Friday, September 19, 2014.
Hamburger Off Balance. A Big Doughnut.
I awaken before everyone else and make my way to the glass doors connecting the deck and the kitchen. That’s where the cat Twinnery meets me every morning for a set-in-concrete ritual. He takes the long way through the kitchen to the back door, which I open to let him out (it is less than fifteen seconds since he came in). I will watch him jump about two feet straight up onto the roof of the tool shed. Tumbler and the several late members of the cat family would have to hoist themselves up in a claws-out, scrambling climb. But Twinnery flies right up there in one leap.
That’s what he would do, but not today. He still carries some of the mud that covered him at this time yesterday, and he’s still moving about gingerly. He seems injured, but I can’t figure out how. He gets into the poisition to make the jump up to the food dish, but he doesn’t attempt it. I lift him up there. He still doesn’t flinch when I pat him all over. If he has broken anything, he’s hiding it well. And when he’s finished eating, he takes his usual route to the other end of the shed, where he jumps some three feet down–another feat the other cats past and present never attempted. He makes it without difficulty.
I now think he’s going to be okay, perhaps even a miracle cure. But I still can’t dope out what he went through the night before last night.
I go into town for the radio show, produce a few commercials, the head out to supper. I am drawn by one of the commercials on the show to have dinner at Charcoal’s, the major gourmet hamburger restaurant (not a stand, a shop, or a joint). I have been there before, about a year and a half ago. That time, I had a burger made of game: antelope, I think. Maybe bison or elk. (It’s somewhere in this journal, but I don’t have time to look for it.)
I learned two bits of data from that meal. First, they make everything in house at Charcoal’s, just like the gourmet restaurants do. They bake their own buns, make their own pickles, grind their on beef, and cook their own sauces. I don’t think they make all of their own cheese, but my order today reveals that indeed they do make at least one variety. (More on that in a moment.)
Second, they do not grill their burgers over charcoal. Charcoal is just the name of the big black Labrador retriever belonging to one of the owners. That’s a little sneaky, I think, but not enough to indicate perfidy.
The manager recognizes me from the days when he was a waiter somewhere and served my table. Between him and the young woman assigned to the table, I put in an order of a straight hamburger made with beef and the usual dressings. I change this a minute later when I hear that the days’ special is a pizza burger, made with fresh-milk mozzarella. On any other day, this probably would not have grabbed me, but it suited my appetite now.
Crab cake at Charcoal’s.
I have a pint of IPA and wait for the unlikely appetizer that also spoke to my hunger: a crab cake with corn macque choux. The cake lives up to its advertising as being made almost entirely of crabmeat. The corn is crisp and good, with a creamy-looking butter sauce and a pleasant tang. At $12, it seems a pretty good deal to me. It’s also the best dish I will eat here today.
By no means can it be said that Charcoal’s burgers are second rate. The quality of the ingredients alone insures its goodness. On the other hand, it illustrates a matter in all kinds of restaurants that has bothered me for some time.
Charcoal’s hamburger and fries.
Let’s take the burger apart. The bun is very well made, better than the bread served in a lot of restaurants I can think of. It’s too big (this is endemic in nearly all hamburger vendors of every stripe), and mushes the whole sandwich in the direction of dryness.
The mozzarella cheese is very good. So are the pizza sauce and the other dressings. A sandwich of just those ingredients would be pretty good.
The meat patty is thick and fresh-tasting. It strikes me that it’s a little overworked and a little low on fat, but these are small problems.
What gets under my skin is that after all the in-house work on the meat and bread and pickles and sauces, the potential excitement from the grill is minimal. No crusty exterior. No juicy interior. And a uniformity of texture that reminds me of a machine-made burger, even though I know it is not.
I see it everywhere I go these days. The fabulous ingredients from the famous raiser of pedigreed meats, with fresh produce from the local farmers, and all this stuff made in house. But when it’s time for the cooking, it almost seems to be an afterthought.
In a phrase, restaurants are thinking too much about ingredients and not enough about cooking.
I eat half the burger. It’s too big for anybody but the teenage boys coming in with the coaches of their teams. I eat darn near all the fries, because they’re hand-cut (of course they are!) and the fry cook really does know what he’s doing.
