8 Delicious Reasons You Should Get On Our Mailing List

by Sydney Blanchard



As you may or may not have heard, Jay and the Bite and Booze team have been hosting small intimate multi-course dinners for up to 12 people, and it's been a blast so far.

The way it works is this: we plan an incredible menu, usually centered around a theme. We create an Eventbrite page and share it with a small group of insiders, people who have attended our previous events.

Then, if we have tickets left, we'll send an email out to our newsletter subscribers letting them get in on the action. If we still have tickets left after that, we resort to social media.

The week of the event, we email ticket holders the location of the dinner.

It's kind of exclusive, and kind of secretive, and that's what makes it so much fun. You never know who else you might be dining with!

So go ahead and sign up for our newsletter to get the inside scoop on upcoming dinners. We hope to see you there!

Bloody Mary from our Valentine's Day Brunch

Jay D's Molasses Deviled Egg topped with picked shrimp

Soda bread from our St. Patrick's Day Dinner

Smoked sausage and sweet potato hash from our Valentine's Day Brunch

Blood Orange sorbet palate cleanser from Rue Rusike's Forage & Cook dinner

Chocolate molten cake with figs and edible flowers from the Forage & Cook dinner

Pork chop and colcannon at the St. Patrick's Day Dinner

Dominican style red beans and rice with stewed chicken and fried plantains, from a private dinner

Hot Tails in New Roads: Dare to be Delicious

I caught Chef Cody Carroll (left) pulling out a fresh batch
of his famous boiled crawfish.

Hot tails is tucked away in New Roads, Louisiana which is about 45 minutes outside of Baton Rouge, and it is worth every second of the drive! Louisiana Culinary Institute classmates, turned chefs, turned married couple are the creators of Hot Tails. This is a casual yet hardcore Cajun place that has a lot more going on than it might appear. Each dish is prepared with an artful mind, a bold taste profile, and several smiling faces. In its inception, the primary reason for its existence was to be a crawfish house. Chefs Cody and Sam Carroll have a crawfish farm up the road of their own so they know exactly where the mudbugs are coming from. They then boil some of the most delicious batches of crawfish anywhere in the state.

Along the way Chefs Cody and Sam started to incorporate their flare into some of the dishes we all grew up loving. Everything coming out of the Carrolls’ kitchen is spot on. Every site, sip, and bite presents out of control deliciousness. They have been recognized as the Crawfish King and Queen by Louisiana Seafood and have been the subject of many write ups in various publications that adorn their walls at Hot Tails. Trust me--this place is worth checking out.

Here's a sampling of their menu so you don't have to take just my words for it, but you can also see for yourself. To taste and smell, though, you'll have travel to New Roads.

Blackened Alligator Po-Boy with Fried Okra and a pint of Tin Roof Blonde

The legendary Creole Crawfish Burger topped with sautéed crawfish, onions, mushrooms and pepperjack cheese.

The monstrous Gulf Platter with a fried soft shell crab, oysters, catfish, crawfish tails, and the most tender frog legs in existence.

The Seafood Muffaletta: sautéed shrimp, crawfish, mushrooms, onions, and garlic with Provolone.

Louisiana Seafood Gumbo.

Chef Sam prepared this beautiful and delicious Bloody Mary while Chef Cody made one of my favorites: fried rabbit with red beans and rice.

The Hot Tails boiled crawfish... legit!

Jameson Shenanigans: Whisk(e)y Wednesday presented by Calandro's Supermarket

Bloody Jameson

As the luck o’ the Irish would have it, I was invited to enjoy a Jameson Irish Whiskey dinner at the Stadium in L’Auberge Baton Rouge a few days before St. Patrick’s Day. That seems like plenty of reason in itself to make this a Whisk(e)y Wednesday post, but they went a step further and incorporated whiskey into a lot of the food too. I'm generally not a huge fan of Jameson as I know there are better Irish whiskies out there without the expenses of massive marketing budgets. However, once you get into the Reserve and 12 Year Jameson, they have some pretty good stuff. If you have not yet had the chance to stop by the L’Auberge Casino, I recommend you make the time to check out the inspired facilities, the rooftop pool, and most importantly the food. Chef Jimmy at the Stadium set us up with a well thought out interpretation of some crowd pleasers and Irish classics. While each course was being brought out to us, we learned about the history of Jameson and the flavors that accompany this famous spirit from Arthur Lauck of the Lock & Key Whiskey Bar. A big thanks to Chef Jimmy for a scrumptious meal and to Julie Collins for the invite!

