Ivory Coast: Street Food Bite and Booze of the World Cup

Okay World Cup fans, it's time to sit down to another plate and glass full of the street food guide to the FIFA World Cup 2014! The players of the Ivory Coast (playing Greece at 3pm CDT) may be fast, but their street food favorite is caught nice and slow. Fried fish paired with a Mojito Abidjanaise is what's for eats today.  Easy to eat and quick to make, these will disappear into your stomach quicker than Clint Dempsey can score a goal.

Photo Credit: our-africa.org

Simple and golden brown, I haven't met a fried fish I didn't like. I like to marinate my fish filets in a little mixture containing mustard, Slap Ya Mama Cajun Pepper Sauce, Salt & Pepper, and Jay D's Louisiana Barbecue Sauce! After I let it marinate for a while I toss the filets in some Slap Ya Mama Fish Fry and cook them until they're done! On the Ivory Coast, they do it a bit differently. On the streets you can find an assortment of setups that have fish frying or grilling whole. You'll see the average citizen grabbing one on their way back to the docks or bringing home a string of them to the family.

Photo Credit: bunkycooks.com

A Mojito Abidjanaise isn't what comes to mind when you think of a classic mojito. The main liquor in this cocktail is sloe gin abidjanaise, a typical African holiday liquor, that is composed of high quality gin soaked with hibiscus flowers. If you can't find this in stores try making it yourself! This African version of the mojito uses dark rum, abidjanaise, mint, sugar, and tonic. The floral liquor is typically consumed around holiday times for celebration. I personally don't see how the World Cup violates that tradition, so grab a glass, turn on that TV, and go to town!

COOLinary New Orleans: Superior Seafood

Oysters Superior: Four Ways to Deliciousness

During the entire month of August the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau partnered up with a multitude of local restaurants to offer a special COOLinary dining experience.  Locals and tourists alike were treated to special prefix menus at a small price tag of $20 for lunch and $35 for dinner.  With that kind of price tag at some of NOLA's newest as well as most legendary restaurants, there's no reason not to eat out!

The New Orleans CVB invited me to experience a few of the COOLinary meals for myself.  Since I was in town anyway for the Louisiana Cookin' Magazine Chefs to Watch dinner, I figured it couldn't hurt to grab a couple lunches as well.  My first stop brought me a newer restaurant on St. Charles Avenue called Superior Seafood.  The restaurant has the same ownership as Superior Grill in New Orleans and Baton Rouge and Superior Steak in Shreveport.  The latest concept, a truly supreme seafood restaurant and oyster bar, is captained in the kitchen by Chef Justin Ferguson.  Chef Ferguson is a graduate of the Louisiana Culinary Institute in Baton Rouge and has worked at several Red Stick restaurants.

Fried Green Tomato topped with Crab Meat and Hollandaise

Strawberry Basil Mojito

While I came to Superior Seafood to enjoy the three-course COOLinary menu, there were a couple dishes that Michele and I just couldn't pass up.  Since Superior Seafood also dubs themselves as an oyster bar, I couldn't resist the Oysters Superior which came with four preparations: Bienville, Rockefeller, Char-grilled, and Angels on Horseback.  The Bienville, which contains bacon and shrimp in a creamy stuffing, were my favorite. The Angels on Horseback also featured bacon, but it was wrapped around the oyster then battered and deep fried!  Another appetizer came out before our sensation salads.  The crispy fried green tomato beautifully topped with crab meat and hollandaise tasted every bit as appetizing as it looked.  I'm a fan of fried green tomatoes so I knew I'd like it, and this dish did not let me down one bit.  I also managed to add a strawberry basil mojito to my lunch.  With rum, fresh strawberries, fresh basil, and lemon juice, the fruity cocktail refused to be overly sweet so I rather enjoyed it.

Glazed Salmon Entree from the COOLinary Menu

Summer Upside Down Cake

While Michele went with the Shrimp Vieux Carre for her entree, I stuck to the prefix COOLinary menu and had the glazed salmon.  I'm typically not a fan of salmon any way other than raw, but Superior Seafood proved me wrong.  The pan seared salmon had a honey and balsamic glaze that freakin' rocked.  This dish easily wound up being my favorite salmon preparation of all time.  The grilled asparagus also impressed me.  It remained rigid while being tender enough to eat with a fork and it partnered wonderfully with the salt and balsamic drizzle.  I made a happy plate in no time, enjoyed another cocktail, and prepared for dessert.  The summer upside down cake capped off the delightful three course COOLinary meal.  The captivating cake came topped with cooked down cherries and dollop of cream.  The cake provided a lovely ending to a damn good lunch.  I'll definitely be down to go back to Superior Seafood again to check out more of their excellent menu!

