December 13, 2016.
The Eat Club Gala: Sparse, But Terrific.
Some night in the 1990s, the Eat Club had a dinner at Brennan’s on Royal Street to sample the Reveillon menu at Brennan’s that year. The Brennan brothers built a much better feast for us than we were expecting. About eighteen of us occupied the Gold Room on the second floor. It was a unique space, with one very large round table and a chandelier that once was illuminated by gaslight.
This was in the early years of the Eat Club, and the full possibilities of having my radio listeners and readers joining me for dinner had not yet been fully explored. It would shortly be almost insanely popular–forty or fifty people every week. When there was something like the Reveillon going on, we would find ourselves having two or three dinners a week. I was in my forties, and well capable of eating like this every day.
At the end of that first dinner in the Gold Room, one of the attendees–I think it was Carl, the Gourmet River Pilot–said, “We ought to do this during the holidays every year!” Everybody agreed with this, and indeed we began a series of dinners during every Reveillon season until the Royal Street Brennans lost control of their restaurant in 2012. By that time, our annual dinner had grown into a fifty-guest black-tie gala for over $100 per person and some spectacular wines from the late Jimmy Brennan’s vaunted cellar.
For three years, the Eat Club Gala continued to occur, but in new locations–twice at the now extinct and very good (until until its manager Danny Millan left) La Foret.
We missed two years because of Brennan’s troubles. But even when we couldn’t make the dinner happen, the Eat Clubbers continued to call me to reserve spots for the next year. Only weeks after Brennan’s reopened in 2014, our Yuletide feasts resumed. That night, it was only the fifty Eat Clubbers in the whole building.
So all was well. Until this year. I don’t know why, but we couldn’t light a fire under the Gala. The reservations peaked out at about twenty-five. Then came cancellations. By December 13, we had but fifteen diners. I was disturbed and mystified. The only real problem we had to face was that we didn’t get the menu until late in the schedule. The price was high ($150 inclusive) , but it had not moved for six years.
As it turned out, I needn’t have worried. The most credible reason for the dip is that too many people were spending too many hours mulling over the election returns. When our fifteen showed up, they were a happy bunch. Many of the diners were on the young side. The men wore their tuxedos at my behest, and we looked like an affluent group at the least.
And the food and wine were first-rate.
We were in the same room where our first two New Brennan’s dinners had been. It originally bore the name Pineapple Room. Now it’s the King’s Room, at the top of the stairs and overlooking the courtyard for a kind of balcony. Beautiful.
One thing went wrong at the beginning. When describing our needs to the lady in charge of our group, I told her that people show up early and have cocktails downstairs at the bar on their nickel before dinner. When we sit down, the wines start flowing as part of the package.
But tonight there was a cash bar set up especially for us in the King’s Room. Even though this made no big difference in what our diners spent, it didn’t feel right. I will ask the management not to do that next year.
From that moment on, everything was magic. Chef Slade Rushing came up to schmooze with us before the dinner began. The amuse bouche was a marvelous dish of crabmeat poached in butter, served in an eggshell with mushrooms and turnips, all soft and wonderfully rich. For such a little dish, it had everyone mmm-mming.
The first major course was a salad of baby chicory leaves. It looked funny on the plate but the scattering of blue cheese and a satsuma vinaigrette made it all but flash with bitterness, spice, and sweetness. This came with as dry a Vouvray as I can remember ever drinking.
The third course was made with a duck egg described as being “shirred.” That word is usually reserved for eggs baked in some kind of cup, but this egg was running free range over the plate, with help from Cheddar cheese from Georgia. The main point, of course, was to illuminate the importance of the egg at Brennan’s, and to be the first duck egg most of us had encountered. (Attendees at last year’s Gala already had the experience.)
Duck egg.
Fourth course: a variant on bouillabaisse, made with drumfish, shrimp and crabmeat, all washed over by a nage–an aromatic, well flavored stock which, when other things are added to it, multiply the flavor sensations. This one had a little Herbsaint liqueur. It was named for Paul Blange, the first star chef at Brennan’s.
A variation on bouillabaisse.
Course the fifth: A rack of lamb. Four chops. Served rare. The more lamb I eat, the more convinced I am that lamb is not at its best flavor or texture served rare. Even medium rare might be too little cooked. Chefs like rare meats, and they assume everyone does. If you ask me, rare is good for beef, not so for most other red meats.
Rare lamb chops.
However, this was helped along by(get this) a bearnaise sauce in which rendered lamb fat stood in for butter. That saved the dish for me.
The wine served with this was the best of the evening. It’s a Cabernet blend grown in the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon. Bekaa Valley is probably better know for warfare than for wine, but this is where wine as we know it was first made. Tonight, the big red had a lovely balance and a great finish. (Its name is Chateau Musa.)
By this time, most of the Eat Clubbers had met and were deep in conversation–a lot of it about how good they though the food was. Mary Ann, who rarely comes to Eat Club events, was having a fine time. She is a good conversationalist that people take a liking to more than, say, me.
Chocolate creme brulee, surmounted with a satsuma confit, on which a hairy feature puts one in the mind of a recent election.
