Vino and Venison: Taking a bite out of the monthly wine dinners at L'Auberge Baton Rouge's 18 Steak

by Sydney "Brown Nose" Blanchard

If you haven't gotten a chance to check out 18 Steak at L'Auberge yet, you're missing out. The decor is totally luxe and over-the-top: quilted leather booths, dark interior lighting, chandeliers hanging from the ceiling.

It looks like somewhere The Godfather would bring someone he was either trying to kill or impress. And it's awesome.

Recently we had the opportunity to try one of 18 Steak's monthly wine dinners. The restaurant has been offering multiple course dinners paired with a variety of wines, and when L'Auberge Public Relations Manager Julie Collins got in touch with us about attending a dinner, we couldn't very well pass it up.

The dinner started with a cocktail hour where we sipped on champagne and admired the decor. We snacked on some passed hors d'oeuvres while Blair and Julie rekindled their friendship by nerding out over Harry Potter (you may have read about these two gals gushing over HP before in Put it all on 18 Steak).

Poppin' champagne like we won the championship game.

First course: oysters on the half shell

Once we were seated, the serious eating began.

Our first course consisted of a variety of raw oysters served on the half shell and paired with a lovely chardonnay, the William Fevre Champs Royaux 2013. One of the oysters, the table favorite, was a rare find from Japan. It was topped with a lemon-y granita and had a really unique flavor, different for those of us who are used to Gulf oysters.

Next, we were brought a duck confit salad served with fresh Louisiana strawberries. I wasn't a huge fan of how stem-y the greens were, but the confit made up for it. The strawberry sauce added an unexpected sweetness to the salad which went along nicely with the duck as well as the paired wine, the Bouchard Pere et Fils Beaune Reserve Bougogne Rouge 2011.

Second course: duck confit salad

Around this point, we were all two glasses in (well, three if you count the champagne at the bar). The previous courses had definitely whet our appetites, but we anxiously awaited the main course while juggling our multiple wine glasses.

When it was finally brought out, it took all our efforts to keep our jaws from hitting the floor. We were served a medium rare venison chop. Porcini crusted and topped with micro-greens, the venison laid in a red pool of cherry reduction. Cutting into it was like cutting into a stick of softened butter, and the texture was the same upon eating a bite. This dish paired elegantly with the Bouchard Pere et Fils Beune Savigny-les-Beaune 2012.

Main Course: Procini Crusted Venison Chop
with Cherry Reduction

The main course was Blair's favorite, but I enjoyed the dessert course most of all.

We were brought a beautiful little log of chocolate cake topped with a hazelnut creme and poached pears sprinkled with cinnamon. Chocolate syrup was dotted on the plate along with a dollop of pear jelly. This final course was served with the Bouchard Pere et Fils Beaune Gevery Chambertin 2012.

Blair goes to a lot of these dinners, so she's a seasoned professional. She was very happy with the amount of food we were served. Normally, she said, each course is a huge portion of food. At the end of the 18 Steak dinner, we were able to move and weren't feeling the 'itis.

Dessert: Chocolate cake with hazelnut creme and poached pears

Blair and I both appreciated that the wines weren't super heavy. Each glass paired nicely with each course, and at the end of the dinner we were each given a bottle of Pinot Noir to bring home.

If any of this sounds interesting to you, you're in luck! 18 Steak will be hosting another wine dinner featuring Hall Family Vineyards on March 25 for only $99 per person. And Julie told us to keep our eyes peeled for another dinner in April. More information can be found here.








If the wine dinner is a little out of your price range (normally, it is for me), Julie gave us the down-low on a great promotion starting this week in Bon Temps Buffet at L'Auberge. They're calling it Fisherman's Keep, and for $25 you can eat all the snow crab clusters, sautéed scallops, fried shrimp, boiled shrimp, stuffed crabs, barbecue shrimp, stuffed flounder and crawfish you can get your paws on until April 4. Julie suggests heading there Wednesday for dinner and hitting up Blitz Bingo at Edge afterward. Click here for the menu. 

Hummingbird Walks into a Whiskey Bar: Whisk(e)y Wednesday presented by Lock & Key

Hummingbird Walks into a Whiskey Bar

On a recent trip to the Lock & Key Whiskey Bar I pondered over the new cocktails which they had come up with since my previous visit. Arthur, one of the partners in the bar, suggested the Hummingbird Walks into a Whiskey Bar ($13). Curious just from the name, I queried him about the origins of the cocktail. A hummingbird is a mixture of St. Germain and Champagne, presenting a fruity, floral, and effervescent mixed drink, but not one that I'd really ever want to order. Lock & Key's version added Glenlivet 12 year, a very well rounded single malt Scotch, as well as some orange bitters. I took a sip and then another. The flavors melded together like the colors in a sunset over the sea. Balanced and refreshing, the drink had delicate flavors which opened up more on the way down. I tasted sweet peach making way for bitter citrus. The Hummingbird Walks into a Whiskey Bar comes in a coupe glass garnished with orange peel. Next time you're in Lock & Key, give it a try!

