Super Bowl at Cooter Brown's in Nola! WHO DAT??

Hey!  Anybody remember when the Saints won the Super Bowl?  Well I sure do, although I was pretty hammered when it happened!  It all started at Brandon's apartment in New Orleans where I had a shot of Wakey Whiskey with him before heading to Cooter Brown's with Brent and Daniel.  We were running a little late as we wanted to be there when the doors opened at 11 A.M., but luckily Andrew and Megan were there already to hold a spot down.  We arrived before noon and promptly began chanting Saints cheers and "Put on the game!"  Did I mention that this was about six hours before kickoff?

Cooter Brown's Tavern and Oyster Bar, New Orleans, La

While Brent dealt with his hangover and Daniel drank his water, Andrew and I began sharing pitchers of delicious brew.  I started things off with a pitcher of NOLA Blonde.  NOLA, which is synonymous with New Orleans, Louisiana, in this case stands for the New Orleans Lager and Ale Brewing Company.  NOLA Blonde is a pretty decent American blonde ale with some nice, citrusy hops.  We drank merrily as we downed the pitcher and went back for Andrew's selection.

NOLA Blonde

Before my beer-induced obnoxiousness got too out of control, I decided it would be a good idea to sample some raw oysters.  After all, Cooter Browns is an oyster bar, and I happened to be in New Orleans.  There isn't much better!  These salty, slick, fresh Gulf oysters made me extremely happy as I continued with my pregame preparations: more drinking, of course!

Raw Oysters at Cooter Brown's Tavern and Oyster Bar

The oysters were a true treat.  I mixed up some ketchup, horse radish, Crystal hot sauce, and worcestershire sauce to dip my oysters in.  After dipping them, I placed the mollusks on saltine crackers and then added a special treat.  I placed a few drops of Crown Royal to the oyster and then plunged the entire collection of flavors and textures into my mouth.  It was like heaven on my tongue!  It turns out that whiskey and horseradish are perfect compliments!  Who knew?!

Coonass Special and Cheese Fries

Needing to soak up a little beer for reasons that will soon be disclosed, I went to the food counter and picked out the most famous sandwich that Cooter Brown's offers: the Coonass Special!  This delightful poboy comes with Mrs. Wheat's meat pies, provolone cheese, and gravy, served on French bread.  Meat pies on a sandwich is a great idea, and gravy adds so much more!  Oh, and what's better than cheese fries to help absorb some liquor?

With a little food, Brent's spirits picked back up and he quickly joined Andrew and I in our inebriation.  The two of them had agreed on a menu of drinks to go through, and being a fan of drink menus, I decided to join in.  On the menu were shots of Jager, Patron, and Timberwolf, a glass of Crown and water, and chugging pints of Abita Andygator.  Rough, yes, to a normal man.

Abita Amber

Sticking with Louisiana beer, I had a pitcher of Abita Amber at some point.  I know that because I have a picture of it.  Also consumed before the Super Bowl was a pitcher of NOLA Hopitoulas.  This IPA is brewed with six malts and six hops, then is polished off with some additional dry hopping.  The name comes from a famous street in New Orleans called Tchoupitoulas, and clearly there is a reference to the amazing hops in the beer.  Hoptastic!  We were joined by Brandon, who had been studying since we left his apartment, Amanda, and Katie in time for more drinks... and then... hours later... THE GAME!

Oh yeah, remember when the Saints won the Super Bowl?!  Somehow I was still conscious for the entire game, and the after party!  Go me!  WHO DAT?!

Saints Superbowl Victory Celebration from Cottage Films on Vimeo.

Things To Do
New Orleans

Lunch with Amanda at T-Bone Tom's in Kemah

After the New Year started at Jay's Bay, I met up with Amanda on my way out of Houston to have lunch before returning to Louisiana and the typical daily grind.  Having recently bought a house near the Space Center, Amanda lives a short drive away from Kemah where we decided to go for a sampling of Texas barbeque at T-Bone Tom's. 

T-Bone Tom's in Kemah, Texas

T-Bone Tom's is a gastronomic establishment with stereotypical Texan charm.  There is a giant cow on the sign out front (seen above) and a patio outside for live music and dancing.  Inside the restaurant sat clusters of tables with chairs that had advertisements on the back, but somehow not in a way that screamed commercial sellout, but rather a bit of marketing genius!  Amanda and I had a seat at the bar, I ordered a tall glass of Texas sweet tea, and we glanced over the menu while catching up on life.

