Meanwhile, Back at Café Du Monde… returns Sunday, May 19th & Sunday, June 9th

Jay and Peggy at a Meanwhile Book Signing

Meanwhile, Back at Café Du Monde… the popular, unique, and festive food monologue show and now a bestseller coffee table/cookbook is back in Baton Rouge for the 3 year anniversary shows, on May 19th and June 9, 2013 at Boutin’s Restaurant.  I'm actually the emcee once again on this Sunday, May 19th, so reserve your tickets now!

Meanwhile, Back at Café Du Monde… premiered as a monologue show with Baton Rouge personalities in May 2010 at The Myrtles Plantation and The Lyceum Ballroom. Over 250 foodies have shared their food stories in shows throughout Louisiana, Mississippi and California. The coffee table/cookbook launched in September 2012 was created and edited by Peggy Sweeney-McDonald, with photography by Troy Kleinpeter. The book has received rave reviews from Emeril, Rex Reed, and Pulitzer Prize winning author Jeffrey Marx, and has been featured in magazines, radio and television throughout the country.

Here's a sneak copy of this Saturday's Bite and Booze Radio Show presented by Calandro's Supermarket with special guests Peggy Sweeney-McDonald, Jim Urdiales, Bill Profita, and Diana Zollicoffer, all part of the upcoming shows!

Podcast Powered By Podbean

Jay acting as emcee for a Meanwhile show at Boutin's

Humorous and heartfelt, these personal food stories all have the common thread of food – our culture and relationships, personal life stories, past love affairs and more. “We’ve all experienced the highs and lows of life, which mostly revolve around our food experiences,” says creator/producer Peggy Sweeney-McDonald, a former actress and veteran event producer (Superstar Events-LA), a Baton Rouge native, LSU Graduate and 15-year resident of Los Angeles, CA. “Everyone has their own “Café Du Monde” —the place where they know what they are ordering, they know it is delicious, and they know they are with good friends and family and for that hour, life is really wonderful!”


Featured foodies/personalities sharing their stories include:

May 19th Show:
Emcee, Chef Jay Ducote – Baton Rouge Chef/Culinary Personality & Host of The Bite & Booze Radio Show presented by Calandro's Supermarket on Talk 107.3
Smiley Anders – The Advocate Columnist
Jim Urdiales – Chef and Owner of Mestizo’s Louisiana Mexican Restaurant
Pam Bordelon – The Advocate Social Columnist – Pam’s Party Line
Karen Profita – Management and Marketing Advisor, Host of Saturday Style Talk 107.3
Bill Profita – Host of The Bill Profita Show on Talk 107.3
Jim Engster – Owner/President of Louisiana Radio Network & Host of The Jim Engster Show
Victoria Green – Actress/Host
Peggy Sweeney-McDonald - President of Superstar Events-LA, Creator of Meanwhile, Back at Café Du Monde Show and Best-Selling Coffee table/cookbook by Pelican Publishing

June 9th Show:
Emcee, Paul Arrigo – President and CEO of Visit Baton Rouge
Missy Crews – Former Miss Louisiana and Louisiana International Film Festival Director of Communications
Gabby Loubiere – Owner of Brew HaHaw Coffee House
Vanda Gray – Owner of Body Fit Pilates
Daron Stiles – Actor and Featured in the Meanwhile, Back at Café Du Monde… book
Kat Rivera - Event Coordinator and Food Writer
Sean Rivera - Food Editor Dig Baton Rouge, Chef de Cuisine St. James Place
Myles Sweeney – Consultant and President of Myles Sweeney & Associates, LLC
John Gray – Music Educator and Musician The J Gray Jazz Band, The Mike Foster Project, The Soul Juke Box
Peggy Sweeney-McDonald - President of Superstar Events-LA, Creator of Meanwhile, Back at Café Du Monde Show and Best-Selling Coffee table/cookbook by Pelican Publishing

The shows will be presented at Boutin’s Restaurant May 19 & June 9th with doors opening at 6:00 PM and the show beginning at 7:00 PM show - Tickets are $35 and include show, buffet dinner, coffee/tea, tax & gratuity. A cash bar is available for purchase. Located at 8322 Bluebonnet Boulevard, Baton Rouge, LA 70810. Limited Seating.