My car is parked across the street in front of District Donuts, Sliders, Brews. I haven’t been there yet. I go in and buy a doughnut–cinnamon-sugar coated–to take me home. It’s twice or thrice the size of a regular doughnut, fresh and good. I wonder where they get their cinnamon.
When I pull into the driveway at home, it is very dark. Twinnery is sitting in the middle of the lawn, and walks over–no, he trots over–to meet me at the car, as he does every night. He comes inside and goes right out the other door. I feed him on the roof of the tool shed. He jumps right on up there. He’s still kind of muddied up, but I think he will make it.
Charcoal’s Gourmet Burger Bar. Uptown 1: Garden District & Environs: 2200 Magazine St. 504-644-4311.
Tomas Bistro
Warehouse District & Center City: 755 Tchoupitoulas. 504-527-0942. Map.
Nice Casual.
AE DC DS MC V
Website
ANECDOTES AND ANALYSIS
A restaurant reviewed two and a half years ago doesn’t often require a new report. But reading an earlier assessment, I find that the Tomas Bistro and its neighborhood have progressed so much that it’s time for another in-depth look. Four major, recent openings occurred this year so far, while a number of restaurants turned over or went dark.
No restaurants thrived more obviously in the midst of all this turmoil than Tommy Andrade’s two establishments on Tchoupitoulas. In the the first review of his junior outlet Tomas Bistro, I expressed much admiration, but also a fear that it wouldn’t find a base of diners for its white-tablecloth dining rooms. Its new chef Jonah Nissenbaum has, in the past six months or so, brought an interesting new bag of tricks to the restaurant, resulting in one of the best sleepers in that corner of the scene. While it remains a great place to remember when the rest of the city’s top-ranked restaurants are full, it has collected a cadre of regulars and a substantial private-party business.
Crawfish popover.
WHY IT’S NOTEWORTHY
I think there’s an off-chance that “fine dining”–a category of restaurant that has fallen on hard times across America in recent years–may well be on the verge of a renaissance. I put forth Tomas Bistro as a case in point. The cooking is very hip–you will find many good dishes you never imagined before. But one needd not dress to the nines, and the kitchen is so ambitious in its presentations that the whole package is quite a thrill in the eating.
WHAT’S GOOD
Chef Jonah worked himself up through the better kitchens around New Orleans for years. He has clearly been thinking hard about the New Orleans menu. At Tomas Bistro he has t`he chance to get your mind clicking almost as fast as your palate can respond. The flavors are decidedly in the New Orleans style, while the kitchen’s shopping lists brings a few foodstuffs we haven’t seen in awhile. The food brings to the table everything needed for a big evening of dining.
Cornish hen at Tomas Bistro.
BACKSTORY
Tommy Andrade.
In the magnificent age of the Sazerac restaurant in the 1970s, Tommy Andrade established himself as the ne plus ultra of maitres d’hotel. When the Sazerac went into decline, he co-opened Irene’s Cuisine with Irene. He left to open Tommy’s Cuisine just as its neighborhood (Emeril’s was across the street) was becoming a major restaurant nexus. It did so well that Andrade bought the building across the street, using parts of it for private party space and other parts for parking. That left a nice corner space to be turned into the new Tomas (sic; pronounced “toe-MAHSS) Bistro. After a couple of years of French-inflected food there, Tommy brought in a sharp new chef, Jonah Nissenbaum, to bring the menu into current times.
Bouillabaisse.
DINING ROOM
It’s a mild understatement to call this a bistro. A handsome, comfortable dining room sports full napery, baskets of bread, and other articles from the more elaborate days of New Orleans dining. The music is quite entertaining, being a collection of French jazz and cabaret music from the 1920s and 1930s. Tommy Andrade staffs the place with the old (and younger) servers from among the hundreds he’s hired over the decades. The wine cellar stocks includes more superb bottles of wine than you might find on the list. Good drinks, too.
