Bite and Booze Awards: Restaurant Week Baton Rouge

Local Products List and Pork Rinds at Beausoleil

Restaurant Week Baton Rouge has come and gone, but the memories remain for those of us who dined out last week.  I took the liberty of compiling a rundown of the RW highlights. Take a look, and let me know what you think by commenting below or posting on Twitter or Facebook! These picks are my opinion alone and I'd love to hear what you think.

Best deals:

$15 - Chelsea's Cafe - Cheese fries, the stellar chicken mojo poboy with fries, and French silk cake for $15... yeah, that's a good deal despite it all being on the normal menu.

$20 - The Londoner - Just a slight step up from Chelsea's, at the Londoner you could get a grilled chicken, strawberry, and walnut salad, a steak and ale pie, and finish it with their amazing sticky toffee bread pudding for nothing but a Jackson.

$25 - Beausoleil - Starting off a meal with a dish called "General Tso's Cheeks" always gets the imagination running. Following that up with a Creole cane syrup grilled pork chop and ending with a fresh fruit cobbler with toasted pecan crust for only a hundred quarters... that's just plain silly good.

Le Creole's Lobster Wontons

$30 - Juban's - The stuffed crab cake with avocado aioli showed what new Executive Chef Joey Daigle is capable of, and that only got me through the appetizer. As one of Baton Rouge's most historic fine dining restaurant, a three course menu like this is something that should be unheard of... though they actually offer a $29.99 prefix all the time! Moving on to a medium-rare steak frites and a cinnamon raisin bread pudding, it's hard to argue about the Restaurant Week deal at Juban's.

$35 - Le Creole - I began my meal with the lobster wontons. Lobster knuckle and claw meat and truffle cream filled crispy fried wontons accompanied with pepper jelly. They were delightful. Next came the gulf red grouper topped with crab meat sitting on a bed of Napa cabbage in a ginger-citrus sauce. I finished the meal with flaming bananas foster. I won.

Best off menu dishes:

Appetizer - Allow me to rant here: While a Restaurant Week is amazing and I'm extremely happy that Baton Rouge has one, it does also seem that perhaps part of the spirit is not understood. I could find ZERO restaurants that went off of their ordinary menu for the first course of their restaurant week menu. They recycled their appetizers, soups, and salads. They showed a lack of creativity, imagination, and desire to use the week to showcase their chef or something new rather than let people just order something that would be on the menu anyway. Next Restaurant Week, I encourage all restaurants and their chefs to allow their passion to shine and create some restaurant week specials as small plates and first courses. Fortunately, there were a few second and third courses that went off-menu.

Entree - Bin 77: Stuffed Mississippi Quail - As if the bird wouldn't be enough for the entree in a $25 three course menu, the folks at Bin 77 rounded the dish out with foie gras, oyster ragu, three potato pave, and red-eye gravy. What a dish! And it can't be found on their regular dinner menu!

Dessert - Blend: Warm Chocolate Torte - Complete with salted caramel gelato and roasted peanuts, this dessert cried out to be eaten! While there is a chocolate torte on Blend's dessert menu, it doesn't come with salted caramel gelato and roasted peanuts, so if you didn't get to try this version, you may have missed out!

Special Mentions:

Most Creative Menu - Nino's Italian: Forget dessert... you can order that on your own. Nino's bucked the "three courses = appetizer, entree, dessert" mentality and decided instead to offer a slew of incredible appetizers like mussels or gnocchi followed by a soup or salad and then an amazing entree including their homemade grilled vegetable and goat cheese cannelloni!

The filet at Doe's, an option I could have had for Restaurant Week

Sad I Missed It - Doe's Eat Place: They had a pound-and-a-half T-bone on their Restaurant Week menu
and I missed it. That steak costs over $35 by itself, but they served it with three tamales, fries, biscuits, and then eclair cake. While I can go back to Doe's and eat tamales, prime steak, and eclair cake any time, I'm still sad I missed this deal.

Welcome to the Show - Le Bon Temps: Although they just recently opened, Le Bon Temps Bar & Grill wasted no time joining in on Restaurant Week Baton Rouge. That's what I like to see from a new restaurant! And for $20, their menu that featured combinations like duck and andouille egg rolls, a cochon de lait platter, and lemon icebox pie could not have steered anybody wrong!

Corporate Love - Fleming's: While I'm not a promoter of chain or corporate restaurants, there were several that participated in Restaurant Week and I'm sure there were many happy diners. The menu at Fleming's Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar, for example, should not have been overlooked. Listed as four courses on their menu, you could start with a lobster bisque, follow that up with a petite filet, include some Fleming's potatoes, and wrap it all up with a huge slice of carrot cake. Whether they are corporate or not, their Chef is a Louisiana boy, and it is hard to beat a meal like that for $35!

