Burgers with Chuck: Curbside's Anniversary Collaboration

by Chuck P

One year ago today my dream of once again having a Curbside burger became reality when owner Nick Hufft finally opened the doors to the Curbside brick and mortar on Government Street. Sitting next door to Calandro’s Supermarket, Hufft took what was once the most popular food truck in Baton Rouge and created the perfect setting for burgers, frites and boozy milk shakes anyone can enjoy either inside or on their awesome patio area.

Last week, to celebrate their anniversary, Nick reached out to a few of his culinary friends and with their help created five collaboration burgers that were available for a limited time. I of course took on the task of visiting Curbside during those five days to try each of the specialty burgers. Let’s take a look at the gloriousness of it all:

Monday: The Tiger D with Tiger Deaux-nuts

This was the perfect way to start off my week! Crispy chicken topped with sharp cheddar, honey sage sausage gravy nestled between two glazed donut buns in a happy dance of salty and sweet harmony. Hopefully, this one will show up from time to time on their brunch menu.

Tuesday: The Gov’t Burger with Gov’t Taco

I was really looking forward to trying our collaboration burger and it did not disappoint. A juicy patty rubbed with Chef Aimee Tortorich’s coffee/chile rub, melty chihuahua cheese, poblano pico with roasted garlic mayo and Hola Nola tortilla strips.

Every bite was a flavor party in my mouth. The poblano pico was exceptionally good.

Wednesday: The Pho Real Burger with The Overpass Merchant

The cool and overcast weather on this day made for an ideal situation for this burger. A pork patty topped with hoisin, pickled onions, sriracha mayo, bean sprouts and herb salad. The clincher was the cup of pho that came on the side to dunk the burger in. I was almost tempted to come back for dinner and get another one!

Thursday: The Get LIT Burger with LIT Pizza

Hands down my favorite of all the burgers! This was everything and more: a delicious hot Italian sausage patty with swiss and gremolata between two pepperoni pizza buns. I could literally eat this burger every day.

Friday: The Barbie Burger with Barbosa’s BBQ

Curbside ended the week strong with this offering from pitmaster Alex Barbosa. The fact that it starts off with being described double Texas hot gut beef patties should have you ready to dive in. Finished off with American cheese, smoked onion jam and a roasted poblano aioli, this was a fantastic burger.

A huge congrats to Nick and everyone at Curbside Burgers! Here’s to many more years of great business and great burgers!

Sophie's First Week: A Glimpse Behind the Scenes of an Intern

by Sophie Spring, intern

“I really don’t know.” My response when family and friends asked me what I was going to be doing at my internship this summer. You could say it was a last minute decision to live in Baton Rouge for the summer, as I got the internship with Bite and Booze the night before my last final. The chaotic nature of finding a place to live, roommates and moving all my possessions from sorority house to my new condo only increased my excitement to start working for Jay and the Bite and Booze crew.

After the long 21-hour drive from Basking Ridge, New Jersey to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, I couldn’t wait to dive in. My first day consisted of random tasks from intern orientation, to running out for forgotten groceries, to peeling and cutting 25 pounds of carrots.

As I’ve learned is the usual in the #officehouse, snacks are always coming out of the kitchen: Jay’s bratwurst from Iverstine Butcher, taco samples to prep for Gov’t Taco events, artisan chocolate bars sent to us from CrateChef and beer from Tin Roof and other local breweries (only for those of us over 21, of course). 

I left with five new t-shirts and a nervous anticipation for my next day of work, catering the VIP tent at Live After 5 downtown.

I'm all smiles while Paige snaps to the beat, Therese dances and Blair flips tortillas! Photo credit: Jordan Hefler

As I roll up to the office Friday morning, I was immediately rushed into Chuck’s Jeep as we trucked over to City Pork for a filming of the Food Network show, Ginormous Food. My second day on the job and I was already getting on TV! 

The highlights of going to the filming were getting to taste the giant porchetta sandwich, meeting Ginormous Foods host Josh Denny and realizing how locally famous my boss Jay Ducote was. I’m already planning a viewing party so all of my friends can see the back of my head on national television when the episode airs in July!