ESSENTIAL DISHES
Starters
Crawfish popovers
Crab au gratin
»Atlantic blue mussels, white wine, herb butter
»Oysters Lyonnaise, crispy potato wrap, braised pork belly
Shrimp absinthe, fennel cream
Crudo duo (tuna & salmon, limoncello vinaigrette
»Veal sweetbreads Perigourdine, truffle demi-glace
»Bloody Mary oysters, caviar, cucumber water
Gumbo du jour
»Creole turtle soup
Soup du jour
Salad of romaine, pickled vegetables, garlic vinaigrette
Endive salad, radicchio, pears, raspberries, Roquefort
Grilled panzanella salad, fresh mozzarella, vegetables & herbs
~
Entrees
Grilled Gulf fish, citrus marinated shrimp, goat cheese & thyme
»Wild-caught Des Allemands catfish and grits, Cajun tasso
Gulf fish cardinale, asparagus, crawfish beurre blanc
»»Bouillabaisse Orleans (saffron, shrimp, mussels, oysters, fish
»Tea-brined whole roasted Cornish hen, red lentils, natural jus
Duck Julia (roast moulard duck breast, confit leg, wild rice, raspberry fig sauce
Crawfish or shrimp risotto, crimini mushrooms, cherry tomatos
»Pan-sauteed veal Tomas, brabant potatoes, asparagus, crabmeat, bearnaise
»Carpetbagger filet mignon, crispy oysters, haricot verts, veal demi-glace, steak frites
Filet mignon, maitre d’hotel butter, shoestring truffle-romano frites, marchand du vin
»Roast rack of lamb, tomato provencal, rosemary port wine demi-glace
~
Desserts
»Maricaibo flourless chocolate torte
Caramel crème brûlée-filled cannolis
»Mirliton tarte tatin, vanilla bean ice cream
Amaretto cheesecake
Burgundy poached pear
Coffee and deauxnuts chocolate-chicory coffee mousse
Chef’s cheese plate
Cannoli creme brulee.
FOR BEST RESULTS
This kind of dining predates the age of spare plates with more empty space than actual food. So a four-course dinner here might be a bit much. This is a very good restaurants for all-appetizer meals.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT
For a guy we’ve met only recently, the chef’s sense of taste is keen. Nevertheless, if a dish sounds a little peculiar, question the waiter about it. He will give you the straight dope.
FACTORS OTHER THAN FOOD
Up to three points, positive or negative, for these characteristics. Absence of points denotes average performance in the matter.
Dining Environment +2
Consistency +1
Service+2
Value +1
Attitude +2
Wine & Bar +2
Hipness +1
Local Color +2
SPECIAL ATTRIBUTES
Romantic
Good for business meetings
Many private rooms
Open Sunday dinner
Open Monday dinner
Unusually large servings
Pay valet parking
Reservations honored promptly
Popovers
Popovers are so wonderful to eat and so simple to make that, if you were the eater, you’d wonder why the baker didn’t make them more often. The answer is that you need a few items that are uncommonly used in baking:
1. A popover tin, which has deeper wells than a muffin tin (although muffin tins can work). This is one of the few utensils in your kitchen that is preferably made with a non-stick coating.
2. Faith, hope and prayer. You have to follow the recipe exactly, and restrain yourself from opening the oven to check the baking progress of the popovers.
3. The ability to get everybody into the kitchen when they’re ready, because they’re at their best right out of the oven and go downhill quickly.
4. The persistence to keep trying this recipe until you finally get it perfect. As you will.
These may sound like great breakfast items, and they are. But they’re also marvelous at the beginning of dinner.
1 cup whole milk
1 generous tablespoon butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs, beaten
1 prayer of your choice
Preheat the oven with a rack in the center to 450 degrees.
1. Remove and measure all the ingredients about a half-hour before you begin, so they can come to room temperature.
2. While waiting, coat the inside of the tins (one large tin or two small ones) with a thin film of shortening, then dust with flour.
3. Melt the butter. Combine the milk, butter, and flour in a bowl and whisk just until the flour is blended uniformly.
4. Whisk in half the beaten egg, then the other half after the first is blended in completely.
5. Pour the batter into the tins, filling each pocket about two-thirds full. Put the tins in the middle of the oven and reset the timer to 17 minutes. Say the prayer.
