurants, as far as I can tell, to leave the list without major upheaval in the back of the house. Enter Rio Mar and Ristorante del Porto.) Did Brett publish a Top 10 list before 2003? Did previous critics keep a top ten list?

I think Steven is certainly deserving, but the fact that Link won last year will probably work against him, I'd guess. Also, although we all know that he's the chef at Cochon, most of the national media doesn't. That probably doesn't help.

Sorry, I'm blanking out here--Pete who?

The Futurist Cookbook (see entry here on Amazon) appears to be out of print. It's a curious book. I can't find my copy at the moment. You might be able to find it used, although given how expensive the used copies are on Amazon the book might be rare. Apparently you're not the only one to see a connection between the Futurist and Molecular Gastronomy. On that Amazon page, customers who bought the Futurist Cookbook also bought bought Molecular Gastronomy by Hervé This (along with Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma--that one makes less sense).

Honestly, it's been so long since I've been there (and that kills me) and at the time I knew nothing about drinks, so I really don't know what was on tap. Now that I've recently purchased some bianco vermouth, I'm surprised how much it tastes like the sweet vermouth on tap in Spain. In Spain, though, it was dark red.

The last time I spent a lot of time in Spain (which was, sadly, about 7 years ago), vermouth on tap was all the rage. Everywhere I went, there where signs that said, "Hay vermouth de grifo." Even the national library had it. I could order my 300 year-old book of baroque sermons, slip down to the cafeteria for a few vermouths, and by the time I finished them my book would be waiting at my desk. Such a civilized way to research! The Library of Congress may be better organized, but it has no bar. The vermouth was sweet vermouth, but far superior to anything out of the bottle. Just like most bottled beers can't match the version on tap. What I'm wondering is what a cocktail with draft vermouth would taste like? Unfortunately, I don't know that it can be found outside Spain and I'm not sure many people in Spain would know how to mix a drink.

I picked up a bottle of bianco vermouth this week. I actually walked into my neighborhood supermarket intent on buying a bottle of chartreuse, but it was just too expensive to pull the trigger. Instead, I walked out with applejack, falernum and bianco vermouth. This month, I'm playing with less expensive ingredients. So what can I do with this vermouth? It's actually pretty nice just to sip. But what cocktails would use it? I assumed that it would work as a sweet vermouth substitute, but a 2:1 Manhattan made with bianco vermouth and 4 dashes of Angostura is pretty hot and rough. Maybe I need to up the proportions? Or maybe a perfect Manhattan with sweet and bianco?

So I'm making a cocktail tonight, and for the first time I actually read the label on the Angostura bottle. And down at the bottom I see: "Angostura makes food more appetizing!" Does it? Really? Helpfully, the bottles suggested 2 dashes with cooked or canned fruits, 2-3 dashes with each CUP of mayonnaise or French dressing in a salad and 2-3 dashes in soup. So, does anyone cook with bitters? And if Angostura is really so great, what about other bitters?

I could have sworn that at Tales of the Cocktail, someone told me that once they pinned down the government on how much thujone was permissible it turned out that pretty much all absinthe came in under the threshold.

Boswell seems like a contender for Best Chef South. Rumor has it that he's been on the short list recently. I wonder if the fact that he doesn't cook "Southern" food will hurt him? I been to the Windsor Court yet, but I could see Greg Sonnier getting another nomination. Many people are really happy to see him cooking again after the trouble he had trying to reopen Gabrielle. Besh for restaurateur? I'm not saying it's impossible, but it seems premature this year. I would think that he'd have to prove that he could manage his now rather large portfolio of restaurants for a few years. I'm sure that I'm overlooking some good contenders.

Roughly how much more expensive is the bonded? I bought the blended for a little over $11.

The official entry period for the James Beard awards has begun. You can submit entries online here. So do you think any Louisiana chefs or restaurants will be nominated this year? Who are your picks?