Uruguay: Street Food Bite and Booze of the 2014 World Cup

Cows and soccer are the main concerns of the natives on the next stop of the street food guide to the FIFA World Cup 2014. Uruguay (playing England at 2pm CDT), an extremely agrarian place, has more cow inhabitants than it does humans. Nestled between the two large, bold countries of Brazil and Argentina, Uruguay lives off of the land and has a fancy for grilled meats and futbol. Chivitos and the "Keep It Up" are on the menu today.

Photo Credit: epicurious.com

The popular Chivitos sandwich is a doozie stacked with steak, ham, pancetta, cheese, eggs and a bunch of other delicious accompaniments. It does have veggies so it's...balanced. Guaranteed to fill you up, this sammie is a meal hearty enough to feed the fittest soccer player, so don't snack too much during the match.

Photo Credit: theranking.com

The Uruguayans are actually big champagne and wine drinkers. The Keep It Up is a cocktail combining champagne, cognac, orange juice and bitters. Easy to make and easy to drink-- the fruitiness compliments the effervescence of the champagne.

Bite and Booze Radio Show: Taste Awards and King Cake

On this week's episode of the Bite and Booze Radio Show presented by Calandro's Supermarket I get to talk about being in Los Angeles for the Taste Awards. I'm also joined in studio by three members of the Calandro's Supermarket team including Blaise Calandro III, CJ Webre, and Sammy Rumfola. We talk pop a cork on some bubbly to celebrate the Taste Awards, then enjoy some great Calandro's king cakes as well as White Russian made with king cake vodka. Enjoy the show!



The Bite and Booze Radio Show presented by Calandro's Supermarket airs on Saturdays at 5 PM on Talk 107.3 FM in Baton Rouge. It is also available on iTunes. The show's sponsors include Calandro's Supermarket, Visit Baton Rouge, Slap Ya Mama Cajun Seasoning, Mama Della's N.Y. City Pizzeria, Restaurant IPO, Mason's Grill, Donner-Peltier Distillers (Rougaroux Rums and Oryza Vodka and Gin), Louisiana Cookin' Magazine, Juban's Restaurant, the Tin Roof Brewing Company, the Louisiana Culinary Institute and Triumph Kitchen.

Hotel Indigo Hosts Local Bloggers and Food Writers

Last week I had the pleasure of being invited to a blogger and food writer dinner at Baton Rouge's Hotel Indigo.  The boutique hotel sits on the corner of Lafayette and Convention downtown and features 93 stellar guest rooms.  The entire hotel is filled with amazing photographic prints of scenes from around the Red Stick which gives the space a great local feel.  Next to the lobby on the first floor sits the King Bar & Bistro, named after the old hotel that previously occupied the site in the first half of last century.  The space opens as a coffee shop and for breakfast daily at 6 am then transitions to lunch and to dinner without ever closing.  Perhaps most exciting is the happy hour with tapas from 4-7 pm on Monday through Friday.  I might have to go check that out soon... plus I can bring a laptop and get some work done with the free wireless internet throughout the hotel.

A Teddy Bear Margarita came out as the "prelude" for our dinner at Hotel Indigo.  The beverage consisted of tequila, passion fruit puree, Cointreau, Grand Marinier, and lime juice.  I love a flavorful margarita that never touches high-fructose corn syrup loaded premade mixes!  The Teddy Bear did well to whet my appetite.  The name came from a quote from an early drinker of the cocktail.  This margarita is said to "wrap its arms around you" and squeeze a little like a Teddy Bear if you've had a couple!

The great servers at the King Bar & Bistro placed the "beginning" course in front of everyone at our table.  The Capital City Seafood Gumbo came with rice, Creole mustard potato salad and some garlic bread.  The rich and flavorful roux and broth tasted great as I consumed everything down to the final morsel on my plate.

A Ponchatoula Strawberry Salad was served as our "fresh" course.  The strawberries are buried underneath the fresh spinach in the picture above, but they were actually quite plentiful.  Along with the crumbled cheese and toasted pecans, this salad combined a great mix of flavors and textures.

Along with the salad came a classic cocktail called a French 75.  Very simple in ingredients, the cocktail packs quite a punch to go along with a tremendous flavor and refreshment factor.  The French 75 is a mixture of gin, lemon juice and champagne.  I enjoyed this version so much that I might have to add these to my regular imbibing schedule!