Louisiana Feast of Fields 2013

Anybody out there interested in a true farm-to-table type of dinner?  The Louisiana Feast of Fields 2013 is a gastronomic gala taking place at the LSU AgCenter's Botanical Gardens off of Essen Lane on April 12th.  Chef Ryan Andre from Le Creole in Baton Rouge will lead the culinary team that matches up local farmers, fishermen, and chefs to create a five course meal!  Check out all the details below.  You can purchase your tickets online though PayPal from the Louisiana Culinary Institute.  The dinner also features wine and beer pairings from Pontchartrain Vineyards and the Tin Roof Brewing Company, and Dr. Mike Strain as a guest speaker.  It is sure to be amazing.

Here's a preview of the dinner with myself in the kitchen with Ryan Andre putting together the pork belly dish that will be featured at the dinner!

Louisiana Feast of Fields 2012

There's an exciting dinner coming on November 9th that I'd like to pass along to you.  I won't be cooking this one, but you better believe the food will be excellent.  Plus, this is the kind of event that contributes to a food culture that we so desperately want more of in the Red Stick.  The Louisiana Feast of Fields 2012 is a dinner which will bring together local farmers and chefs to create an inspired meal at the Burden Center, part of the LSU Rural Life Museum off of Essen.  The LSU Ag Center property will play host to Chef Ryan Andre (from Le Creole) and his team from the Louisiana Culinary Institute and more.  They'll create a five course meal paired with wines from the Pontchartrain Vineyards.  Dr. Mike Strain, Louisiana's Agriculture Commissioner, will be there as well to say a few words.  The "Gastronomic Gala" is sure to be a palate-pleasing triumph of a feast that you won't want to miss!  Plus, all proceeds go towards the Burden Center and LCI's non-profit fund which will help train future culinarians and continue to increase the quality of our cuisine in the capital region.  You can also read a little more about the dinner from 225's Maggie Richardson. I look forward to seeing you there!

Louisiana Cookin' Chefs to Watch Dinner

For my birthday, August 20, I'm having the pleasure of attending the Louisiana Cookin' Chefs to Watch 2012 Awards Dinner at the Theatre at Harrah's New Orleans.  This annual dinner features superb dishes from five Louisiana chefs who have been named as that year's "chefs to watch" by Louisiana Cookin' Magazine.  This year, I'm proud to know a couple of the honorees.  Chef Ryan Andre from Le Creole in Baton Rouge is a graduate of the Louisiana Culinary Institute and has been on both of my radio shows before.  Manny Augello at Jolie's Bistro in Lafayette cooked at the James Beard House earlier this summer and I got a preview of that meal before he left for New York.  I'm excited to meet the rest of the chefs while I'm in New Orleans.  Here's the menu with wine pairings that they'll be cooking up:

Passed Hors D'oeuvres

Cochon de Lait - Fried Hog's Head Cheese with Black Eye Pea and Sweet Potato Vinegar Caviar
Chef Manny Augello, Jolie’s Louisiana Bistro, Lafayette

Roasted Gulf Oyster Crostini with Bruleed Parmesan and Applewood Bacon
Chef Ryan Andre, Le Creolé, Baton Rouge

Fried Wild Mushroom Springroll with Asparagus Tips and Tarragon Aioli Sauce
Chef Zac Watters, Zachary’s Restaurant, Mandeville

Watermelon with Cherry Tomato Filet and Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette
Chef Brad McGehee, Ye Olde College Inn, New Orleans

Fish and Chips - Fresh Yellow Fin Tuna with Micro Cilantro, Lime and Spicy Chili Sauce atop House Made Potato Chips
Chef Lindsay Mason, Cristiano Ristorante, Houma

Seated Dinner

Shrimp and Andouille Beignets with a Louisiana Crawfish Corn Maque Choux
Chef Zac Watters, Zachary’s Restaurant, Mandeville
Conundrum “California” 2010 (by Caymus Vineyards)

Smoked Tomato Soup with Gulf Crab Claw and Crème Fraiche
Chef Ryan Andre, Le Creolé, Baton Rouge
Mark West Pinot Noir “California”

Goat Cheese and Blueberry Salad - Panko Crusted Goat Cheese, Roasted Pistachios, Louisiana Blueberries and Mache Greens
Chef Lindsay Mason, Cristiano Ristorante, Houma
Campo Viejo Riserva (Rioja, Spain)