El Xuco Xicana en Houston, TX

Summertime in South Louisiana isn't much different than summer in Houston.  Heat.  Humidity.  Afternoon thunderstorms.  Desperation for football season to get here.  The biggest distinction, from best I can tell, is the quality of the Mexican food.  For some reason it seems that authentic, delicious Mexican cuisine has trouble traveling an extra 300 miles to Baton Rouge.  Not one to worry too much, I easily solve the problem by feasting on frijoles whenever I'm in the "Bayou City" of the state to our West.

El Xuco Xicana's Milletes topped with Fried Eggs

A recent trip found me setting up a visit to Chef Jonathan Jones's El Xuco Xicana.  Chef JJ, who came to fame under his Beaver's name, recently took over the kitchen at the establishment formerly known as El Patio.  Wanting to revamp the cuisine to reflect that of authentic interior Mexican superiority with a Texan twist, Chef JJ started massacring the menu and putting his flair all over it.  His "Comida Texano" menu made my mouth water before I could even order the signature blue margarita that reflected back to the El Patio days.

The Famous Blue Curacao Margarita from El Patio

I was joined by an excellent cast of characters for an early afternoon Sunday brunch.  We had my dear friend Amanda, high school pal Chad and his wife Ashley, Alvin and Jason from MasterChef on FOX along with Jason's bad ass lady friend, Sara Jackson and a friend of hers who are working on some food based television productions with kids in the Houston area, and a fella named Jay, who on Twitter goes by @GunsandTacos (clearly fits in well with my @BiteandBooze mentality), with his wife.  We gathered and ordered drinks.  Soon enough, Chef JJ's right hand man at XX, Chef Kenny Pullin, came out to the table to greet our crew and drop off our first round of grub.

Battered Stuffed Toast at El Xuco Xicana

The Milletes made me happy to be alive.  Proclaimed on the menu to be a "REAL Mexican brunch food," the milletes featured bolillo bread toasted and topped with refried black beans, queso Chihuahua and chorizo.  Then I had the option to add a fried egg on each half of the open-faced sandwich.  As you can see, I couldn't resist!  The milletes combined classic flavors into a brunch dish that I'd eat over and over again.  Then came the battered stuffed toast.  Dear Lord.  Heaven.  And Hell.  In every bite.  The dish is constructed by stuffing Texas toast with Dulce de Leche, coating that in a Grand Marnier cinnamon batter, dropping it in a deep fryer, then topping the sandwich with ancho-maple syrup, sauteed apples, and Chantilly cream.  Each bite let me know I was alive while assuredly slowly killing me.  I didn't mind.  I took another bite.  It tasted that damn orgasmic.  

El Xuco Xicana Mojito 

Ceviche at El Xuco Xicana

The beverages at El Xuco Xicana also provided plenty of punch.  Chef JJ warned me about the strong margaritas.  After I began with the blue margarita I noticed the rest of the table drinking amazing mojitos.  I needed to try one for myself.  It did a splendid job of being thirst quenching and intoxicating.  Meanwhile, Chef Pullin brought out the signature ceviche.  One thing that I like about the menu is that it warns the diner that the ceviche changes depending on the freshness of the seafood and availability of produce.  There is no set recipe, but rather a rotating and seasonal ceviche.  Ours had a gulf drum marinated in loads of citrus.  I thought I tasted lime, lemon, and the something a little different like a grapefruit.  It also had jalapenos, watermelon radishes and avocado.  The bottom line is that the concoction used fresh ingredients and tasted equally refreshing on a hot day.  The blending of sweet, sour and spice worked magnificently.

El XX Hot Wangs

The feast concluded for me with the El XX Hot Wangs.  The wings were fried naked then tossed in a special blend that includes Jalisco Chili de Arbol vinegar hot sauce, toasted sesame, cilantro and queso fresco.  They were served with "cucumber and jicima con chili y limon".  The "wangs" were certainly different than a traditional Buffalo style hot wing with celery and bleu cheese.  That being said, I loved them!  I thought the twists were pretty ingenious and I'm a sucker for an inventive wing.  Bravo, El Xuco Xicana.

I essentially got a full meal by sampling an assortment of brunch and appetizer selections.  Truth be told, that is one of my favorite ways to experience a restaurant.  Sometimes the most creative dishes are appetizers and daily specials.  The food at El Xuco Xicano was worthy of any trip to Houston.  I have no doubt that I'll be back when I get a Mexican craving that my local establishments can't handle!