Drunken Crawfish with a Jameson Butter Sauce

Irish Charcuterie: Irish Banger, Smoked Salmon, and Dublin Sausages with a Whiskey Mustard and Whiskey Rhubarb Marmalade accompanied by Pickled Fennel and Beets

Sous Vide Corned Pork Belly atop Red Beet Puree with Potato and Cabbage Hash

Paddy's Beesting with Chocolate Sugar lined glass

Jameson and Beesting Honey Almond Cake, Strawberry Jelly Spheres and Chocolate Ganache

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, Irish, and other whisk(e)ys as well as wine and craft beer. This WW feature was scored by Jay Ducote, Eric Ducote, and Jeremy Spikes. 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 (though not undrinkable) while anything below 20 is absolute horse piss and anything above 80 is rather extraordinary and anything above 90 is world class.

Bloody Scotsman at Lock & Key: Whisk(e)y Wednesday presented by Calandro's Supermarket

Bloody Scotsman (photo courtesy of Lock & Key)

Last week I checked out the new Lock & Key Whiskey Bar for the first time. Located at Glen's Bar off of Corporate at College, the venue is a haven for those seeking a relaxed whiskey drinking environment with soothing music and great service. I started out trying each of their signature twists on the Old Fashioned. The Elder-Fashioned features the Weller 12 year bourbon but mixes in some St. Germain with bitters, soda, and Luxardo candied cherries. Meanwhile the Humbling Old-Fashioned utilizes agave nectar instead of simple syrup, Hum hibiscus liqueur, and Buffalo Trace bourbon.

After the first two bourbon cocktails, Arthur Lauck suggested that I try the Bloody Scotsman. A true whiskey bar's interpretation of a Bloody Mary, the tomato based cocktail features Black Bottle peated blended Scotch as well as plenty of spice. Plenty. In a good way. The spicy salted rim and pickled garden garnish all fit the bill ($10). I can certainly appreciate this whisky version of a Bloody Mary. So much, in fact, that I've given the cocktail its own Whisk(e)y Whiskey segment! Make sure to give it a try while a live piano plays in the background. Good times!


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, Irish, and other whisk(e)ys as well as wine and craft beer. This WW feature was scored by Jay Ducote, Eric Ducote, and Jeremy Spikes. 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 (though not undrinkable) while anything below 20 is absolute horse piss and anything above 80 is rather extraordinary and anything above 90 is world class.

Mason's Grill in Baton Rouge wins Thrillist's Search for America's Best Bloody Mary!

Bacon Bloody Mason

Chris and Kristen with the judges from Chopped

Big news came out of New York this weekend. After being voted the top bloody mary in Louisiana by an online poll for Thrillist.com, Kristen Alfandre and Chris from Mason's Grill attended the live competition as part of the New York Wine and Food Festival. Sponsored by Absolut, the contest sought to name the very best intoxicating tomato based drink in the country.

Mason's trophy!

So the big news... Mason's won! That's right, the Bloody Mason, which you can find right here in Baton Rouge, has gone to New York and conquered the boozing world by winning the contest.

This is something for Baton Rouge to be proud of. This is cause for celebration across the state of Louisiana. We've long known the best bloody marys in the world come from Louisiana, and now we have proof. Please join me in congratulating Mason's Grill. Send them a tweet, post something on their Facebook wall, or just go have a Bloody Mason!

And for those who may have missed it, below is the 225: Into the Mix video that we made at Mason's Grill. It was mostly about burgers, but I built my own Bloody Mason while I was there too!

225: Into the Mix Episode 1 - Mason's Grill

Yesterday a brand new web series called 225: Into the Mix launched to great reviews. I say that because the reviews are truly great, not just because the video is about me going out to find the best bite and booze that Baton Rouge has to offer! Episode one takes me to Mason's Grill on Jefferson Highway to get in the kitchen with Chef Jason Darensbourg and create three of their signature burgers. I also chat with Kristin Alfandre about their famous Bloody Mason's. Watch, and enjoy. A new episode will come out each week!

225: Into the Mix is a project from 225 Magazine's Dine Newsletter, tommysTV, and Bite and Booze. I'd like to especially thank Manda Fine Meats and the Paretti Family of Dealerships for their sponsorship of the series that helped make everything happen.

Hosted by Jay Ducote
Produced by Jay Ducote and Tommy Talley
Director of Photography: Dan Jones
Editor: Josh Carley
Audio: Michael Lane
Graphics by Elbow|Room
Production Assistant: Dustin Davis