Jay D's Bites: Spicy & Sweet Hasselback Potatoes with Louisiana Molasses Mustard Dipping Sauce.

by Aimee Tortorich

Hasselback or accordion potatoes are trending across the nation and rightly so. Not only do they look impressive on a plate, but they taste like a combination of a crispy potato chip and baked potato in one. We used smaller potatoes that are easy to eat and enjoy with friends, but you could also use any large potato. Our line of products go great in this version with the a Louisiana Molasses Mustard dipping sauce and the rub for a nice, smoky kick.

Spicy & Sweet Hasselback Potatoes with Louisiana Molasses Mustard Dipping Sauce

Yields 4 servings

8 small potatoes, Yukon Gold, Fingerlings, or Red Bliss
1 cup Jay D’s Spicy & Sweet BBQ Rub Butter (see recipe below)
2 Tbsp green onions, chopped

Louisiana Molasses Mustard Dipping Sauce:

¼ cup Greek yogurt
3 tsp Louisiana Molasses Mustard


Jay D’s Spicy & Sweet BBQ Rub Butter:

1 cup unsalted butter
1 Tbsp Jay D’s Spicy & Sweet BBQ Rub


In a small saucepan, melt butter with Jay D’s Spicy & Sweet BBQ Rub until incorporated.

Preheat oven to 425F.

Place a potato between the handles of 2 wooden spoons or 2 chopsticks. Using a sharp knife, make crosswise cuts in each potato, about 1/8-inch apart. The spoon handles will prevent you from slicing the potato all the way through. Repeat with the remaining potatoes.

Pour BBQ Butter in between each slice and bake until golden brown and tender, about 55 to 60 minutes.

To make dipping sauce, combine Greek yogurt and Louisiana Molasses Mustard. Garnish with chopped green onions and enjoy!

Boil ‘Em, Mash ‘Em, Stick ‘Em in a Stew: A National Tater Day Celebration

by Intern Daniel Harris

If there's anything we love at Bite and Booze, it's celebrating seemingly arbitrary national food and beverage holidays. And today, we will celebrate the humble potato, everyone's favorite starch.

“What’s Taters, Precious?” you may ask.





This little root vegetable can be sweet, red, sliced, diced, and cooked any way imaginable. While almost always serving as a side or addition to a meal, we believe potatoes should have their day in the sun.

Here are some of the Bite and Booze Crew’s favorite tater moments.

Portland Tots

Tots on tots on tots on tots. @chuckp23 @ericjducote #PDX #tots

A photo posted by Jay Ducote (@jayducote) on Jun 25, 2015 at 2:07pm PDT

Horseshoe Bay Resort Mashed Taters

Um so this is a chicken fried ribeye with a fried egg and one helluva biscuit. @jayducote is in heaven at @hsbresort! #foodpics #texas #texas because #texas

A photo posted by Jay Ducote (@biteandbooze) on Nov 21, 2015 at 6:37pm PST

Street Breads Tater Salad

Grubbing it up at @streetbreads with @chuckp23! The new Miami: grilled chicken, bacon, chipotle, spinach, and banana peopers. Do yourself a favor and don't skip out on the feta potato salad. #foodie #picoftheday #foodporn #foodgasm #nom #nomnomnom #foodpicsbruh #food #foodbaby #yummy #hungry #gobr #overpass

A photo posted by Jay Ducote (@biteandbooze) on Feb 9, 2015 at 11:31am PST

City Pork Brasserie and Bar Tater Soup

Today's lunch at City Pork Brasserie & Bar included a grilled cheese and potato soup from Chef Ryan Andre'. I'll gladly take another!
Posted by Bite and Booze on Friday, January 30, 2015

Doe's Eat Place French Fried Taters

Sometimes, you just need a steak from Doe's Eat Place. #gobr #ribeye #beef

A photo posted by Jay Ducote (@biteandbooze) on Oct 20, 2015 at 4:59pm PDT

Tater Gnocci

Potato gnocchi, lamb bolognese, mint, pecorino. Delightful.
Posted by Bite and Booze on Friday, April 11, 2014

Cultivar Wine Club: Happiness Delivered

by Blair "B-Rex" Loup

These days I feel like I get everything delivered to my door. Perhaps the best and most recent gift technology has granted me is the wine club. Team Bite and Booze is part of the Cultivar Wine club which ships a mystery box of wine to our door each quarter. Because we love our readers even more than we love great wines, we'd like to offer you a code good for 10% off of Cultivar Wines: CultivarWineBiteAndBooze.