Dessert was a creme brulee flavored with chocolate. Not my kind of thing–I say custards should be about vanilla, usually. Chocolate should be chocolate. Also on the plate was a satsuma confit. First time I’ve heard those two words together.
The dessert wine was offbeat and perfect for the occasion, the weather, and the seasons. Madeira was the favorite wine of our Founding Fathers. (I mean Washington and Jefferson, not the Brennans.) It was the degree of sweetness called “Bual,” which is about in the middle. The alcohol of a port wine is here. Madeira has a lot in common with port, especially tawnies. Love the stuff. Nice surprise.
The Eat Club was as pleased with the dinner as they had ever been. Somehow, I made it home before Mary Ann did, and she’s a speed demon. I must have been happy.
Brennan’s. French Quarter: 417 Royal. 504-525-9711.
Commander’s Palace
Commander’s Palace takes a different tack with its Reveillon menu. Instead of emphasizing the bargain prices typical of Reveillon menus, it cuts loose with the first-class ingredients and unusual presentations. This year, this program exceeded previous years, with eight courses going for $110–the most expensive Reveillon menu ever. Somebody had to do it, and why not this long-time leader in the local haute cuisine world?
This dinner is similar to the Chef’s Playground option offered nightly at Commander’s, and to the four lucky people who dine at the chef’s table every evening.
Eight courses, $110
Gulf Flounder
Plaquemines citrus, kaffir limes, and spicy caviar
Wild Shrimp, Blue Crab and Oysters
French press of shellfish broth
Redfish with Crispy Skin
Artichokes, braised leeks, parsley, and Meyer lemon
A Small Cocktail
Melty Gruyère Croque Madame
Hen’s egg, French escargot, and red wine demi-glace
Rabbit Confit
Buttermilk dumplings, salted mushrooms, and rabbit bone jus
Cochon de Lait of Wild Boar
Liquefied hogshead cheese and vinegar pearls
Chocolate “Hubig’s” Pie
Gone, but not lost, a New Orleans tasting of chocolate
Commander’s Palace. Garden District: 1403 Washington Ave. 504-899-8221.
FULL REVIEW
All the Reveillon menus can be perused here. We’ll feature one every day throughout the Reveillon season, which runs in most of the Reveillon restaurants until December 31.The snowflake ratings are for the Reveillon menu, not the restaurant in general. Dishes marked with the snowflake symbol ✽ are my recommendations.
Lemony, Light Hollandaise
I make this version of hollandaise for topping crepes and baked oysters. Its texture is a bit thinner than classical hollandaise, and the lemon component is more pronounced–although the longer it sits there staying warm, the thicker it gets. You can use this as a sauce for almost anything. Add small amounts of other ingredients to extend the possibilities. (Example: a teaspoon of Creole mustard.)
A serving dish of asparagus with hollandaise sauce
2 egg yolks
1 stick butter, softened
2 Tbs. lemon juice
Pinch cayenne
1. Briskly whisk the egg yolks with 1 Tbs. warm water in a metal bowl set over a pot of simmering but not boiling water until they begin to noticeably thicken. If the eggs appear to be curdling, take the bowl off the heat, but keep whisking. Keep going back and forth from the heat until the mixture is uniform in texture and much lighter in color.
2. Adding the melted butter, a pat at a time, while whisking. After about a fourth of the butter is in there, you’ll see a major change in the texture of the sauce. Add a teaspoon of water at that point and step up the addition of the butter a bit. Keep going till all the butter is incorporated.
3. Whisk in the cayenne and lemon juice. Serve right away.
Makes about 1 cup.
Charcuterie, Salumi, & Cheese Board @ Mariza
At least a dozen restaurant were engaged in the making of their own cured and smoked meats. This is motivated by trends, but the best makers of such cold appetizer can be rightly proud of their substantial work. Of these, the best is Mariza. The unique space, carved from a warehouse, is the home of Chef Ian Schnoebelen’s superb work in making prosciutto, coppa, sausages and fresh condiments to go with them. The full board, which includes some cheeses, too, is an essential beginning to any meal here, even in the presence of excellent entrees.
Mariza. Bywater & Downtown: 2900 Chartres St. 504-598-5700.
This is among the 500 best dishes in New Orleans area restaurants. Click here for a list of the other 499.
December 16, 2016
Days Until. . .
Christmas 9.
New Year’s Eve: 16.
Food In Literature
The Tale Of Peter Rabbit, who ate so well that he got very fat (this is sounding better by the moment!), was first published today in 1901 by Beatrix Potter. Now I’m thinking of grilled rabbit tenderloin with peppercorns, and–well, this isn’t Easter, is it?
Today is the birthday of the author Jane Austen, author of Pride and Prejudice, Emma, and many other brilliant works about manners and women. For a few years the Upperline Restaurant observed Austen’s birthday, serving a dinner in the style of her 18th-century British milieu. People would attend dressed in period clothes. Only JoAnn Clevenger could come up with something so rich.
Beverages Through History
Today in 1773 the Boston Tea Party episode transpired. About 350 crates of tea flavored the Boston harbor’s waters that day. Too many jokes have asked what china and pastries were served for me to add to their number. The event, aside from galvanizing the inchoate American Revolution, figures into the transition from tea to coffee as the preferred hot beverage in the United States.