6. When the timer goes off, lower the heat to 325 degrees and set the timer to 18 minutes. Do not open the oven to check! When the timer goes off again, set it to two minutes and get everybody into the kitchen.
7. When the timer sounds a third time, open the oven, remove the tins, and poke a slit in the tops of all the popovers. Which, if all went well, popped over. Eat greedily and quickly.
Makes eight to twelve popovers.
Pancakes @ Mattina Bella
The Buck Forty-Nine Pancake and Steak House was a successful local chain around New Orleans in the 1950s through the 1980s. The food there was better than the name might suggest. They always had great pancakes. Although it’s extinct now, the Buck Forty-Nine left behind a few descendants, one of which is this old cafe in Covington. The pancakes here are simple–just the basic kind–but as good as pancakes get. They’re big, fluffy, lightly malty and toasty, never greasy or overly sweet. I know the amazing secret behind this, but owner Vincent Riccobono asked me not to tell. Let’s just say the goodness doesn’t exactly come from technique. But if it tastes good it is good, and these are always perfect.
Mattina Bella. Covington: 421 E Gibson. 985-892-0708.
We find this dish to be among the 500 best in New Orleans area restaurants.
September 26, 2014
Days Until. . .
Halloween 35
New Orleans Chef’s Hall Of Fame
Today in 1972, Chris Kerageorgiou opened La Provence, a little west of Lacombe, in what had been the dining room of a small defunct motel. He went by the name Chris Kerras back then; he didn’t think anybody could handle his real name. He was well-known to New Orleans diners. He had been the maitre d’ at the Rib Room at the Royal Orleans, and then at the Royal Sonesta.
But Chris wanted to explore his own ideas. He went into the kitchen (he’d done that before, on cruise ships) and put together a menu of familiar New Orleans dishes. But the menu was sprinkled with tastes from his native South of France, as well as a few tastes from his Greek background. Chris sold La Provence in 2007 to John Besh (who cooked at La Provence on his way up), and shortly after passed away. He is a permanent member of the pantheon of most loved New Orleans chefs.
Today’s Flavor
It’s rumored that today is National Pancake Day. The day on which pancakes are most widely celebrated is Shrove Tuesday. Mardi Gras. We’re too busy here in New Orleans with other things that day to do much with pancakes, so we’ll take the cue.
Pancakes were more popular forty or fifty years ago than they are now. Restaurants specializing in pancakes were a big deal. The Buck Forty-Nine was as much a pancake house as a steak house, and its menu listed dozens of varieties, which they served with a rack of some six flavors of syrup. Rick’s on Canal Street and the Tiffin Inn also made sure Orleanians got their share of pancakes. Here and there around America, a widely-imitated franchise called the Original Pancake House keeps the flame alive. Begun in the 1950s, those places take pancakes to the limits, with a number of variations that boggles the mind.
Banana-nut pancake at Mattina Bella.
Now pancakes are hard to find in New Orleans restaurants. They don’t like to make them, because they take up a lot of space on the grill. The few restaurants that make pancakes don’t do a very good job of it. The Tiffin Inn is still at it. So is the Peppermill, a descendant of the old Buck Forty-Nine. The Abita Cafe turns out flapjacks that are almost impossible to finish because of their size. But not many other purveyors are out there.
Making pancakes is so simple that I’ve never understood why anyone uses a mix for them. The batter is essentially one of everything: one cup of flour, one egg, one cup of milk, one heaping tablespoon of sugar. Flavor it with a little vanilla and cinnamon, and add a bit of butter or oil, and that’s about it. (The exact recipe is elsewhere in today’s edition.) It’s best if the batter sits for a few minutes before you pour the first one onto the griddle.
Gourmet Gazetteer
Roasting Ear Creek is 113 miles north of Little Rock, in the hilly north central Arkansas. The creek cuts a hollow about three hundred feet below the peaks of the tallest mountains in the area, which get up to about 850 feet. The creek rises in the Ozark Mountain National Forest, and travels about forty miles. It’s part of the White River watershed, a tributary of the Mississippi River, and therefore a contributor to the New Orleans water supply. Roasting Ear Creek is named for the corn grown in more than a few small fields up in the hills. A historic three-arch bridge crosses the creek on AR 263. (See photo.) It’s four miles to Cody’s Restaurant, the nearest place to eat to the end of Roasting Corn Creek, in picturesquely-named Fifty-Six, Arkansas.