Next, we headed to Tin Roof Brewery to sort and tag some Louisiana Molasses Mustard bottles and Louisiana Barbecue Sauce to fill orders. While tying small tags to countless bottles of mustard in a dark, hot and humid warehouse isn’t exactly my idea of fun, it’s cool to see how involved the whole staff is in every aspect of the business. Jay went from being interviewed for Food Network to working right next to me, opening and resealing boxes of his molasses mustard. However, work like this has its benefits and no one in this company will never turn down a chance to grab some Tin Roof beer.

After going back to the office to pack up equipment, I jumped in the car with some of the Gov’t Taco crew to head downtown for Live After 5. While Snap Chatting myself flipping tortillas on the flat-top, assembling tacos and listening to live music my friends are all asking, “What is your job and where can I get one?!” 

Even after working a 12 hour day, I wanted to do nothing more than get to the office at 6:15am the next morning to make a vat of popcorn tossed with Jay D’s Spicy & Sweet Rub to give out as samples at the Red Stick Farmer’s Market.

As I wandered around the Farmer’s Market, forgetting I was wearing my iconic Jay D’s shirt, I was shocked by how many vendors came up to me with friendly remarks, conversation and most importantly, samples of their products. While I had to restrain myself from buying something from every stand, I left the Farmer’s Market with tons of cool finds and an appreciation for Jay’s influence and connections in Baton Rouge.

I had already worked 21 hours, but was still most excited for our next event: Gov’t Taco pop-up at The Overpass Merchant.

I geared up for another 11 hour day, this time with a black taco flat brim of my own to sport for the evening. The kitchen was hot, my hands were burnt from the flat top and I was standing in a restaurant kitchen corner for nearly 5 hours flipping tortillas and assembling elote, but I had never had so much fun!

You can dance, you can shine, having the time of your life... @sophie_spring @chefaimeetortorich @jennbrightup @city_slicker_ @theoverpassmerchant

A post shared by Gov't Taco (@govttaco) on May 28, 2017 at 7:05pm PDT

With Gnarly Barley beer flowing through the taps, music pumping and jokes flying we capped off the night by heading to Ivar’s with the whole crew, who are already starting to feel like my family. My friends don’t understand how that can be fun for me, or how I am still excited to work all of these hours, but walking through the #officehouse already feels like home.

Throw some Jay D's Spicy & Sweet Barbecue Rub on burgers next time you're grilling!! #BBQ #burgers #grilling #memorialday

A post shared by Jay Ducote (@jayducote) on May 30, 2017 at 7:25am PDT

After a relaxing Memorial Day, with me grilling burgers using Jay D’s Spicy & Sweet Rub for friends (and making some of them local celebrities by featuring them on the @jayducote instagram), I was ready to come back for our private dinner on Tuesday night.

Yet another long day, working from 9a.m. to 10p.m., was well worth it just for a bite of coffee rubbed venison and corner scraps of Therese’s sponge cake bread pudding. Seeing our work table transformed into a beautiful dining space for 12 lucky locals was super cool, almost as cool as taking part in cooking, serving and assembling five beautiful courses, expertly paired with wine and beer.

Just in my first few days, I have learned so much about entrepreneurship (my major) and running a business from Jay, working in a restaurant and cooking for a crowd (my dream) from Aimee and Therese, working hard and balancing different passions (my life right now) from Chuck and being a funky, cool, and awesome person (everyone’s goal) from Blair.

I’m looking forward to the rest of the summer because I can’t wait to see what else Bite and Booze has to offer. What do I think I’ll get from this internship? My predictions are food, fun and invaluable lessons about working hard, cooking well and endless hijinks with a crazy new family at the #officehouse.

My First Thoughts on Crispy Catch

by Jay D. Ducote

First things first: I enjoyed the food. No, it didn't stand out as revolutionary, inventive, or inspired. Then again, I don't believe anybody ever said that it would be. Crispy Catch is what it is – a place to get fried catfish fingers, fries, hushpuppies (or as they call them, corn bobbers), and boudin balls akin to Tony's Seafood, which are some of the most snackable and magical boudin balls in the world. They finished second in our ranking of Baton Rouge balls. The restaurant itself is a new fast-casual concept seeking to bring the flavors of Louisiana to a hungry audience.

