Thursday, March 2, 2017, Part Two.
A New Pizza Place Needs More Time.
The Marys meet up with me for dinner. The Legacy Kitchen string of restaurants is of interest. It’s a small local chain from the same guys who have the New Orleans Hamburger and Seafood eateries. Each of the five or so Legacies has a menu mostly different from those of the others, which right there is innovative.
The first of the Legacy places is near the first N.O. Hamburger outlet, on Veterans across from Dorignac’s. The second is in the ground floor of the Renaissance Arts Hotel. Others have opened on the West Bank and the CBD. The other local Renaissance Hotel’s restaurant space had been, among other things, MiLa. MiLa’s chef and proprietor was Slade Rushing, who is now executive chef at Brennan’s on Royal Street.
That Legacy Kitchen centers its menu on seafood generally, and oysters specifically. We have some grilled oysters and some on the half shell. I have a blackened redfish, and ML gets a salad. (MA eats only two oysters.)
The servers wore the most informal uniforms I think I’ve ever seen. The guy taking care of our table was helpful, but there wasn’t enough interesting food for him to talk about. Everything we had came out lukewarm, and it was downhill from there. The place has the distinct feeling of a generic hotel café, which is, I suppose, what it is. The place also looks a bit beat up, but I think that was intentional, a decorative statement.
The check with tip for this came in at over $100. Very disappointing. But it must be said that the place is quite new. On the other hand, longevity has not turned the other Legacy Kitchens into great restaurants.
Friday, March 3, 2017.
Bistro Orleans Returns.
One of the radio sales guys caught me in the hallway and said that Orleans Bistro would shortly resume its advertising on my show. Although a fair number of listeners are put off by the HD change, the sponsors seem to feel okay about it. That’s how my show has always functioned. The sheer numbers of listeners has never been enormous. However they do show up at the sponsors’ restaurants, and drop my name or that of the radio station. The job gets done.
I haven’t been to Bistro Orleans lately–partly because it’s easy to get caught in carnival parades this time of year. But I was in the mood tonight for their oyster-artichoke soup and some further seafood. After all, it is a Friday in Lent. The entree is a special from out of the 1980s: panned veal with pasta with a creamy parmesan cheese sauce. I think all of this could be improved by lightening down the richness of the sauce by a factor of two or three. Add to that the volume on the big plate (it’s big enough for three or more) and the eating is in overload.
On the other hand, this is the day for the Des Allemande’s fried catfish special, and that alone is worth the visit.
Bistro Orleans. Metairie: 3216 West Esplanade Ave. 504-304-1469.
Saturday, March 4, 2017
New Pizza Place. Not All Have Wood-Burning Ovens.
Mary Ann called our friends the Fowlers to check on their availability for dinner. It took us a few minutes to consider the range of possibilities. Will we dine somewhere fancy, or an easy-going café? A couple of people on the radio show, told me that the new pizzeria in Mandeville is pretty good. This was enough of a nudge in that direction, so to Duman’s Artisan Kitchen we go.
You see that word “artisan,” and what comes to mind immediately is the kind of pizza with a wood-burning stone oven, and a large array of top-quality ingredients. Let’s just say that the evidence of the pizza itself did not satisfy the expectations. And it was a more
expensive than we thought it would be. Ah, it must be that bugbear of the Too New To Be Reviewed forces in action here. We’ll come back next year.
Duman Artisan Kitchen. Mandeville: 821 Girod St. 985-231-7663.
#25: Atlantic Salmon
Our annual survey of seafood in Southeast Louisiana this year counts down the 33 best seafood species that we find more in restaurants than in homes. For the full survey so far, click here. Or use the links at the bottom to move up and down the list.
Salmon is the most widely-served fish in the fine restaurants of the world. It’s highly thought of wherever it’s found fresh. And that’s just about everywhere these days, courtesy of fish farming and air shipping. Salmon is meaty, tasty, and easy to cook in myriad ways.