Smoked Sausage Plate with House-Made BBQ Sauce

We began with smoked sausage plate that came with bowl of T-Bone Tom's tangy home made barbeque sauce.  The sausage had a rich smoke flavor that tremendously complimented the sauce at the end of a toothpick spear. 

The sausage worked up an appetite for more barbeque so I ordered the three meat plate to get a trial run at the best of their smoked meats.  The plate contained brisket and spare ribs smothered in sauce and jalapeño pulled pork on the side of the other two.  I also added some baked beans and potato salad for good measure and T-Bones threw in a Texas-thick slice of white bread for squeegeeing the remaining sauce off the plate.

Three Meat Plate - Brisket, Ribs, and Jalapeño Pulled Pork, Beans, and Potato Salad

The beans had a good texture and were not turned to mush consistency like some baked beans are, which I liked.  The potato salad tasted fine but didn't blow me away.  The brisket pulled apart and melted in my mouth just like it was supposed to.  The texture was right on, but the flavor didn't do anything special for me and seemed like it wasn't smoked long enough... certainly not bad, but not the greatest ever either.  The jalapeño pulled pork intrigued me and lived up to the modest expectations.  The pork itself was moist and tender and pulled perfectly into stringy bite sized pieces.  The jalapeño flavor added quite a kick to the pork and at times I found it a little excessive and overpowering.  The actual pickled jalapeños tasted fine, but I wanted jalapeño pork, not porky jalapeños.  The highlight of the meal, other than Amanda's company, was by far the ribs.  The sweet sauce attempted to cover up the flavor of the pork but the zing of the rib shined through as it pulled off the bone and left my taste buds with the smack that they so desperately craved.  Man, I love a good rib.

Things To Do

Houston

San Francisco Part I: Taqueria La Cumbre

This past weekend Eusebio and I took to the friendly skies courtesy of our dear friend Amanda who happens to work for Southwest Airlines.  Amanda has graciously flown me all over the country for the past several years and I am very thankful to her.  We headed West to the Foodbuzz Blogger Festival in San Francisco, CA.  Immediately upon arriving in Oakland, Eusebio and I took the BART across the bay to San Fran and walked a couple blocks, past Union Square, to our hotel.  We stayed at the Grand Hyatt which was an interesting place to be for the weekend because all of their housekeeping and food service staff were on strike!  Good old California labor union strikes.  We walked up to a hotel that was being picketed by its own employees right outside of the front door with rhythmic drum beating and constant chanting of "Don't check in, just check out!"  Having already made reservations and paid for the room, and thinking that the fact that we just walked up on a real-life labor strike was hilarious, we proceeded to check in, throw our stuff down, and go grab some lunch before our festival activities started at 5:00 p.m.

Our San Francisco culinary journey got started with a ride on a classic street car trolley and a trip to the Mission district. The Mission neighborhood exists as an incredibly impressive international melting pot of residents and restaurants. From sushi to Salvadoran, pizza to Pakistani, eating well should be easy to do in Mission for everyone who walks its streets. We had heard of Taqueria La Cumbre as the innovator of the authentic overstuffed mission-style Mexican burrito. For those of you who know about Freebird's or Izzo's, that is what I'm talking about... but way better!

Taqueria La Cumbre, Mission District, San Francisco

The Taqueria has a lot more to enjoy than just the burritos.  They offer many different Platos Mexicanos for the frequenters to consume, but it is pretty obvious that their mission-style burritos are what they are famous for.  Meat filling for the burritos comes in the form of carne asada (steak beef), pulled pork, chicken, several flavored versions of beef, pork, and chicken, and beef tongue.  I didn't look over the menu long before ordering my "super" burrito.

Menu Board at Taqueria La Cumbre

I ordered the carne asada super burrito which came with grilled steak meat that was chopped right in front of me, Mexican rice, black beans, fresh guacamole, sour cream, cheese, pico de gallo, and hot sauce which was all stuffed inside a giant flour tortilla.  The meal came with corn tortilla chips and a selection of salsas.  I added a Mexican beer, Negra Modelo, to the feast just to top it off properly and help wash all of the spicy goodness that I was about to consume down.