Immediately upon walking up to the restaurant that has been built out of the old, iconic Kean's Dry Cleaning building near the Perkins Road overpass, you get the sense that they are going for something bigger than just one location. The branding screams corporate, like they've already designed their logo and color palate to expand to numerous locations. It may work. There is clear evidence of utilizing a Raising Cane's model, which certainly paid dividends for them.

Catfish Fingers at the new Crispy Catch on Perkins

Like Cane's, which started at the nearby North Gates of LSU, Crispy Catch offers a welcoming environment and a simple menu. There are four main combinations to order with different amounts of fried catfish and extras. They also offer fish tacos, which I definitely want to try but haven't yet. I opted for the Surf & Turf combo – the meal that came with boudin balls in addition to the catfish, fries, cole slaw, and hush puppies. The total for the entire plate and a drink came out to just over $13.

Based on the way the combo came out on a plate with fries and catfish fingers, I couldn't help but to think of Cane's and their chicken fingers with crinkle cut fries. They even had their signature "Reel Sauce," a remoulade style sauce very similar to Cane's Sauce. All in all, the fries weren't all that much to speak of, though they were fries, and certainly not bad. They were plentiful and thin cut, but not to the point of being shoestring.The cole slaw offered very little to my taste buds, though I suppose a little tang to go with all the fried food isn't bad.

Compared to Cane's (not they have to be compared to Cane's, but they brought the compare and contrast on themselves), I noticed the absence of fresh squeezed lemonade and really good sweet tea. The beverage options were pretty much limited to a Coca-Cola lineup of fountain drinks, which I feel can be improved upon. If you want to be a local joint, bring in a cooler with some Swamp Pop and other regional beverages. If the idea is to build something that can be scaled to many locations, and you're copying Cane's anyway, don't underestimate the value of the beverages.

Another thing that makes Crispy Catch fast-casual but not necessarily "fast food" is that there is no drive through. Nothing wrong with that, though the convenience sales to night-owls in the overpass area could be a good business model. That being said, as of now the hours at Crispy Catch don't go into the late night market anyway.

The star of the show definitely proved to be the fried fish, with a nod to the boudin balls as well. At the end of the day, a place is judged on what they truly claim to be good at, and at Crispy Catch that's the USA farm raised catfish fingers. The don't do any whole filets of catfish. They don't fry shrimp or any other Louisiana seafood. The star of their limited menu is the catfish, and it lived up to expectations. The slender strips of catfish are marinated and battered in seasoned flour. It is a departure from the more common cornmeal style fish fry base around here, but I didn't mind. The catfish indeed had plenty of crispiness. The reel sauce and the house tartar sauce were both great dips for the catfish.

I also can't complain about the hush puppies or boudin balls. I'd even go back for the boudin balls. They really are very similar to Tony's, which again, is good in my book. In fairness, the owners of Crispy Catch are tied to the family that owns Tony's, though they no long share any stock in the famous seafood market. Still, I can see why if they wanted to put boudin balls on the menu that they'd go with a replica of the Italian-inspired boudin ball.

I can see myself going back to Crispy Catch, but I don't know how often. The very limited menu will make it hard to go often. And the fact that they aren't as convenient nor do they have all the intangibles as Cane's means they won't really get the quick-meal-on-my-way-home kind of business. And as much as I've compared Crispy Catch to Raising Cane's, it is missing perhaps the most important element: the "One Love" motto and attitude. I didn't feel it. I just had a decent fried catfish platter, but nothing else about the experience would make me identify with the brand. Perhaps in time they'll find their own motto.