Edible Dictionary
Valencia orange, n.–The Valencia was developed in California in the suburbs of Los Angeles around Irvine, despite the fact that they were named for the area in Spain from which many orange varieties (but not this one) came. Valencia are in many ways the perfect orange. They really are orange both in the color of their skin and in their juice, which rarely separates after being squeezed. They’re the last variety of orange to ripen in the season, and continue being picked through the summer. They account for more than fifty percent of the fresh oranges in the market. Since their original California orchards have been taken over by development, most Valencias are now grown in Florida. Enjoy them this year. A spreading bacterial disease is wiping out the Valencias and other oranges in Florida.
Deft Dining #533
The first pancake in a batch is always the worst one. The second one is the best.
Food In The Wild
Johnny Appleseed (real name, John Chapman) was born today in 1774. He was a real person, who really did plant thousands of apple trees all over the eastern United States. He was romanticized as a delightful eccentric, wearing a pot as a hat, usually going around barefoot. What is not well known is that his apple trees were meant for the making of hard cider. Apples do not grow true from seeds. If you plant the seeds from a single apple, the trees will give you five different kinds of apples, none of which will be like the original apple. All of them probably will be nearly inedible. The only thing they’re good for is making an easy alcoholic beverage. I’ll bet that changes the image you had of the guy from your children’s books.
Food In Science
Today was the birthday, in 1754, of Joseph-Louis Proust, a French chemist. He studied sugars, among other things, and found that most sugars are very similar, no matter what their original source was.
Annals Of Cookbook Writing
Lafcadio Hearn, the author of what is generally considered the first Creole cookbook, La Cuisine Creole, in the 1880s, died today in 1904.
Food In Show Biz
The movie Soul Food premiered today in 1997. Starring Vanessa Williams, it’s the story of a mother who maintains a family tradition of Sunday dinner at home, and what happens to the family when it stops. Not good, you can bet on that. That’s the downside of our much-increased reliance on restaurants.
Food Namesakes
TV Actor Philip Bosco was born today in 1930. . . Actor Donald Cook hit the big stage today in 1901.
Words To Eat By
“It is contrary to the will of God to eat delicate food hastily.”–Chinese proverb.
Words To Drink By
“One sip of this will bathe the drooping spirits in delight, beyond the bliss of dreams.”–John Milton.
September 26, 2014
Days Until. . .
Halloween 35
New Orleans Chef’s Hall Of Fame
Today in 1972, Chris Kerageorgiou opened La Provence, a little west of Lacombe, in what had been the dining room of a small defunct motel. He went by the name Chris Kerras back then; he didn’t think anybody could handle his real name. He was well-known to New Orleans diners. He had been the maitre d’ at the Rib Room at the Royal Orleans, and then at the Royal Sonesta.
But Chris wanted to explore his own ideas. He went into the kitchen (he’d done that before, on cruise ships) and put together a menu of familiar New Orleans dishes. But the menu was sprinkled with tastes from his native South of France, as well as a few tastes from his Greek background. Chris sold La Provence in 2007 to John Besh (who cooked at La Provence on his way up), and shortly after passed away. He is a permanent member of the pantheon of most loved New Orleans chefs.
Today’s Flavor
It’s rumored that today is National Pancake Day. The day on which pancakes are most widely celebrated is Shrove Tuesday. Mardi Gras. We’re too busy here in New Orleans with other things that day to do much with pancakes, so we’ll take the cue.
Pancakes were more popular forty or fifty years ago than they are now. Restaurants specializing in pancakes were a big deal. The Buck Forty-Nine was as much a pancake house as a steak house, and its menu listed dozens of varieties, which they served with a rack of some six flavors of syrup. Rick’s on Canal Street and the Tiffin Inn also made sure Orleanians got their share of pancakes. Here and there around America, a widely-imitated franchise called the Original Pancake House keeps the flame alive. Begun in the 1950s, those places take pancakes to the limits, with a number of variations that boggles the mind.
