St. Charles street-side dining..

First off, Congratulations to Chef Donald Link of Herbsaint and Couchon for winning the grand daddy of Culinary awards, the James Beard Award for Best Chef of the South! Not too shabby.. now lets hope the restaurant lives up to expectations! lol

Time to order!

Butter & Bread.. =)

Shrimp, Grit cakes, and Tasso Cream Sauce!

Duck and Andouille Gumbo

Duck Confit and Dirty Rice

Bluefin Tuna

inside the Bluefin

First is the Muscovy Duck Confit with Dirty Rice and a Citrus Gastrique.. I believe this is one of the best duck confits I’ve tasted in the city! The meat is soft and moist as it should be, skin is perfectly crisp, and the duck flavor is not attacking your palate, rather it’s subtle flavors slowly tap into your taste buds. The way all ducks should be!

The Bluefin Tuna can be summed up best in two words, fresh and fresh! It was like we were dining on a yacht and the chef caught it, seared it, and put it on our plate! The tuna was very delicate..And with such a great ingredient, the key is not messing it up and they executed pefectly. It was served with tangy tomato vinaigrette, mashed yukon gold potatoes and grilled asparagus. Everything fell right into place!

Dessert Time? Yes!

Banana Brown Butter Tart

Apple White Chocolate Beignets

The desserts were both delicious. The Banana Brown Butter Tart was uber-rich! And the Beignets were not like Cafe Du Monde’s.. these were stuffed with apples and sat in some kind of star anise flavored sauce? Very interesting and definitely worth a try! The tables are very comfortable and the waitstaff is on key. The restaurant is very busy.. get reservations!

Metairie, LA

Outside of Restaurant Cyress

I was recommended Cypress by an associate of mine and on a night when I had no clue on where to eat, I used the recommendation! Restaurant Cypress was very cozy and welcoming on the inside. With brick walls lined with fancy lighting.. It was very quaint..

Trinchero Sauvignon Blanc ’05

Cypress Salad with Special House dressing

Roasted Garlic Soup

I’ve gotta say that I enjoyed the salad. It was very refreshing and the house dressing had possibly a hint of nutmeg or cinnamon? It very interesting. And the soup was the highlight of the meal for me. Roasted Garlic soup with a grilled garlic bread sitting on the surface. The flavors were all there.. the richness of the soup (it was a little thicker than I would normally make it).. the crunch of the bread added a contrast in texture. I am a fan of garlic and this soup met expectations.

Rosemary Chicken Pasta

Baby Veal with Crabmeat Ravioli

Huge portions! Is that always a good thing? Not during this particular meal.. I was already oversaturated from the garlic soup, and then it was piled on! My date had the salad followed with a heaping plate of pasta. I’m a pretty big guy, but half of that portion would have been more than enough! Living in New Orleans, that’s what you get..  people mistake “a lot of food” for getting your money’s worth. How about portions that can actually go down in one sitting?

Okay, other than the gluttonous portions (which most people don’t mind).. the food was actually pretty good. Pasta was coated beautifully with herbs and spices and the chicken was seasoned just right. My dish, Baby Veal with Crabmeat Ravioli, was prepared very well. The veal was tender and the crabmeat ravioli hit the spot (besides the few shells I found). The veal and ravioli were brought together by a delicate citrus beurre blanc.

Cypress’ modern American menu with an Italian and New Orleans twist showed decent potential. Would I give it another shot? I’m still waiting for the food to digest, but quite possibly, yes? lol Just order “light” next time.. I mean for you too!