Our most recent shipment contained a particularly palatable bottle of their 2012 Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon. Layers of aromas fill the nose: floral, wood, and a hint of tobacco; and then your mouth is enveloped with strong dark fruit flavors followed by a decent level of tannins. It's earthiness is subtle and the sweetness is dulled by the slight tartness of fruit. 

This kind of wine jives with strong, but complimentary flavors. Paired with the Cultivar Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon, I made sous-vide and seared grass-fed New York strips from Iverstine Family Farms, roasted kale sprouts, and smashed purple potatoes roasted in jalapeño olive oil from Red Stick Spice Company over a sweet potato and white turnip mash.

Grass-fed beef has a different flavor that compliments the notes of dark fruit in the the wine. While the slight bitterness of the kale sprouts brings out some funky notes, the smashed, slightly spicy potatoes balance out the tannins. 

I’m required to disclose a sponsored partnership between our site, Bite and Booze, and Cultivar Wine. I have been compensated in exchange for this post in the form of product or experience. All opinions presented are my own.

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

As the heat blazes on in Brazil at the FIFA World Cup 2014, we sit down to another street food delicacy and cocktail from Russia (playing Belgium at 11am CDT): Potato Blini and "From Moscow with Love." From the last winter Olympics we learned things can be cold and a bit dreary in Russia, but let's perk up our appetites and see what they have going on.

Photo Credit: foodperestroika.com

A plethora of Russian pancake recipes exist, but this one for potato blini sounded scrumptious to me! Technically, these blini would be called oladi in Russia because of their thickness. Simple and bland in flavor, potato blini are basically pancakes with riced potatoes mixed in. I'm sure they keep you warm in the Russian winter time, but for our purposes, they'll hold us over until USA match at 5pm.

Bite and Booze Bonus: They're pictured with some type of caviar or beaded honey on top, but try getting your hands on some ghost pepper infused caviar--that'll take these from bland to GOAL in no time.

An ode to the old 007 film, To Russia, With Love starring Sean Connery, From Moscow with Love features vodka. Shocked, I presume. This fun play on a vodka soda will get you through the match just fine! Unless you're dead set on using an actual Russian vodka, I suggest swinging by Calandro's Supermarket and grabbing some of the Donner-Peliter Oryza Vodka. It adds loads of flavor to cocktails because of the long-grain rice from Crowley, LA it's made with.

Amazing Freakin' Tacos: Bob's Taco Station

Bob's Taco Station in Rosenberg, TX

Tacos in Texas are better. I admit it. It is a food group that we don't do extremely well  in Baton Rouge. Sure, Taco de Paco slings some tasty tacos from their truck, and yes you can now find some pretty decent breakfast tacos at Kolache Kitchen, but they still just aren't quite the same. And for anybody truly wondering, go check out the tacos at La Morenita on Florida or La Tiendita on Siegen. But then again, take a trip to some taco stands in Texas and you'll really understand. One such joint is Bob's Taco Station in Rosenberg outside of Houston. It has been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives for good reason. It is an authentic taco joint with no frills, bells, or whistles. Just tacos. Really. Good. Tacos.

Amazing Tacos at Bob's Taco Station

They have other plates to choose from, but I opted for an assortment of three tacos to really get a taste of the namesake dish. I began with the Bacon, Egg, and Potato taco (right). While nothing revolutionary with ingredients, the fresh tortilla marvelously wrapped up the filling and I scarfed it down like a bear on the salmon run. The Chorizo and Egg taco (left) equally impressed me. The spanish flavors of paprika and other spices filled up the flour tortilla and I soon entered breakfast taco heaven. Fortunately, all of Bob's tacos were served all day long, so I also ordered the Barbacoa taco. Along with cilantro and chopped onions, the cooked down beef highlighted my favorite taco of the afternoon. The superb flavor matched the character of the joint and the authenticity I expected. This, my friends, is a taco spot worth visiting.