Banana-nut pancake at Mattina Bella.
Now pancakes are hard to find in New Orleans restaurants. They don’t like to make them, because they take up a lot of space on the grill. The few restaurants that make pancakes don’t do a very good job of it. The Tiffin Inn is still at it. So is the Peppermill, a descendant of the old Buck Forty-Nine. The Abita Cafe turns out flapjacks that are almost impossible to finish because of their size. But not many other purveyors are out there.
Making pancakes is so simple that I’ve never understood why anyone uses a mix for them. The batter is essentially one of everything: one cup of flour, one egg, one cup of milk, one heaping tablespoon of sugar. Flavor it with a little vanilla and cinnamon, and add a bit of butter or oil, and that’s about it. (The exact recipe is elsewhere in today’s edition.) It’s best if the batter sits for a few minutes before you pour the first one onto the griddle.
Gourmet Gazetteer
Roasting Ear Creek is 113 miles north of Little Rock, in the hilly north central Arkansas. The creek cuts a hollow about three hundred feet below the peaks of the tallest mountains in the area, which get up to about 850 feet. The creek rises in the Ozark Mountain National Forest, and travels about forty miles. It’s part of the White River watershed, a tributary of the Mississippi River, and therefore a contributor to the New Orleans water supply. Roasting Ear Creek is named for the corn grown in more than a few small fields up in the hills. A historic three-arch bridge crosses the creek on AR 263. (See photo.) It’s four miles to Cody’s Restaurant, the nearest place to eat to the end of Roasting Corn Creek, in picturesquely-named Fifty-Six, Arkansas.
Edible Dictionary
Valencia orange, n.–The Valencia was developed in California in the suburbs of Los Angeles around Irvine, despite the fact that they were named for the area in Spain from which many orange varieties (but not this one) came. Valencia are in many ways the perfect orange. They really are orange both in the color of their skin and in their juice, which rarely separates after being squeezed. They’re the last variety of orange to ripen in the season, and continue being picked through the summer. They account for more than fifty percent of the fresh oranges in the market. Since their original California orchards have been taken over by development, most Valencias are now grown in Florida. Enjoy them this year. A spreading bacterial disease is wiping out the Valencias and other oranges in Florida.
Deft Dining #533
The first pancake in a batch is always the worst one. The second one is the best.
Food In The Wild
Johnny Appleseed (real name, John Chapman) was born today in 1774. He was a real person, who really did plant thousands of apple trees all over the eastern United States. He was romanticized as a delightful eccentric, wearing a pot as a hat, usually going around barefoot. What is not well known is that his apple trees were meant for the making of hard cider. Apples do not grow true from seeds. If you plant the seeds from a single apple, the trees will give you five different kinds of apples, none of which will be like the original apple. All of them probably will be nearly inedible. The only thing they’re good for is making an easy alcoholic beverage. I’ll bet that changes the image you had of the guy from your children’s books.
Food In Science
Today was the birthday, in 1754, of Joseph-Louis Proust, a French chemist. He studied sugars, among other things, and found that most sugars are very similar, no matter what their original source was.
Annals Of Cookbook Writing
Lafcadio Hearn, the author of what is generally considered the first Creole cookbook, La Cuisine Creole, in the 1880s, died today in 1904.
Food In Show Biz
The movie Soul Food premiered today in 1997. Starring Vanessa Williams, it’s the story of a mother who maintains a family tradition of Sunday dinner at home, and what happens to the family when it stops. Not good, you can bet on that. That’s the downside of our much-increased reliance on restaurants.
Food Namesakes
TV Actor Philip Bosco was born today in 1930. . . Actor Donald Cook hit the big stage today in 1901.
Words To Eat By
“It is contrary to the will of God to eat delicate food hastily.”–Chinese proverb.
Words To Drink By
“One sip of this will bathe the drooping spirits in delight, beyond the bliss of dreams.”–John Milton.
The Dark Side Of Vegetarianiasm.
This is the part that not many people, regardless of their diets, ever think about.
Click here for the cartoon.