Today’s Flavors
It is rumored that today is National Chocolate Covered Anything Day. Have you ever eaten a chocolate-covered ant? They’re not bad, but not great, either. They’re “repletes”–ants whose job in the colony is to hold a supply of honeydew brought to it by the ants who go out to gather it. They get to be the size of peas or even grapes, and they’re very sweet to eat. When I first started writing food columns, people who’d known me a long time used to ask, “You’re a gourmet now? Do you eat fried grasshoppers and chocolate-covered ants?” As if that were the only gourmet food in the world. (They’re not gourmet food at all, of course.)
This is also Get The Christmas Goose Day. What could be more traditional than a Christmas goose? But what could be harder to find in a restaurant? Not even the Reveillon menus this year feature any roast goose, as they have in the past. Too bad.
Starting about ten years ago, more people are thinking about roasting a goose for the holiday table. Most stores I’ve checked this year have them, all frozen. They’re not cheap–they’re generally around $25 for a 10-pound bird–but they seem to be selling. You’d like the bird if you tried it. It’s lighter in flavor, texture, and color than duck. And since it has even more fat than a duck, the flavor is richer.
To prepare a goose properly, you need to buy it in the next day or two. It takes a couple of days to thaw (it will almost certainly be frozen). And then you have to let it age for a few days in the refrigerator. If all that sounds complicated, the cooking process continues to be so. But it’s worth it, both for the sake of your palate and tradition. The tremendous amount of fat left over from cooking a goose can be made into a roux. I did that once and combined with a stock from the goose carcass to make a singularly great gumbo.
Gourmet Gazetteer
Kibbe is a rural crossroads community in east central Georgia, 163 miles southeast of Atlanta. It’s a farming area whose fields grow cotton, pecans, and peaches. It was founded as a station stop on the old Seaboard Air Line Railroad. No restaurants there, but seven miles south in Vidalia is a good place called the Tree House. Don’t count on getting the Lebanese dish of ground beef and lamb call kibbe there, though. Neither the grilled kibbe nor the raw kibbe.
Deft Dining Rule #243:
It’s one thing for a restaurant to use fresh cranberries in its cooking and baking, but if you find fresh cranberry juice in the bar, you’re in a really classy place.
The Old Kitchen Sage Sez
The best use of a turkey baster (the kind with the rubber bulb) is to suck out the excess fat that fills up the bottom of the roasting pan under a goose in the oven. Get that out of there to prevent fires. On a related note, I once saw in a lab-equipment catalog a small version of the same thing. The catalog called it a “quail baster.”
Music To Eat In The Car On The Levee By
Don McLean’s song American Pie came out today in 1971. It memorialized the simultaneous deaths of Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens, although you would never have known that to listen to the song. The lyrics didn’t make a lot of sense. Not only was it irritating, but at eight and a half minutes long it got more airtime than any other Number One hit. I say it’s responsible for the death of Top Forty radio.
Edible Dictionary
blanquette, [blahn-KET], French, N.–This word is a double entendre. It has in it a reference to whiteness (the French word “blanc”), as well as a play on the word “blanket.” A blanquette is a white meat served in a white sauce so thick that it’s hard to tell where the sauce ends and the protein begins. This presents the danger of a very bland dish, but in the hands of a chef who’s trying to accomplish more than the visual it can actually be very good. The best I remember was during the glory days of the French chefs in the Midi restaurant in the former Le Meridien Hotel on Canal Street, which often had blanquette de veau on their excellent lunch buffet. But thinking about that now makes me feel that I may as well be talking about the days of nickel pay phones.
Food Inventions
On this day in 1887, a patent was issued for the first coin-operated machine that dispensed beverages. William Fruen’s machine sold coffee and tea. I wonder what it tasted like after it sat in there a few days, as it did.
Food Namesakes
William “Refrigerator” Perry, Chicago Bears defensive back, was born today in 1962. . . Theo Bitter, who was a Dutch theatrical designer and artist, came to life today in 1916. . . Anthropologist Margaret Mead, who brought to light the freewheeling (to us) lifestyle of the people in Samoa, was born today in 1901. . . British actor Christopher Biggins was born today in 1948. (A “biggin” is an enamel-coated cast iron drip coffeemaker of the kind much revered in New Orleans.)
Words To Eat By
“Dear, would you like a little goose?”
“You try that here and I’ll hit you!”–Actual conversation between a husband and wife attending an Eat Club Reveillon dinner where goose was on the menu, at the Monteleone’s old, deceased restaurant called the Hunt Room Grill, December, 2002.
“Feed the poor and get rich. Feed the rich and get poor.”–Colonel Harlan Sanders, creator of Kentucky Fried Chicken. He died today in 1980.
Words To Drink By
“Claret is the liquor for boys; port for men. But he who aspires to be a hero must drink brandy.”–Samuel Johnson.
Does Your Choice Of Pasta Make A Difefrence?
Why, yes, of course it does! Take fettuccine versus ravioli, for example.
Click here for the cartoon.