Dishcrawl: Eating My Way Through the Perkins Road Overpass

Last week I had the pleasure of attending Baton Rouge's very first Dishcrawl. What is it? Dishcrawl is a national company that provides walking food tours to give locals or visitors a taste of the neighborhood. During this Dishcrawl our Baton Rouge Ambassador, Whitney, lead us to three different locations in the Perkins Road Overpass area: City Pork, Frankie's Dawg House, and Rock-n-Sake. While most Baton Rougeans have eaten at these casual dining establishments, having the chance to sample the owners' favorites made Dishcrawl unique.

Chase Lyons at City Pork gave us a trio of a
Lettuce Wrapped BLT with Bleu Cheese,
an Adouille Smash Burger topped with Slaw, and part of the Cuban.

At Frankie's Dawg House: the Bacon Loaded Dawg.
A Dawg wrapped in bacon and deep fried,
topped with chili, cheese, and jalapeños.

At Frankie's Dawg House: an Alligator Sausage Corn Dawg.

Frankie's Chicago Style Dawg.

Rock-n-Sake prepared some Sushi Deviled Eggs topped
with Tuna Tar Tar and Caviar and a Salmon Roll as well.

Hopefully more Dishcrawls happen in the future. If executed properly this could be a great culinary entertainment option for different neighborhoods throughout the city. I would have liked to see a few more stops with smaller portions at each location as well as an included alcoholic beverage option. But maybe those things will come with time. For the first showing, Dishcrawl definitely presented something that can be built upon.

Eat for the Arts at the Perkins Historic Merchants District

The Perkins Historic Merchants District Association is proud to present their Summer Fundraiser Food Festival, “Eat for the Arts,” benefiting the Community Fund for the Arts. Join me on Thursday, June 16, 2011 from 6-9 pm, customers can “hop” along Perkins Road by the Overpass, from S. Acadian Thruway until Kalurah St, and taste food and drinks from over 20 of Baton Rouge’s best restaurants and merchants! Live Dance, Music, and Art performances from Baton Rouge’s premier arts organizations will also line the road, for a fun, festival atmosphere. Free Park and Ride is available at The Foyer/Juban’s Restaurant parking lot. Pre-sale tickets are available for $30 at www.perkinshistoricmerchants.org; Tickets are $35 at the door.

The Community Fund for the Arts is a united fundraising campaign that provides operational support to 14 arts organizations in Baton Rouge. The CFA, led by a Campaign Cabinet of business and community leaders, helps keep dancers on their toes, actors strutting across the stage, and the citizens of the Capital City immersed in culture. CFA member organizations include: Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge,Baton Rouge Ballet Theatre, Baton Rouge Gallery, Baton Rouge Little Theater, Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra, The DeBose Foundation, Foundation for Historical Louisiana, Friends of Magnolia Mound,Louisiana Art & Science Museum, Louisiana Sinfonietta, Of Moving Colors Productions, Swine Palace, Playmakers of Baton Rouge, and WRKF.

Participating “Eat for the Arts” merchants include: Cangelosi Dance Project, Chelsea’s Café, Coyote Moon, Denim Library, DiGiulio Brothers Italian Restaurant, Duvic’s Martini Bar, Enoteca Marcello Wine Bar & Café@ Noelie Harmon, Gourmet Girls @ Stella Boutique, Himalaya’s @ Perkins Road Parlour, Ivar’s Sports Bar & Grill, Jimmy John’s, Juban’s @ The Foyer, Kleinpeter’s Dairy @ Cottonwood Books, Louisiana Culinary Institute @ The Royal Standard, Maxwell’s Market, Mestizo @ Loft 3H Boutique, Monjuni’s (of Highland Rd) @ Beehive Salon, Perkins Computer Center, Pinetta’s European Restaurant, Rock-n-Sake, Schlittz and Giggles, Tin Roof Brewery/Mockler Beverage, and Whole Foods.

The event is co-sponsored by Whole Foods, WAFB, Downtown Duplicating, Kleinpeter Dairy, Tin Roof Brewery/Mockler Beverage, Raising Cane’s, Town Favorites, House and Home, and Lamar.