For the night's "main event" we were greeted with Tin Roof BBQ Shrimp served over creamy grits, some garlic bread spears and a side of marinated peppers.  The New Orleans style barbecue shrimp's flavor exploded in my mouth with the addition of Baton Rouge's local brew in the sauce.  One great aspect of all Hotel Indigo properties is that they are required to take on the characteristic of their surroundings.  The hotel has a uniquely Baton Rouge feel complete with two beer taps in the bar that pour nothing but the local Tin Roof Beer.  Being an advocate for both eating and drinking locally, I loved it!

Only to out do themselves, our "finale" tugged at my soul.  I'm a firm believer that every great meal should end with dessert and this one sure worked!  River Road Dark Roast and New Orleans Praline Liqueur accented a stunning slice of Bourbon Pecan Pie.  I could have eaten two or three slices had they been placed in front of me.  I enjoyed the entire meal and am very glad that I got to participate in the "Locals Know Best - Dish on the Dish" series.

  

France - The 2010 FIFA World Cup Bites and Boozes

France

French cuisine is one of the most world-renowned food cultures on the planet.  While to some it may be one of the easiest World Cup tour posts to imagine, for me it is one of the most difficult to write.  What should I focus on?  Classic French culinary techniques?  Haute Cuisine?  Champagne, Cognac, Bordeaux? This is tough!  My real challenge here is to try to be creative and find something that isn't so obvious.  However, in doing my research, I realized that I ought not to focus on one dish, but rather offer a glimpse of what French food is really all about.

Camille Lepage wrote an article for Spiked Online in which she revealed why her country's food culture is still alive and well despite the immigration of "Le Big Mac."  In the article, Camille, a French woman, begins with a bit about the history of French cuisine before getting into the real meat of the article: why French food is far superior to that of the English. I found this paragraph to be particularly insightful: "... France remains at the heart of global food culture. It’s not all about what we eat, it’s also about the way we do it. Yes, we are fond of food itself, but we also crave the social aspect of eating. We pay a lot of attention to the way we eat, cook and how we share our meals. Lunch and dinner are sacred in France - they are particular moments of the day during which people talk and spend time together. In France, it’s rare to see a person on his or her own in a restaurant, and even rarer to see someone walking and eating at the same time in the streets, sights which are commonplace in the UK."  Camille goes on to say, "As a French person, my expectations towards food are high; after a year and half in England, I have never found a restaurant worthy of the name. Prices are lower here (England), but I’d rather pay more and have the quality I can find back home at any corner of any street. The British do not make food, they heat it. Most of the food you can find in restaurants in the UK has been frozen and is warmed up before being served on a plate."

HAHA... "the British don't make food, they heat it!"  I find that to be hilarious, and indeed also true of plenty of American cuisine.  In many ways we really are a "Fast Food Nation," afraid to slow down and care about what goes into our food or the process by which it is prepared.  We want instant food, ready for consumption with just a zap from a microwave or a quick stroll through a drive-thru window.  This is also, in my mind, what separates chefs from cooks in America. The vast majority of chain restaurants (and even locally owned establishments) have set menus that require no extra creativity or passion.  The employees simply cook the food that has been given to them in an often frozen and ultra-processed form.  If there is one thing that can be said about French food, it is that there is too much passion in the average citizen to let that kind of "heating" qualify as their national cuisine.  I say good for them.

And now for some adult beverages... There are plenty to choose from in France, but I found something other wine, champagne, cognac, and beer (for which you can check out the BR Beer Scene).

Pastis is the most popular aperitif in France. Aniseed flavoured aperitifs (Pastis is made with anise, licorice and other aromatic plants) were developped in South France (Marseille) after World War I, when Absinthe, an alcool that was considered as too dangerous, was forbidden. Paul Ricard launched in 1932 "the real Pastis from Marseille" and Pastis became popular all over France. Surprisingly, average Pastis consumption today is higher in Northern France regions that in South. Average price of a 1 liter bottle of Pastis in France is around 15 Euros ($14) and more than 80% of this price is in taxes. Famous Pastis brands are Ricard, Pernod, Pastis 51, Duval, Casanis and Berger.

Although many people, including in bars and cafes serve Pastis and then add water and ice, the "official" way is to put water first. 1 volume of Pastis for 5 volumes of water is the traditional proportion but if you want it more refreshing, you can add up to 10 volumes of water. Pastis is popular abroad and in some countries is served in a way that would horrify the French "purists". In France "le "perroquet" and "la tomate" are 2 famous Pastis cocktails : Un perroquet : pastis, mint sirup, water. Une tomate : pastis, grenadine sirup, water. Pastis is also used in several fish, meat or dessert recipes.

Thanks and Credits:
http://www.tokyoworklife.com/english_town/frenchdining.html
http://www.ffcook.com/pages/frenchdrinks.htm
http://www.frenchentree.com/france-provence-food-drink/DisplayArticle.asp?ID=17273