~~BATTLE STEAK~~

Challenger Mom:
A little background on my mom.. Great mother, sister, wife, daughter, and domestic chef from Vietnam. Cooks a beautiful American style steak! Also has the ability to cook any Vietnamese dish and even some other ethnic cuisines too. (Chinese, Thai… etc..) Her cooking prepared my palate for the World of Culinary Arts, she helped in making me a Chef! Her food is amazing, she puts a great deal of care into preparation and takes a lot of pride in her work. Thanks mom, you are my Executive Chef! Happy Mother’s Day! =)

Iron Chef Thomas Keller:
A little background on Thomas Keller.. Self-taught Chef who went to the School of the Hardknocks. Traveled to France and apprenticed at some of the top restaurants in the world. Opened his restaurant “The French Laundry” in the early 90′s and it’s now the #1 restaurant in the world according to most publications and critics. He has also influenced my career, style and techniques. I have a great amount of respect for Chef Keller!

It’s only fair to judge the great chef Thomas Keller to higher standards. His “Calotte De Boeuf Grillee” dish was not his only course of this meal.. When I ate at Per Se, we had a 9 course meal.. so each course had to contend against the other eight for attention. But I do remember this dish. The preparation was flawless and the Keller crew not only procured the best beef available, they also did a terrific job accentuating the quality and the richness without over-doing it! Essentially it’s the meat wrapped around the Ribeye that the Butcher usually disposes of… Keller skillfully utilizes this neglected piece and earns extra points.

Verdict:
**Chef Mom wins!
Mom’s steak cost less and had way more flavor with relatively less effort! And it is Mother’s Day.. when else can Keller get knocked off his throne? lol

Happy Mother’s day to all the Chef Moms and Moms of Chefs out there! You are the women that started the magic in the kitchen! I’m grateful to have such a wonderful mother! And for those non-moms out there, take care of your mom this weekend!

Houston, TX

Outside of Thai Corner

I personally love Thai food. Maybe it’s because of my Vietnamese roots? the Spicy kick of the food? or even the curry? It could be any of the above.. but the fact is, in New Orleans, there is an extreme shortage of quality Thai cuisine! No place around that I would whole-heartedly recommend. So during my tour Texas.. I was in Houston driving with a friend in search of some good Chinatown grub. We couldn’t decide but when we drove near the Thai Corner.. it seemed that Thai took over our minds and forged the craving for fried whole fish! =)

Menu..

Giant Mugs of Thai Tea

The Tea here comes in huge 24 ounce mugs! The flavors are really dead on.. A sweet-creamy-refreshing drink that only thai tea can offer! And it was big enough so that I didn’t go through it in the first sip.. It actually lasted the whole meal without a refill! That’s great in my book! lol

Cloudy Spicy Soup broth

 
Red Curry & Green Curry

Shrimp Claypot

Crispy Fried Fish w/ Sweet and Spicy Sauce!

We ordered one Shrimp Claypot too much. haha The broth was complimentary.. spicy as hell! Hey, it  did help to clear some of my non-existent sinuses!!  Both the green and red curries were flavorful but also a tad too spicy. The Shrimp Claypot wasn’t terrible, there was just nothing interesting about it.. Shrimps tasted okay.. Noodles also okay. The saving grace of the meal? It was what we came in there to get to begin with.. Fried Whole Fish with Sweet and Spicy sauce!!  The fish was indeed crispy on the outside and ohhh sooo very succulent on the inside.. The fish along with the sauce was a perfect match! It really helped to balance out the heat from the earlier dishes.. Go here and order 2 fried fish and 2  thai teas and you’ll be very happy!

Austin, TX

Outside at EZ’s

Menu Board

EZ’s is a casual diner with a sweet brick oven. A lot of the food is prepared using the oven. Very family friendly and they even offer discounts to students! I whipped out my old culinary school id! lol Inside there’s a 50′s diner feel, you’re just waiting for Fonzie to walk on in..  It’s very busy and outside covered seating is available.

Cheesey Curly Fries

Basil Chicken Pasta

Rosemary Chicken

My dish was the oven-roasted Rosemary Chicken. The meat actually falls off the bones! The chicken is moist and nicely seasoned.  It’s served with EZ’s rice, steamed vegetables and the focaccia bread. The rice looks plane but is surprisingly good.  The steamed veg is boring, slightly overcooked and not really seasoned enough for my taste.