For more information, visit www.perkinshistoricmerchants.org or call (225) 293-1264

The Perkins Historic Merchants District Association is a group of business owners, community leaders, artists, musicians, restaurateurs, and home-grown Baton Rougeans that make up the vibrant community on Perkins Road by the Overpass. We collaborate with each other to bring focus to this diverse and charming area of the capitol city and to celebrate and foster a spirit that is uniquely ours, and uniquely Louisiana’s, at its best. We are where modern meets mom-and-pop; where big-city glam meets small-town heritage. Come see what you’ve been missing at the Perkins Historic Merchants District—where modern history unfolds.

Best Buddies Louisiana's Moveable Feast

I recently took part in the Moveable Feast, a charity food and beverage event held in the Perkins Road Overpass area.  The Moveable Feast supported Best Buddies Louisiana and involved local merchants dealing out cuisine and adult beverages.  Rather than all of the dishes being in one spot, the Moveable Feast lived up to its name as the participants had to move around from restaurant to restaurant to sample the fare and fill their bellies.

Best Buddies Louisiana is dedicated to establishing a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment, and leadership development for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. All of the proceeds from Moveable Feast support programs for Best Buddies throughout the state! 

The Moveable Feast Began at Zippy's for Me

Justin joined me as we began the charitable tour at Zippy's, a place for burritos, tacos, and more.  They graciously handed out some chips and queso along with a sampling of their Sauza margarita.  Neither item impressed me too much, but it got the appetite wet for the rest of the evening.

Margarita with Chips and Queso from Zippy's

While walking to our next destination, Justin and I came across a ring toss game which featured bottles of wine.  The rules were simple: donate $10 to charity, get three chances to ring a bottle of wine, and keep the bottle if you ring one.  Jackpot!  I won.  Woohoo!  This evening was going great already!

Ring-a-Bottle of Wine!

We soon moved on to Schlittz & Giggles' new location where were treated with fresh thin-crust pepperoni pizza and a cold cup of Bud Light Lime.  Thanks very little, Mockler Beverage.  Seriously, I understand that the donation of four kegs of beer to a charitable event was very kind of you, but did you really have to just unload kegs of a beer that you can't sell?  Why not use this as an opportunity to introduce some of the craftier beers that you distribute?  Bud Light Lime, really?  Oh well.  I struggled through drinking my cup and moved onto Rock-n-Sake.  I will say that Schlittz & Giggles' pizza isn't too bad if you like thin crust, so thanks to them for the grub!

The New Schlittz & Giggles and Pepperoni Pizza

Rock-n-Sake is a new sushi bar that has livened up the old Perkin Road Hardware space very nicely.  This was my first time stepping in the building and to my surprise it was not as neon-lit and trendy as I thought it would be.  I actually liked and appreciated the decor, which made me even more ready to try the sushi.  Rock-n-Sake handed out samples of their Spicy Snowcrab Roll and Fresh Salmon Roll to the Moveable Feast participants.  While they didn't break out any signature rolls, these standards were pretty good and certainly made we want to go back for more at another time.  Rock-n-Sake also passed out a Pomegranate-Sake Punch.  This drink had a great flavor to it and consisted of a pomegranate liquor, sake, pineapple juice, and Sprite.  Pretty tasty, I must say.

Rock-n-Sake's Sushi Rolls and Pomegranate-Sake Punch

Next stop aboard the Moveable Feast train occurred across Perkins Road at one of my favorite Baton Rouge eateries: Pinetta's European Restaurant.  Pinetta's is a dimly lit hole-in-the-wall that plays European tunes from a collection of countries.  They proudly serve cuisines from Italy, Germany, Poland, and more, and do it all quite well.  On this occasion they moved their operation outside and served some of the best food on the walking tour.  Pinetta's passed out glasses of Sangiovese, and I do love Sangiovese!  I was already sold.  They then offered a plate loaded with great samples of their cuisine.  Their selection included Italian meatballs, Mediterranean hummus, and bread pudding with rum sauce, all of which were delightful.  If you've never been to Pinetta's I suggest you try it soon, though be advised that it is best fit for a date.