Zapp’s Crusted Cobia with Heirloom Potato, Garden Vegetable Hash, and Smoked Tomato Butter Sauce
Chef Brad McGehee, Ye Olde College Inn, New Orleans
Mer Soleil Chardonnay “Silver” (by Caymus Vineyards)

Bacon and Waffle - Toasted Grit Waffle with Buttermilk Ice Cream with Bacon Caramel
Chef Manny Augello, Jolie’s Louisiana Bistro, Lafayette
Sandeman Fine Tawny Port


The Chefs to Watch Awards Dinner raises money for Café Reconcile, a nonprofit organization that trains at-risk youths to lead productive lives through culinary education and job placement.  For more information or to purchase tickets so you can join me there, check out http://www.louisianacookin.com/

Le Creole and Roux Wine Team Up on a Wine Dinner

Le Creole recently teamed up with Roux Wine and Spirits to put on a Romantic Summer Dinner crafted by Chef Ryan Andre.  Fresh off the news of being named as one of the five 2012 Chefs to Watch by Louisiana Cookin' Magazine, Chef Andre picked a great way to show off his skills in the kitchen.  Myrna Arroyo from Roux Wine and Spirits paired each dish with amazing wines that are available in her shop on Airline Highway.  The match quickly proved to be magical with the onslaught of passed hors d'oeuvres and sparkling wine.  Chef's first dishes included a one-bite fried Gulf oyster with micro greens and spicy tuna toast that nearly melted in my mouth.  The Brut wine gave the diners an excellent excuse to toast each other, and it partnered very nicely with the seafood appetizers.

The friendly wait staff at Le Creole brought out the wild salmon crudo for our first course after being seated in the spacious dining room.  The plentiful slices of wild Atlantic salmon were topped with a salad of arugula, red onion, crispy capers, and white truffle salt.  Though the salad provided a whole meal of food, I can't complain about large portion sizes!  Plus, everything tasted so well balanced and flavored that I couldn't stop tasting... then tasting again.  The raw salmon had an ideal texture and the truffle salt provided just the right amount of flavor to compliment the dish rather than overpower it.

The next course is the one that I smiled about the most when glancing over the menu before the meal.  The "battling rabbits" featured a rabbit liver bruschetta with spicy tomato jam along side a rabbit boudin gallette.  The livers themselves were delicate and delicious, cooked down to a spreadable form over the crusty bread with a spicy tomato jam that could be bottled and sold.  Chef took his house-made rabbit boudin and formed it into patties before coating them in panko bread crumbs and flash frying them.  Add a couple pickled watermelon rind slivers, and we had quite a plate before us.  The gallette provided an excellent contrast of textures between the crunchy exterior and the moist interior.  I applaud the creativity of the dish as a whole, and it lived up to my high hopes.

The "bayou to nest" dish featured tempura battered and fried soft shell crawfish along with a roasted squab with patty pan squash and baby zucchini.  Another dish with plenty to eat, I tried my hardest to take the whole thing down.  Squab is a decent sized pigeon for one person, but I enjoyed the presentation of the entire bird on the plate.  It had a sweet sauce along with it that actually worked quite well.  And the soft shell crawfish were amazingly unique and delightful.

The meal ended with a mousse tuille duo conjured up by Le Creole's pastry chef.  The plate came with a Ponchatoula strawberry mousse along with a dark chocolate-espresso mousse.  The mousse duo dish provided a great way to end the stomach-stuffing meal.  They were light and refreshing enough to still enjoy them despite having very limited gastronomic real estate for them to go.

The dinner as a whole lived up to all expectations.  I'd like to congratulate Chef Ryan Andre and manager Clark Ellis on the phenomenal event hosting and the meal.  Also props to Myrna Arroyo for the wine pairings!  Though not mentioned much here, the wines were all exquisite and wonderfully paired with the cuisine.  I'd be happy to go to any tag-team dinner like this again.  Not to mention, I really enjoy two businesses in the food and drink world coming together to support and promote each other.  Nothing like some good collaboration!  Cheers!

Salmon, Arugula, Red Onions, Capers, Truffle Salt

Rabbit Liver Bruschetta with Spicy Tomato Jam, Rabbit Boudin Gallette, Pickled Watermelon

Tempura Soft Shell Crawfish, Roasted Squab, Squash, Zucchini

Chocolate Espresso Mousse, Ponchatoula Strawberry Mousse

BR Foodies experience Le Creole

On a mission for our BR Foodies group to experience a new restaurant all at the same time, I arranged a trip for the group to dine at Le Creole on Highland Road.  Nobody had been before so other than some word of mouth, none of us knew what to expect.  