Baton Rouge Culinary Classic

The Baton Rouge Culinary Classic celebrated their 25th Anniversary this year and I was lucky enough to have a chance to attend the festivities.  The Culinary Classic is an annual event put on by the  American Culinary Federation of Greater Baton Rouge.  This year it was held in the downtown Sheraton Hotel Atrium.  I heard about it a week ago and asked Eusebio if he knew anything about it, being in the industry and all.  He had definitely heard of it but had never been before, so I bought a couple tickets and off we went!

The Culinary Classic a cooking competition with dishes entered into ten categories.  Chefs from around the state, and a few from out of state, gathered to try to take the gold medal and feed masses while raising money for scholarships for culinary students.  What a great way for me to spend a Monday evening!

When they opened up the dining a flood of people was unleashed upon the chefs at their stations.  My first stop was at the "crawfish" category where I sampled dishes such as Crawfish Four Way, Crawfish Ratatouille with Boursin Grits, and Crawfish Au Gratin in a Puff Pastry.  There were seven dishes in all, and each was spectacular.  It was a great way to start off the event.  The Crawfish Four Way was my favorite, if I had to pick one, but I could have gone back for seconds of everything.

My next visit was to the Pork, Lamb, and Game station where I was served generous portions of nine more delicious dishes.  I know it is a little dark, but see the picture below:

Starting at the bottom center was the best overall dish of the entire competition... not just according to me, but it actually won best in show!  It may not look like much in this snapshot from my iPhone, but it sure was delicious.  The dish was a Bacon Larded Venison Tenderloin layered with seared Foie Gras and Granny Smith Apple Fries, Cognac Cream Sauce, and a Balsamic Pomegranate Reduction.  Yeah, now I'm hungry again after typing that.  Wow!  Moving counterclockwise on the plate, I also had the Mojito Lamb; Grilled Venison ala Demetri; Blackened Foie Gras and Black Truffle Boudin; Walnut Crusted Pork Tenderloin with a Blackberry Bliss Demi-Glace; Bienvenue a Louisiane'; Braised Rabbit Grand Coteau; Sweet Potato, Tasso and Roasted Pecan Apple Wood Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin with Blackberry and Shiitake Mushroom Demi-Glace (freaking fantastic!); and Tea and Brown Sugar Candied Lamb.

All of the Crawfish dishes and the Pork, Lamb, and Game dishes were great.  Some were way more memorable than others, but all were incredibly delightful with intense flavors that the culinary creators should be proud of.  By the time I was finished with Pork, Lamb, and Game plate I was pretty full, but there were eight more categories to try so I couldn't put my fork down just yet.  Eusebio and I sampled some entries from the Poultry category and the Soup category, and then made our way to the desserts.  The dessert that really stood out to me was a spicy chocolate and cayenne soup!  It was perfectly spiced and had a beautiful consistency.  The soup was sweet on the lips but spicy on the back of the tongue.  So simple, yet it blended complex flavors together perfectly.  I could have had more of that dessert soup than any of the entrants into the actual soup category.

Since I didn't get to eat everything and this post has been long enough already, I'll just post the gold medal winners from each category for you to get a sense of the types of dishes that were available at the Baton Rouge Culinary Classic.  I think I'll have to go back next year!

Soup: Roasted Butternut Squash, Red Pepper Bisque (Very nice, but not incredible to me)

Salad: Asian Marinated Crab Claw Salad (Genius dish, very well flavored crab claw with salad on top)

Vegetables: Portabella Mushroom Wellington (didn't get to try)

Pork, Lamb, Game: Bacon Larded Venison Tenderloin layered with seared Foie Gras and Granny Smith Apple Fries, Cognac Cream Sauce, and a Balsamic Pomegranate Reduction (explained above, some of the best venison I've ever eaten, and I'm a deer hunter!)

Beef, Veal: Grilled Veal Tenderloin stuffed with Crawfish Mediterranean (didn't get to try)

Poultry: Duck and Foie Gras Wellington (tasty, but not that memorable for me)

Seafood: Mediterranean Stuffed Dual of Chilean Sea Bass & Atlantic Salmon (kicking myself for not trying this one!)