Sangiovese, Meatballs, Hummus, and Bread Pudding from Pinetta's European Restaurant

After the true delight of Pinetta's, Justin and I hopped back across Perkins Road for a stop with Kyle at Jimmy John's.  Kyle had an array of delightful gourmet sandwiches for Moveable Feast participants to choose from.  After giving the roast beef a try and chatting with Kyle for a bit, Justin and I moved on to Gourmet Girls Fine Catering where we were refreshed with a cool sample of Barefoot Pinot Grigio and a Smoke Gouda Pimento Bouche.  The bouche on a cracker had a great taste to it and was one of the more complex items of the evening, which I certainly appreciated.

Jimmy John's Sandwiches and a Smoked Gouda Pimento Bouche with Barefoot Pinot Grigio from Gourmet Girls Fine Catering

Moving closer and closer to the Overpass, our next destination was DiGiulio Brothers Italian Cafe.  This quaint restaurant is another staple of the overpass merchant's district and is beloved by many regular customers.  For the Moveable Feast they served a cold chicken pasta salad with feta and tomatoes.  While the pasta salad wasn't bad at all, I didn't think it accurately represented the quality of food from DiGiulio's kitchen and I wish they would have stepped it up a little more.  They also served a splash of Riesling, which did pair nicely with the pasta dish.

DiGiulio Brothers Italian Cafe: Chicken Pasta Salad and Riesling

After leaving DiGiulio's slightly disappointed, we moved on down the line to George's.  The thing I love most about George's (overpass location) is the atmosphere.  The small space inside feels cramped at times but also reassures you that the place is authentic and local.  While the dollar bills on the ceiling is nothing inventive, George's has been doing it for quite some time and what it lacks in originality it makes up for with character.  Outside of George's we got a cold glass of Burnett's Pink Lemonade Vodka mixed with County Time's Pink Lemonade.  Consumption of the beverage overpowered my taste buds with sweetness and I thought that it really could have used a little more lemonade-style tartness to balance that out.  Perhaps a little fresh lemon juice is all it was really missing, but I didn't want to drink the whole thing.  Inside of George's we were served mini-muffalettas which were some of the best things on the menu from the entire day.  The sandwich tasted warm and fresh, with great bread and that tang from the olives that true muffaletta lovers crave.  Unfortunately it was dark inside and I couldn't get a picture of the sandwich, but rest assured that it was good!

Burnett's Pink Lemonade

Chelsea's Cafe served as our next dining destination.  Along with a Parrot Bay Rum Punch that tasted like an over-sweetened pina colada and some more cold pasta salad (who thought that would be a good idea?), Chelsea's did manage to impress with some fantastic crawfish cakes with homemade pepper jelly.  The crawfish cakes by size and outside texture reminded me of a large boudin ball.  However, when topped with a fantastic pepper jelly and bitten into, I certainly appreciated the crawfish stuffing for being something different. These guys were delicious and should probably on Chelsea's appetizer menu full time!

Crawfish Cakes at Chelsea's Cafe 

Our tour of the Perkins Road Overpass merchant's district was coming to an end, but Justin and I still had a couple more stops in us.  Zee Zee Gardens opened their doors for us and the rest of the participants, but unfortunately they had run out of pigs-in-a-blanket by the time we got there.  They also served a knock-off sweet tea vodka which wasn't bad, but after a couple sips I had enough and we continued to Ivar's.

Zee Zee Gardens

Finally Justin and I arrived at Ivar's Sports Bar and Grill.  Ivar's had more Bud Light Lime (see above for my thoughts on that) and some catfish nuggets.  The catfish nuggets were freshly fried and piping hot, which surprised me since Zee Zee's had been out of their food.  Way to go Ivar's for planning correctly!  The catfish remained tender and flaky as it rounded out the evening of indulgence.  The fish had just the right amount of spice in the batter and complimented the tartar sauce very well.

Catfish Nuggets at Ivar's

Not to finish there, Justin and I remembered the Kleinpeter ice cream cart that had been set up in front of Pinetta's.  We headed back for a little dessert to properly cap off the evening.  I had a couple scoops of delicious Louisiana ice cream, though the flavors that I chose escapes me.  I do know that there is always room in a full stomach for ice cream, and it hit the spot!  