Recap: Post Olympics Beer Dinner at The Londoner

Tripel Karmeliet and La Trappe Quad

The Londoner, on the appropriately named Sherwood Forest Boulevard (actually, while Sherwood Forest is famous due to Robin Hood lure in England, it isn't that close to London, but still...) in Baton Rouge, recently had me over to help host a beer dinner.  We did four courses with eight beers from around the world shortly after the Summer Olympics ended in aforementioned London.  Each of the four courses were paired with two beers of similar style from different countries.  The first course featured the famous Belgian treat of mussels and frites with Belgian style ales from Belgium and the Netherlands.  The mussels had a wonderfully flavorful broth with tomatoes, basil, and bacon.  We paired them with the Tripel Karmeliet from Belgium and the La Trappe Quad, which is actually a Trappist brewery in the Netherlands.  While the Tripel and Quadrupel are technically two different styles, they still showed of what that Belgian yeast and malt profile can taste like with its signature fruitiness and balance.

Tuna Duo with White Ales

Our second course stayed in the sea but in a far different way than the mussels and frites.  Utilizing white ales from both the USA and Japan, we created two tuna dishes on one plate meant to emulate the cuisine from those counties.  The tuna tartare with cucumber was served on a crispy wonton with sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds.  The obvious Asian flare partnered with the Hitachino Nest White Ale, widely considered to be one of the best beers of its style in the country.  On the American side we plated a seared ahi tuna to go with the Clown Shoes Clementine.  Both dishes were executed very well by Chef Cole at the Londoner and the beer choices were spot on.
 

Lamb Chops and English Style India Pale Ales

The main course featured a delicacy in both England and New Zealand: Lamb.  The beautifully cooked medium rare lamb chops were served with a bit of mashed potatoes.  Accompanying the lamb were a couple of English style India pale ales.  Not quite the hop bomb that American IPAs are, the Tuatara from New Zealand and the Meantime from England both helped cut through the gaminess of the tender lamb.  This, hands down, ended up being my favorite course of the meal both because of the superb sear and seasoning on the lamb and the pairing with the English style IPAs.  It was like both of these beers were meant to be served with lamb... and since they come from countries with a lot of love for eating sheep, perhaps they are!

Dessert with a Russian Imperial Stout and Scottish Porter

Dinner ended with a nice pairing as well.  Norway's Nøgne Ø Imperial Stout poured dark and rich with strong booze and hints of espresso, chocolate, and dark fruit.  While not the same beer style, the Harviestoun Old Engine Oil Black Ale, technically a Porter, out of Scotland also poured incredibly dark (hence the name) with flavors of coffee and dark chocolate.  It only made sense to compliment the flavors of the beer with a chocolate dessert and the sweetness from some fruit.  The Londoner's pastry chef whipped up some stunning chocolate and raspberry tarts that were exactly what these two beers needed.  While not the same style and vastly different up close, the tart played off of flavor notes in each beer to deliver a great ending to the meal.



I enjoyed being able to help the Londoner out with some different beer and food pairings.  All of these beers came from my friend Natalie with International Wine and Spirits.  Look for them at Calandro's Supermarket or wherever fine beers are sold!  And also keep an eye out for some future beer dinners at The Londoner.  You never know who might be making an appearance!

Seared Scallops a la Emeril Lagasse

Scallops are one of those foods that seems to be over-glamorized by food based television shows... particularly those with celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay.  However, while they may mess a lot of people up on Hell's Kitchen, I knew that they really weren't that difficult.  The key to a properly seared scallop is the right amount of oil a very hot skillet.  After that, I suppose it's all about timing.  Emeril's recipe pairs the seared scallops with an interesting combination of cabbage, fingerling potatoes, apples, and golden raisins.  Bizarre... but it ended up being quite tasty!

I picked up my ingredients for the recipe at Calandro's Supermarket.  There were a few steps involved such as boiling the potatoes with thyme, bay leaves, and peppercorns; soaking the raisins in apple cider; toasting some pine nuts to draw out some flavor; and searing the scallops to a beautiful golden brown in grape seed oil.  After that, I cooked down the cabbage in oil, wine, and Emeril's chicken stock.  Soon the raisins were added along with the apple and some more thyme.