Le Creole is reasonably new to the Baton Rouge fine dining scene.  It is the latest creation of seafood lover, caterer, and restaurateur Wayne Stabiler.  His other restaurants include both Little Village locations and the City Cafe.  Wanting to get back to his Louisiana seafood distribution roots, he opened up Le Creole.  Chef Ryan Andre, who had previously be on board at Commander's Palace in New Orleans, took the reigns of the kitchen of the while Clark T. Ellis assumed the General Manager position.  

Upon arrival at Le Creole our group gathered in the bar with some cocktails while we caught up and chatted.  Clark greeted us and offered a little tour of the kitchen where we could meet Chef Andre.  The kitchen bustled with activity of chefs at their stations. 

GM Clark T. Ellis gives the BR Foodies a tour of the kitchen (left); Chef Ryan Andre poses for a picture at Le Creole (right)

My evening began with a Maker's 46 Old Fashioned.  The bartender muddled a maraschino cherry and a wedge of orange before adding the bitters, simple syrup, and bourbon.  The beverage got my taste buds kick-started as I prepared myself for a tasty meal.  I don't drink too many Old Fashioneds, but this this one could get me to change that.  I thoroughly enjoyed the beverage.  I had a whiskey sour later in the meal that did not impress me nearly as much.  I wished I had ordered a second Old Fashioned!  Before I got started eating, I first had to do some tweeting and posting which Kelly Spell happened to capture on camera!  Good times with the BR Foodies gang!

Le Creole started us out with their fresh-baked bread and some lemon herb butter from Plaquemines Parish.  The bread had a thick crust with a soft center and the butter had a tremendous flavor.  Following the bread came a cochon de lait bruschetta for each of us.  As a sampling portion of the their cochon de lait flatbread, the bruschetta featured tender pulled pork with goat cheese and provolone melted on top.  While I actually liked the flatbread version better, the pork and goat cheese combination stood out as a delicious combination.  The fork-tender pig mixed beautifully with the creamy cheese.  I could have eaten nothing other than that and been happy.  Come to think of it, I need to make a cochon de lait style pulled pork and goat cheese sandwich!

I continued my meal with tastes of Le Creole's boudin spring rolls with a raspberry sauce and a delightful watermelon, spinach and goat cheese salad.  The salad impressed me with its refreshing nature while still offering some great flavor combinations.  The sweetness of the watermelon played off of the goat cheese tang as the two danced in my mouth.  After the salad I opted for the turtle soup with sherry.  It was not the most memorable turtle soup I've had but it still satisfied my craving for more booze in food!

The true highlight on the night came in the form of the above pictured crab cake.  Chef Andre took jumbo lump crab meat and formed cakes that were held together by just a small amount of spicy mayo.  The cakes were then broiled in a hot oven instead of fried.  Served with a spicy remoulade sauce, the crab cake exploded with flavor.  Sweet crab and spicy sauce filled every bite and the texture of the lump meat with crispiness and creaminess gave a great mouth feel to each additional taste after taste.

My entree, pictured at the top of this post, featured a whole deep fried mangrove snapper served with sauteed squash, zucchini and red onion.  The whole fish presented an awe-inspiring spectacle of a dish.  Our wonderful server Erica placed it in front of me and I actually wanted to photograph the fish slightly more than I wanted to eat it.  Perhaps that is because I started to get full a course or two before the main entree, but still, it looked pretty amazing.  Once I dug into the fish and veggies I became just slightly underwhelmed.  As great as the fish looked, the flavor didn't quite deliver upon the visual expectations.  I enjoyed picking the fried flesh off the bones, but the taste failed to blow me away like some of the appetizers did.  The vegetables added nothing special to the dish and really forced the snapper to attempt to stand on its own.

We wrapped up our meal by passing around a trio of desserts.  We had a banana cake, a bread pudding and my personal favorite, a homemade cookie with ice cream.  The vanilla bean ice cream melted rapidly over a oven-hot chocolate chip cookie in an individual cast iron skillet.  Simply put, this dessert capped the meal right back up at the top of the delicious scale.

Overall I had a wonderful meal and a great experience at Le Creole.  Clark, the General Manager, and his staff took great care of us all evening long.  Erica, our waitress, delivered amazing service and it seemed like everyone else in the restaurant received plenty of attention as well.  The food belonged among Baton Rouge's upscale dining elite.  While my entree didn't amaze me, the snapper still tasted quite good, and rest of the courses certainly made the entire experience into a memorable meal.  On the way out of the dimly lit and intimate dining area I realized that the music I had been hearing all evening was coming from a live pianist.  Yet another fun touch to make me want to go back for more from Le Creole!

Thanks to Kelly Spell of the BR Foodies for most of the pictures from a great evening!