Edibly speaking, salmon fall into two categories: Atlantic and Pacific. They’re different enough to appear twice in this countdown. The more common is the single Atlantic species, which occurs naturally throughout the northern Atlantic ocean on both sides. Atlantic salmon is also the one grown in fish farms–many of which, ironically, are in the Pacific Ocean. Around New Orleans, almost all of the salmon you see in stores and eat in restaurants is Atlantic. That’s also the source of most smoked salmon, from Canada to Scandiavia.
New Orleans gained an appreciation for salmon only in recent decades. Until the 1980s, you found it in one of two forms–one wonderful and the other horrible. The good kind was cold-smoked as an appetizer in fancy, European-style restaurants and the then-rare kosher-style delis. The other kind was canned, a product so bad in comparison to any other fish that many older Orleanians still have an aversion to eating salmon.
The reason we now find salmon on so many New Orleans menus–even though it has to be brought in thousands of miles away–has as much to do with its convenience for the seller as with its goodness. It’s always available, unlike most local fish. A restaurant can place a standing order for a certain amount of salmon every week and forget about it. For other fish, he has to work the market every day. If the only fish a restaurant offers is salmon, you are in a restaurant that doesn’t put a lot of time into obtaining its raw materials. But it could be worse. It could have been tilapia.
Fortunately, fresh salmon, nicely cut, even if it comes from a farm, is pretty good. It’s also easy to cook, particularly on the grill or under the broiler.
One other issue: the environmental problems associated with salmon farms. They mess up the water and introduce a foreign species, notably in the southern hemisphere. Another reason to eat local. Or at least knowledgeably.
Sharpened Salmon
I saw some beautiful center-cut fillets of fresh Scottish salmon early in a tour of the supermarket one day. As I wove in and out the aisles, a recipe formed. Thinly-sliced ham, I thought, would add an interesting flavor dimension. A crust broiled on top of the salmon would give some textural interest. But what will the crust be made of? Mustard and herbs crossed my mind, to which were soon added bread crumbs and the ham, which my brain by now had sliced into ribbons the size of fettuccine. It was all marvelous. If only I were this creative every day.
Resist the temptation to use Creole mustard for this. I love the stuff, but the crust should sharpen, not bludgeon the flavor. Instead, check that jar of gourmet mustard you bought a year and a half ago but never opened. Especially if it’s flavored with herbs and has a light color but a thick texture. It might be perfect, regardless of its components. A German Riesling would be the perfect wine with this, its light sweetness offsetting the sharpness of the glaze.
Glaze:
1 Tbs. lemon juice, strained
1 Tbs. Dijon mustard
1 Tbs. herb mustard (use your imagination here)
1 tsp. dill
1 tsp. dry tarragon (or 2 tsp. fresh, chopped)
Sprinkle of salt
Crust:
2 oz. (about 4 thin slices) cured, smoked ham (Chisesi, if you live in New Orleans), sliced into ribbons the width of fettuccine
1/3 cup bread crumbs
1/2 tsp. salt-free Creole seasoning
1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbs. German (or other sweet) Riesling wine (preferred; or whatever white wine you have handy)
4 center cuts (crosswise) of salmon fillet, skin on, about 8 oz each
Preheat the broiler and broiler rack to 500-550 degrees. Set the shelf so that fish on the rack will be about four inches from the heat.
1. Mix the glaze ingredients in a small bowl. Mix the crust ingredients in a second small bowl.
2. Spread the glaze generously over the tops of the salmon. Top with the crust ingredients. Drizzle the tops of the fish with olive oil and sprinkles of wine.
3. Place the fish skin side down on the preheated broiler rack. Broil until high spots on the crust are a convincingly crusty brown.
4. Remove the fish with a slotted turner and serve immediately.
Serves four.
March 10, 2017
Days Until. . .
St. Patrick’s Day–7
St. Joseph’s Day–9
Easter–33
Food Calendar
It’s a distinctly local product, enjoyed for over a hundred years before suddenly brought to the brink of extinction in the 1980s. The Baby Boom generation never picked up the habit from their parents, and suddenly the last commercial dairy making Creole cream cheese gave it up. It made a comeback in recent times when the Boomers felt nostalgia for the idea, if not the reality. Enough small dairies began making Creole cream cheese that it’s now easily available again.
