Tangoing with Twine

by Hannah Wilson, intern

The welcoming entrance at Twine stocked with some local pantry items.

Twine’s quality is evident the moment you step in the door. This local eatery is a hybrid of sorts, blending a restaurant and a butcher shop. Steve Diehl, born and raised in Twin Falls, Idaho, grew up on a farm. He and his wife Krisitin had a desire to make local farms more accessible to the people of mid city Baton Rouge.

On a beautiful spring day, the Bite & Booze team ventured over there to check out their seasonal menu and boy did look tasty! The staff is so friendly and knowledgable about what they have to offer. We started off with some samples of their seasonal sides:

We tried the Tuna Poké Salad. A blend of avocado, mango, tobigo and scallion, this salad is made in house and only when there’s enough Tuna and Yellowfin, so it can be a rare commodity at times but so worth the try. 

Up next, we gave the Tangy Blackened Shrimp Salad a taste. It’s a staff favorite and Jay would even venture to say that it’s “righteous”. This salad was a perfect blend of tangy, savory and sweet.

We decided for our lunch we wanted to try three of the crowd favorites and also see what Steve suggested. We tried the Filet Burger, the Blackened Chicken Sandwich and their Reuben On Rye. 

The Filet Burger might be the best burger I’ve ever had. It’s served on a toasted brioche bun with melted provolone cheese, spring mix greens and bourbon maple bacon jam. The bacon jam was the perfect accent to top off and pull together all these amazingly fresh ingredients. 

The Filet Burger

The Blackened Chicken Sandwich is served on a croissant with tomato, bacon, provolone and spring mix greens. This was another great sandwich that left us feeling a bit lighter, so for a lunch on the lighter side, this is a great option.

The Blackened Chicken Sandwich

The Reuben on Rye was a perfectly layered classic staple for any menu. The classic elements of a Reuben; sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and thousand island dressing are all piled high but balance equally on the Twine’s version of this sandwich. Yet another thing not to pass up on their menu. 

The Reuben

Twine may be tucked away amongst the bustling busyness of Government Street, but the quality that you stumble upon inside this eatery is amazing. Along with their seasonal menu that we tasted, they have high quality meat sourced from local farms and a fun wine selection. They also have many pre-prepared meals that are easy to grab and go. Next time that you are in mid city, be sure to stop in to Twine.

Burgers with Chuck: Kickin' it at Curbside Burgers

by Chuck P

In the glory days of the popular food truck scene here in Baton Rouge there were great choices that ranged from wood fired brick oven pizza to tasty tacos. There were enough trucks around to please everyone, but out of the many only one consistently drew bigger crowds, longer lines and created a social media frenzy when trying to track down where they would be next: Curbside.

As the food truck craze started to die, the Curbside truck disappeared as well. Marred by constant repairs, the truck had to retire until it could be fully restored, which unfortunately never happened. During this time, Curbside creator Nick Hufft found a way to put his insanely delicious burgers onto a menu in a new concept in New Orleans: Barcadia.

Flash forward a few years later and after helping bring the Barcadia concept to Baton Rouge, Huft decided the time was right to not just bring back those burgers, but to finally open his own place complete with a killer patio area, not one but TWO bocce ball courts, a very nice bar and of course those amazing burgers. Curbside Burgers are back!

When you walk into the newly built restaurant located on Government Street next to Calandro’s the first thing to greet you will be a large section of the food truck that was specially cut to fit the booth area. It’s like greeting an old friend you haven’t seen in years. Walking up to the counter to order may have been one of the toughest decisions I’ve had to make in a while at a restaurant.

With only a partial menu and the full one (including brunch burgers!!!) coming soon, the six choices I had were still tough ones. There was my all time favorite, the KGB with its killer praline bacon and fried egg, The Brian 3.0 with bleu cheese crumbles, onion strings and Nick’s homemade pork belly preserves and the GC2 with Green Chili Relish, bacon, pepperjack fondue, Fritos and Cholula Mayo. Ugh.

The GC2 at Curbside on Government Street in Baton Rouge, LA

I stepped up to the counter after going back and forth on everything and ordered the Naq Attaque. Topped with Swiss cheese, caramelized onions, garlic mayo, parmesan crisp and a side of french onion soup to dip it in, this burger hit all of the feels. The patty itself was hot and juicy, the onions were sweet and tender and the parmesan crisp was a nice added touch. Definitely one I’ll revisit on numerous occasions. Add to that an order of crunchy tater tots and it makes for the perfect meal combo.

The Naq Attaque

If after that you still find yourself with room in your belly I highly suggest checking out one of their signature Boozy Milkshakes. There’s the Chilly Vanilli featuring Vanilla Vodka, Andes Mints and Oreo Mint Cookies, the CT Crunch with Rumchata and Cinnamon Toast Crunch and my personal favorite the Jr. Special with Loopy Vodka, Fruit Loops and Captain Crunch crumbles.

The Jr. Special and CT Crunch Boozy Milkshakes. Yum.

With all of your favorite classics along with a new items and a larger menu coming soon, I have to say it’s nice to have Curbside Burgers back on the street, especially sitting in one permanent spot. Congrats Nick Hufft and welcome home!