The final plating involved arranging the scallops over a bed of the cabbage, potato, apple and raisin mixture. Since I used some purple and green cabbage the dish really popped with color.  The toasted pine nuts were used as a garnish along with some fresh thyme just to add a little greenery.

The "Seared Scallops with Savoy Cabbage, Fingerling Potatoes, Pink Ladies, and Sultanas" from Emeril's new book Sizzling Skillets and Other One-Pot Wonders ended up being one of the most interesting recipes I've ever cooked.  It seemed odd yet somehow really worked.  I was amazed at how well the flavors and textures worked together.  Plus, this truly ended up being and extremely healthy meal.  While I'm not known for such things, it is always good to get such great depth of flavor in a dish that at least isn't terrible for you!  Oh, and the scallops were amazing.  Apparently I can sear scallops fairly well.  Kosher salt, fresh ground white pepper and grape seed oil.  That's it.  Bon Apetit.

Emeril's Chorizo and Potato Quesadillas with Cilantro-Chile Crema

Excited to change up the style of one-pot wonders from Emeril's new cookbook, I turned the page to a recipe that caught my eye: chorizo and potato quesadillas with cilantro-chile crema.  The recipe seemed simple, straight forward, and delicious, so I knew I ought to give it a try!

Step one, like always, started with a trip with Calandro's Supermarket at the corner of Perkins and Seigen in Baton Rouge.  I found everything that I needed and more... except one thing: chorizo.  Calandro's had some smoked chorizo but I needed the fresh stuff to take out of its casing (or never put it in one).  

Fortunately I remembered the leisure class I took on sausage making at the Louisiana Culinary Institute.  Chef Dave Tiner provided us with a homemade chorizo recipe.  I picked up some smoked paprika and got the butcher to grind some pork for me.  I knew I'd have the rest of the ingredients at my house already.  I put some white wine, salt, pepper, paprika, cumin, oregano, granulated garlic, sugar and cayenne in a mixing bowl.  After whisking it all together I added a pound of ground pork and mixed all of the seasonings into it.  Boom!  Chorizo!

After I let the ground pork marinate in the chorizo seasonings for a little while I put it in a skillet to brown it off.  Once sufficiently cooked I added the red onions and then some diced fingerling potatoes that I had previously parboiled.  The mixture needed a little extra salt and pepper, but other than that is tasted sensational.

I also made a cilantro-chile crema to go with the quesadillas.  Emeril called it the "icing on this cake," it it wasn't hard to see why.  In a food processor I combined sour cream, cilantro, a minced jalapeno, three garlic cloves, some green onions, a little cayenne and a little salt.  After blending for a few minutes, I had a delicious spicy yet refreshing crema!

Once the crema took its place on the assembly line I turned my attention to the quesadillas.  I melted a little butter in a skillet and laid a tortilla down on it.  I then loaded one side with the chorizo-red onion-potato mixture followed by some chopped red bell pepper and a generous portion of cheese.  Once the tortilla did its job toasting in the butter, I folded it over into the melty cheese.

The end result, especially when drizzled with the cilantro-chile crema, turned out to be fairly spectacular.  The quesadillas provided a great balance of spicy and savory with a combination of textures from creamy to crunchy.  All in all, this recipe was most definitely a success!

Wine Dinner at Niche Bar and Grill

Niche Bar and Grill on Siegen Lane recently hosted an "Around the World" Wine Dinner.  The seating area had been transformed into a white table cloth dining room and I immediately became excited about the efforts of Ause, the owner, and his staff.  I knew this dinner would be an improvement over the previous wine dinner I attended at Niche, but I didn't know how much better.

The wonderful Lauren Michaud joined me for the evening of food and wine.  Appetizer number one featured what Niche called "Tapas de Brie."  Pretty much a version of bruschetta, the slices of toasted bread were topped with tomato slices and melted Brie then drizzled with balsamic vinaigrette and rosemary.  The dish had great flavors that worked very well together.  For a small plate or an hors d'oeuvres it did the trick.  I didn't quite get the pairing with the Argentina Malbec as the Tapas de Brie seemed more Italian than Argentinean or even Spanish, but, what the heck, its all Latin, right?