Louisiana Nouvelle: Pecan Blackened Pork Tenderloin with a Warm Pecan Pepper Jelly Glaze (see seafood comment)

Crawfish: Crawfish Tamale with a Chili Rotel Sauce (tasty, as was everything else on the plate, and I did not like it as much as the Crawfish Four Way or the Crawfish and Homemade Ricotta Cheese Gnocchi)

Desserts: Heaven in your Mouth (Chocolate Mouse with a Chocolate Cheesecake Square, not as good as A Study in Chocolate which was the soup mentioned above)

Fleming's... a magical place

I couldn't have planned this better.  This is just love how things seem to work out for me... so they say.  So, last night I started a blog about my life as it relates to food and drink.  And today, for happy hour, I met some good people at Fleming's Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar for, what else, food and drink!  Fleming's is pretty much my favorite place to go in Baton Rouge.  Usually it is only on a special occasion when I get to go, but every now and then, and especially at happy hour with the 5-6-7 deal, I get to go just for fun.  I'm typically not such a big fan of corporate eateries or watering holes but this one is special.  It turns out that I know the chef partner that opened the restaurant from college days.  And then, the real important thing, one of my best friends, Eusebio Gongora, took a job there and has worked his way up to Sous Chef and doesn't seem to be stopping there.  Everything seems to taste better when he brings it out to the table and can add that personal touch.  He has the best food mind that I know but has no formal training.  All of his knowledge comes from his own learning and personal experience... you know, the kind of stuff they can't teach in a classroom.

This evening I met my buddy Brent Broussard, LSU soccer star Chelsea Potts, and my brother, Eric Ducote, at Fleming's for a couple rounds of cocktails and some fine dining.  We got a table on the patio area outside because the weather in Baton Rouge was fantastic today.  I started off with a nice Petite Sirah from the Vinum Winery in California.  It was a tasty red wine that certainly wet my appetite for more concoctions.  Every Wednesday in September Flemings was giving away samples of their burgers during happy hour.  We got to try the Jumbo Lump Crab Cake Burger, Portobello Mushroom Burger, Fleming's Prime Burger, and the Sliced Filet Mignon Burger.  All four were fantastic, but my favorite was the portobello which included sauteed spinach and goat cheese.  It was a unique creation with flavors that blended together perfectly between the buttery bun.  After I finished my glass of vino I looked at the 5-6-7 drink menu and decided to give their cocktails a try.  I'm all-too-often a beer drinker, followed by bourbons, red wines, and then rarely other drinks.  It is not because I dislike the taste, so I imagine it is just a routine that I've fallen into.  Perhaps this blog will bring me out of that pattern and I can give my take on the signature cocktails around town.

Shaken, Not Stirred

My first choice was the Fleming's Classic Martini.  I do enjoy a good martini and it had been years since I had one.  It was a slightly dirty beverage made with Ketel One Vodka.  The olives were stuffed with blue cheese which created a very interesting flavor.  I also tried a Fleming's Mojito which was a standard rum-mint-syrup-soda mojito mixture that was very clean and crisp and ideal for the outdoor weather.  The final drink that I tried was a Tropical Martini made with Malibu coconut rum.  This was definitely not my kind of drink.  It was consumable, but very sweet and fruity.  Such is life.

The beverages were great but the real treat of the evening was that we were also able try ALL the appetizers on the 5-6-7 happy hour menu.  It was really a perfect amount of food for the four of us.  Appetizer one was the seared ahi tuna.  The seared tuna is marvelous at Fleming's.  The sear around the outside is perfect and the fish is a delectable, melt-in-your-mouth slice of heaven served with a spicy mustard sauce that complements the dish perfectly.  Next we had a taste of "wicked cajun barbequed shrimp".  The well-sized crustaceans were served in a classic New Orleans style buttery, spicy sauce and were as good as any I've had before.  The jumbo lump crab cakes were nice but certainly not the best crab cakes I've ever had.  Still, it is hard to go wrong when you are working with really good lump crab meat.  Next up was the beef tenderloin carpaccio served with a cheesy bread for delivery to the mouth.  The thinly sliced beef was mouth-watering at first taste.  It is definitely one of my favorite appetizers on the 5-6-7 menu.  But the best in show for the night was not the carpaccio, it was the sweet chili calamari.  The succulent squid was fried golden brown and drizzled with a sweet chili sauce that hit the spot.  The flavor was immense as it had the truly perfect combination of sweet and spicy to go with the wonderful textures of the calamari.

To sum up, it was a great happy hour dinner and drinks evening with great friends.  I'm really glad I got back in touch with the martini, and I definitely preferred the classic version.  The mojito was delightful and I'd certainly drink one again on a nice Fall day.  As far as the food goes, it was all spectacular.  I love every time I get to go into Fleming's.  The highlights were the Portobello Mushroom Burger and the Spicy Chili Calamari... but man, it was all so fabulous!

Happy eating, and drink for your health!