Super Burrito, Chips, Salsa, and a Negro Modelo at Taqueria La Cumbre

The completely stuffed burrito fillings exploded both figuratively with flavor and literally out of the thinly pressed tortilla. Rice and black beans created the bulk of the subsistence but the seasoned beef and guacamole were still the flavor highlights.  Fresh ingredients all around gave the burrito the taste that made it famous.

The Stuffing of My Super Burrito

While there might be rival burritos out there in other parts of the country and world, I certainly can not get anything this good in Baton Rouge.  I love how the restaurant has maintained its original, classic, casual atmosphere with friendly service.  The Mission district as a whole was an area of San Francisco that I could spend a lot more time in.  There were unique restaurants and shops at every corner, each with its own culture that it contributed to the overall diverse cultural center that is San Francisco.

In San Francisco Part II, I will write about the adventures that we had on Friday night at the Foodbuzz Blogger Festival Street Vendor "Fare"!  Stay tuned!

Things To Do
San Francisco

Another Good Time at Sammy's Grill

Ever since I started this blog I've been trying hard to not eat at the same standard collection of restaurants that my buddies and I have been dining at for years.  That being said, there is just something about a place that is so constantly good and so familiar that you don't even need a menu to know what you are going to order because you damn near have the entire thing memorized already!  For my group, The Chimes was, and still to a degree is, that kind of restaurant.  However, recently it has been taken over in popularity and frequency by Sammy's Grill on Highland Road.  Click here to read my first post about Sammy's.

Last Friday a group of amigos met at Sammy's for some after-work dinner and drinks.  Earlier in the evening I got a fantastic surprise when Brandon was waiting at my house for me after work.  He was not the surprise though.  He brought a "lady friend" with him that I thought I didn't know, but it turned out to be Amanda Ball, live, and in person!  I was happy.  I love surprises like that!  Soon we were on our way to Sammy's to meet Andrew, Megan, Scott, and some other folks to share some laughs over food and beverage.  I started off with one of my all-time favorite beers: Abita Turbodog.

Abita Turbodog at Sammy's Grill

Turbodog is a dark ale that has flavors of semi-sweet chocolate and perhaps some toffee.  In my mind, it is a real man's beer, although there is no reason that the ladies shouldn't like it too.  To go along with our first round of beers, Brandon, Amanda, and I ordered a plate of Sammy's famous fried cheese.  Their cheese sticks are pretty much amazing.  The huge homemade logs of creamy and rich mozzarella are battered and deep fried until golden brown, topped with parmesan cheese and some garnish, and served with marinara.

Sammy's Famous Fried Cheese

I highly recommend the fried cheese to anybody who has never had it before.  It is amazing how much better it tastes than pre-packaged, frozen mozzarella sticks.  After our appetizer we put in an order or our entrees.  Their soup de jour, or soup of the day, was a chicken, sausage, and duck gumbo that I just had to try.  The gumbo tasted so freakishly fantastic that I ate all of it before I remembered to take a picture.  I apologize for the oversight, but damn it was good!  The gumbo has a light roux which is exactly how I like it because that's how my Maw Maw used to make it.  The chicken and duck meat was tender and the sausage added just the right flavor.  This gumbo might have been the best that I've had since I started blogging!  For my entree, I got one of the most cost-efficient meals in Baton Rouge dining: the Chicken Fried Steak.

Chicken Fried Steak with White Gravy, Mashed Potatoes, Corn, and Garlic Bread

At $7.95, it is difficult to find a larger plate of delicious food at a better price.  The steak is typically very tender and well seasoned with a crispy, flavorful breading and a savory, milky white gravy.  The gravy is also poured on top of the already moist mashed potatoes.  The corn is nothing special but is pretty good for canned restaurant corn.  When you put the whole plate together you have a good meal at an exceptional value, making the chicken fried steak plate at Sammy's one my usuals.  There's not much doubt that I'll consume several more of these dinners, along with the fried cheese, gumbo, and Turbodogs, in my lifetime.  Bon Appetit!  That's French for good meal, as the Reverend Brandon Brown would say.