I’m a huge fan of Bread. The Focaccia is so soft and so warm.. just like pizza dough! I can go here just for the focaccia and I’ll be fine! Overall I enjoyed dining at EZ’s. The amount of food for the buck makes this place a very good bargin, in both money and the quality of food!

The Horror! Another coffee shop? Ok not just another one… It is THE coffee shop of New Orleans.

When I lived in Houston a few years ago, Beignets were on my top 5 list of “Things I missed from New Orleans”, right next to Crawfish Boils. Living back in the city, a lot of the locals take Cafe Du Monde for granted.. I am one of them. With locations in the malls and all around the city.. it’s easy to overlook them. Then I remebered the crappy Beignets served in Texas.. so I decided to visit the French Quarter one afternoon.

If you’ve never had one, do not go to “New Orleans Beignets” or “Crappy Beignets” or “Whatever beignets”, go to the Cafe Du Monde! The beignets have a soft, slightly crisp exterior with a dense, warm interior and topped with powdered sugar! And it’s just really good! lol

Ok.. ideally (with such a high profile place) you expect the inside to be fairly clean and the service to be spectacular.. it’s not all that when it comes to decor and service. So if you don’t care about those things, you will enjoy the food and coffee. And the ambience is wonderfully New Orleans! Surrounded by the French architecture, you can’t help but be put into a “chill” state of mind. Use the complimentary water to wash your hands. (not for drinking)

This magnificent little restaurant is located in building where a flower shop use to be and before that, a corner grocery story. Inside you find high ceilings and a cozy interior. There’s a bar where it seems the older, more affluent crowd mingles before dinner. It’s not too loud inside and it’s very romantic. It has that classy, french restaurant kinda feel.

We opened the meal with the Crawfish Ravioli appetizer. Crawfish is now in season and it’s better than ever. These handmade raviolis are rich in flavor and topped with a delicous, yet subtle beurre blanc. You will literally lick the plate in order to savor every drop of goodness left behind.

For the entrees.. My date had the Braised Pork Shank with collard greens and grits. The shank meat was very tender, savory and fell right off the bone. It was topped with a full-bodied demiglace. The bacon-infused collard greens were cooked perfectly and the grits? If you’re a fan of grits, the ones made at La Petite are huge in flavor! The butter and sweet corn gives it that smoothness and gritty texture at the same time. The savoriness of the shanks, sweetness of the grits, and smokiness of the greens all mesh very well together! 

I had the New Orleans style Bouillabaisse. Mussels, fish, and shrimp in a tangy, oceanic seafood broth.. topped with grilled garlic bread.. The depth of flavor was incredible and I guess the only complaint would have to be size of the plate. I could have used another serving.. lol

Service was okay, wasn’t bad wasn’t great, good enough for an enjoyable meal. It’s a little pricey but overall a great experience.

Metairie, LA

Another coffee shop?!? No, not just another coffee shop! This is actually one of my favs.. The coffee served here has a distinct New Orleans flavor with a depth and richness like no other. It’s been around for many years and not going anywhere any time soon!

Outside of CC’s..

Cup of Latte

Low Fat Sweet Potato Muffin?

Like many of the other coffee shops, CC’s serves many varities of drinks and pastries. Well it’s deep into April and yes still chilly in Southern Louisiana, so I decided on a warm cup of Coffee. I also ordered the low fat sweet potato muffin for the hell of it. I guess it’s the fat boy in me.. The coffee was great and as for the muffin.. it wasn’t a moist, buttery textured muffin by far, but it did pack a decent flavor with none of that low fat after taste…

A look inside…

It was just another visit for me.. But for those of you who have yet to visit the Big Easy, Cafe Du Monde isn’t the only good cup of joe in town! The interior at CC’s is clean, comfortable and very welcoming. There are a few of these around the city, this one is located along a busy strip of Veteran’s Blvd in Metairie. Free internet and even a drive thru! Try it out if you’re ever in town.