In New Orleans it’s Creole Cream Cheese Day.
Dairymen describe Creole cream cheese as clabber–the solid part of milk that has turned and separated. It has loose, soft curds in enough whey to keep it moist. Good Creole cream cheese has a sour flavor more pronounced than Philadelphia cream cheese or cottage cheese, which it resembles.
In the old days, Creole cream cheese was eaten with fresh fruit (notably strawberries) and sugar as a breakfast item. My mother loved it; none of my siblings touched the stuff. In these days, Creole cream cheese is more used to make dessert cheesecake
(which it does very well), and savory cheesecakes with the likes of mushrooms or crabmeat.
The dairies currently making excellent Creole cream cheese include Mauthe’s and Smith’s. You can also make your own with little difficulty, if you can find one odd but critical ingredient: rennet. The recipe for it is http://nomenu.com/?p=5262″>here.
Gourmet Gazetteer
Strawberry, Arkansas is in the north central part of the state, in a very scenic area of rolling hills, caves and meandering streams. It’s a small town at the junction of State Highways 25 and 230. The restaurant there is the T& W Shake Shop. The flavor of the shake should be obvious.
Deft Dining Rule #639:
A restaurant that uses no locally-produced foods in its cooking will always be inferior to one that does. The more, the better.
Edible Dictionary
spelt, n.–One of the most primitive forms of wheat, spelt has been cultivated by humans for at least six millennia. It is probably not wild, but its wild roots are not far behind it. It is thought by some plant biologists to have descended from emmer, which is one step from a truly wild wheat ancestor. Spelt has continued to grow throughout Europe, although it has not been harvested on a large scale for a long time. However, the health food crowd has taken a liking to spelt’s high nutritional value, and it’s beginning to get popular. All the uses to which wheat can be put can also come from spelt. The flour has a pleasant nutty taste. Shouldn’t be long before some chef tries to make a big deal about it.
The Old Kitchen Sage Sez:
The way to determine whether fish on the grill or in the broiler is cooked is to jab a kitchen fork into the center of the fish and hold it there for about five seconds. Pull it out and tough the tines to you lips. If it feels warm at all, the fish is done. Your lips are very sensitive to heat, and quite accurate. Do this carefully. You will not likely burn your lips, but you don’t want to poke yourself in the eye.
Food On The Air
Today in 1975, I read a two-minute review of the Coffee Pot restaurant in the French Quarter on WGSO 1280 radio, New Orleans’s leading talk radio station at the time. I have broadcast some kind of daily radio show every weekday ever since. I remained on WGSO until 1983, then did a couple of years each on WBYU and WWL. My current program began on WSMB 1350 in 1988, the management changed the call letters to WWWL in 2005, and the show moved to HD2 on WWL-FM a month ago. It is now the longest-running radio program of any kind in New Orleans radio history. Food is a good topic for radio. Forty-two years!
Food Namesakes
Bob Berry, the Vikings quarterback who played in three Super Bowls, was born today in 1942. . . Rap Singer Ninah Cherry screamed for the first time today in 1964. . . Actress Jasmine Guy came to life today in 1964, too. . . Pianist and singer Raymond Raspberry was born today in 1930. . . Film and television writer and director Paul Haggis gave his first cues today in 1953. . . Early Yankee second baseman Jim Curry was born today in 1893. . . Actor Jon Hamm came out of the oven today in 1971.
Words To Eat By
“A man who is careful with his palate is not likely to be careless with his paragraphs.”–Clifton Fadiman.
Words To Drink By
“This Satan’s drink is so delicious that it would be a pity to let the infidels have exclusive use of it. We shall cheat Satan by baptizing it.”–Unknown, about coffee; from the 1500s.
The Millennial Generation Drops Another Culinary Bombshell.
And so the difference between twenty-somethings and forty-somethings grows again, allowing the dress codes to drop yet again.
Click here for the cartoon.