I'd like to thank everyone who put on the Moveable Feast, and Chelsea Harris specifically for reaching out to me to cover it.  The event seemed like a fantastic success and should only grow in the future.  Baton Rouge has some great restaurants and a tremendous culture, and events like this highlight what this city can offer.  Thanks to all of businesses that contributed, and I'll make sure to see you again next year!

Please share this post on Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon, Digg, or whatever other Social Media you use to help promote the Best Buddies of Louisiana and the Moveable Feast!

Things To Do
Baton Rouge

Best Buddies of Louisiana's Moveable Feast

Sorry, here is the correct link for this post: http://www.biteandbooze.com/2010/05/best-buddies-of-louisianas-moveable.html

Rama Thai Cuisine

Sometimes, well, a lot of the time, I'm in the mood to find authentic hole-in-the-wall restaurants that make Baton Rouge such a great food town.  The Red Stick doesn't get enough credit in the culinary world due to all of the national chain signs that you see while driving down the interstate and New Orleans being only another 60 miles down the road.  However, if you hop off the freeway and hit a side street, you'll find some locally owned eateries with some exceptional flare.  One of these quaint places is Rama Thai Cuisine.  The Perkins Road Overpass area Thai restaurant is one of the forgotten gems in Baton Rouge, and it is time I give it some respect on Bite and Booze.  Eusebio and I dined at Rama a little while back, and we couldn't have left more satisfied!

Rama Thai Cuisine on the Inside and Out

It only felt natural to begin my meal with some Thai beer, so I ordered a Singha and started to get my taste buds ready for some Asian flavor.  Singha is a fairly standard lager with that Asian bite that you'll recognize from other Japanese beers like Kirin Ichiban.  It is pretty tasty, but I'd rather get to the food.

Singha Lager Beer

To wet our appetites a little more, we ordered a couple of appealing appetizers.  First up were the fried wontons.  These were nothing too special but they were fried to a nice crisp and had pretty decent flavor.  We had the shrimp chips for second app.  The chips were light and delicate with a great shrimp taste.  They came served with a delicious peanut sauce to dip the chips in.

Fried Wontons and Shrimp Chips with Peanut Sauce

The next dish to leave the kitchen and make its way in front of me was the lemongrass soup.  This fantastic soup was sweet and spicy with a citrus flavor.  It came loaded with shrimp and mushrooms, and I ate every bite.  I love a good, simple soup like this!

Lemongrass Soup

For an entree I called on the Rama Duck.  This delightful half of a duck was seasoned with Thai herbs and spices, then roasted until fork tender.  Each bite of duck put a smile on my face as the flavors filled my mouth and tickled my tongue.  The duck still tasted like duck meat should, and was only complemented by the sweet and savory Thai seasonings.  Steamed vegetables were served with the duck, and they tasted alright, but the duck certainly highlighted the plate. 

Rama Duck with Steamed Vegetables

For dessert, Eusebio and I couldn't decide between the fried apples with ice cream or the fried bananas with ice cream.  So, we did what any good person should do: we got both!  These fried-fruit desserts each came with three scoops of homemade ice cream.  Rama offered a selection of ice cream flavors, of which we ordered all of them: vanilla, coconut, and durian.  Yes, that's right, that durian! 

Durian Fruit as eaten by Andrew Zimmern in Bizarre Foods on the Travel Channel

Eusebio and I were a little nervous to try it as an ice cream flavor, but it was actually quite good.  The vanilla and coconut icecreams tasted pretty standard.  They were not very rich, but still had a smooth texture and the right amount of flavor to provide a condiment to the fried fruit and something sweet to end the meal with.  The durian icecream certainly had a unique flavor but it was nothing offensive.  I actually think I liked it more than the other two, even if it was just for originality alone.  I wouldn't hesitate to order it again next time I go to Rama, that's for sure!

Fried Apples and Banana Topped with Ice Cream, Durian Ice Cream on a Fried Banana

You can also check out the Cuisine Rouge post about Rama to see what they have to say about this little Thai Restaurant!