For Reservations call (225) 819-9862
Website: www.boutins.com

John B. Stetson Bourbon: Whisk(e)y Wednesday presented by Calandro's Supermarket

John B. Stetson Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Whisk(e)y Wednesday returns to one of my favorite subjects this week: bourbon.  The John B. Stetson Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey got some mixed reviews from our panel.  While the score averaged out to an acceptable 72.5, it had scores significantly higher and lower than that.  I guess that much should be expected from a company most notably known for cowboy hats.  The whiskey is a four year old Kentucky bourbon though its source is a secret.  It is private labeled for Stetson, which is far more common than you might think.  The nose is pure sweet corn goodness.  It is very typical of a newer bourbon.  On taste the barrel comes through with some spice and a nice heat that comes across as prickly on the tongue.  It finishes neat and smooth with hints of vanilla and caramel with a slight lingering burn that is rather lovely.  Stetson is not currently available in Louisiana, but I'm sure that's just a matter of time.

John B. Stetson Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Average Score 72.5

Whisk(e)y Wednesday is a blog post series on Bite and Booze sponsored by Calandro's Supermarket. Calandro's has one of Baton Rouge's best selections of bourbon, Scotch, and other whisk(e)ys as well as wine and craft beer. This WW feature was scored by Eric Ducote, Brenton Day, and Charles Pierce. Scores are marked for Nose, Taste, Finish, and Balance and Complexity using our own proprietary scoring system. Marks are then added and averaged, leaving us with a final score out of a 100 point scale. Our scale should be looked at on the full range of 0-100 rather than an academic range where 70 is passing and anything less is failing. A 50 should be considered a very mediocre whisk(e)y while anything below 20 is absolute horse piss and anything above 90 is rather extraordinary.

Happy National Buttermilk Biscuit Day

Myself with King Biscuit at Fete Rouge
Photo by Jenn Ocken

In case you don't know, Baton Rouge, Louisiana is home of self-proclaimed "King Biscuit."  Chef Alex Hamman, a baking and pastry instructor at the Louisiana Culinary Institute is something a biscuit aficionado.  He's had biscuit recipes published in magazines, and he takes pride in every pillow of flaky dough that be bakes.  So on National Buttermilk Biscuit Day, which is today, May 14th, 2013, Chef Alex baked up a batch of golden treats at LCI, and I got to eat some!

I can't give away the recipe, nor do I know it.  But I know there is butter, buttermilk, and love.  And layering is key.  So for those of you who haven't had any biscuits today, I'm sorry that you likely won't have any as good as the ones that I got to eat, but you should still find a biscuit tonight.  Tis the season, after all.

King Biscuit's Biscuits

American Craft Beer Week: May 13-19

Over the last few years, American Craft Beer Week has become one of my favorite weeks of the year.  This year, it is even more important as Louisiana boasts one of the most rapidly advancing craft beer scenes in the country.  Just check out all the official craft beer events going on here: http://www.craftbeer.com/news-and-events/calendar.

Eric Ducote with BR Beer Scene laid out all the Baton Rouge craft beer events this week on his blog.

Calandro's Supermarket on Perkins is doing daily craft beer specials.  Keep up on their Facebook Page.

For those in New Orleans, make sure to check out The Beer Buddha for his picks this week.

Louisiana currently has seven operational commercial breweries with quite a few more on the way.  The operational breweries are:

Abita, Abita Springs
Bayou Teche, Arnaudville
Chafunkta, Mandeville
Covington, Covington
NOLA, New Orleans
Parish, Broussard
Tin Roof, Baton Rouge

So if you see any of them on tap or in stores this week, make EXTRA sure to support your local breweries.

Additionally, Louisiana has several other breweries in the planning process such as Great Raft, Gnarly Barley, Courtyard, Mudbug, and Cajun Fire.  So prepare to enjoy even more local craft beer soon as the Great American Beer Boom continues to explode in Louisiana!

Food Truck Friday celebrating ACBW benefiting Cancer Services

There are a lot of fun events going on across Louisiana next week to celebrate American Craft Beer Week (May 13-19), but perhaps the most fun will be on Friday, May 17th from 5-9pm.  Baton Rouge's own Tin Roof Brewing Company (1624 Wyoming Street off Nicholson) is hosting another one of their fabulous Food Truck Fridays, however this one will be far from ordinary.  It is all to benefit Cancer Services which has pulled an event permit to actually be able to sell beer.  So rather than the three tastes that you get with a $5 tour that cuts off promptly at 7 like a normal Friday (which is also a great deal, by the way), there will be four hours worth of food trucks, live music, and $4 Tin Roof beers, proceeds benefit those living with cancer.  So far, participating food trucks include Taco de Paco, CURBSIDE, Pullin' Pork, Fleur de Licious, Dolce Vita, and Three Bones Catering.  Live music will be provided by Heath Ransonnet.  For more information, check out the Cancer Services and Tin Roof Event Page on Facebook!