Tapas de Brie

Graffingna Malbec

Appetizer two included Oysters Portofino paired with a glass of Bottega Vanaia Pinot Grigio.  The oysters were breaded and covered with a spicy basil red sauce and melted mozzarella cheese.  The wine pairing on this course was right on target.  The oysters themselves were decent, but the sweetness and acidity of the wine that matched the tomato sauce is what really made the dish work.

Oysters Portofino

Bottega Vanaia Pinot Grigio

The first entree course emerged as by far my favorite dish of the day.  A blackened redfish filet sat on top of a deliciously fried eggplant slice.  Both the redfish and eggplant were smothered in Niche's signature spicy crawfish cream sauce.  The Hess Chardonnay matched extremely well with the trio of fish, eggplant and cream sauce.  The textures and flavors of every aspect of this plate struck my taste buds in a harmonious symphony.  This is the best dish that I've had at Niche, which made me really happy!

Redfish Feliciana

Hess Chardonnay

The lamb dish, our fourth course, is the one that I most eagerly anticipated.  The frenched lamb chops were covered in a mustard-mint demi-glace and served with rosemary red potatoes.  In another very appropriate wine pairing, the lamb came served with a glass of French Pinot Noir.  While I really liked the lamb, it didn't quite match the previous redfish plate.  The mustard-mint demi-glace fell short of being a stunning sauce with the lamb.  I enjoyed it, but it didn't quite work perfectly for me.

Lamb Chops

Louis Jadot Pinot Noir

The meal wrapped up with tiramisu and a glass of Port.  I again found it odd to pair an Italian dessert with a Portuguese wine, though they did work fairly well together.  I think a glass of Prosecco or another Italian dessert wine may have been more appropriate.  Still, the dessert tasted pretty good and the I'm a big fan of Port, so I left the dinner very happy!

Tiramisu

Fonseca Porto

Thanks to Niche for continuing to put on these dinners of assorted beverages.  I very much applaud the efforts to bring a dinner like this to a more casual dining atmosphere.  This wine dinner proved to be worth every penny.  I found some of the international pairings a little odd, but in the end they worked well enough to ensure that everyone had good food, good wine, and a great time!  And I think that Redfish Feliciana might be on the menu now or at least run fairly often as a special.  Do yourself a favor and go try that!

How to Eat Louisiana Crawfish and Blue Crabs

I recently went on a fantastic press trip to Coastal Louisiana where I got to see some first hand accounts of swamps, bayous and, of course, seafood.  At Susie's Seafood in Morgan City, I dined at a table of local hosts and fellow travelers.  Naturally the best thing we could do was order as much Louisiana seafood as the table could hold!  We requested multiple buckets of crawfish, crabs, shrimp, corn, potatoes, and sausage for our feasting pleasure.  Larry Lovell and I couldn't resist also sampling a side of tater tots covered in cheese since they were only 10 cents more than the non-cheesed tots, but that's a different story.

Boiled Crawfish, Crabs and Shrimp at Susie's Seafood in Morgan City, LA

The meal came after a day of canoeing some man-made logging bayous and swamp areas near Franklin and then taking a tour through the Atchafalaya swamps on Captain Jack's boat.  We had worked up a mighty hunger, and Susie's delivered the nourishment our bodies needed.  The boiled seafood tasted every bit as delicious as it looked and smelled.  I readied myself to dig in, but since I was actually the "Louisiana Seafood Expert" at the table, I took the liberty of showing Kathleen Ahamed-Broadhurst from Massachusetts how the seafood should be properly consumed.  Kathleen writes for GoNomad, an alternative travel site, and shot these how-to videos of me and my crustaceans!  Enjoy!

Surf and Turf Poboy at NOLA's Parkway Bakery

An ode to a great sandwich... and I do love sandwiches!

There are classics and then there are, well, true classics.  Some people say the roast beef  and ham poboy with "debris" at Mother's is a New Orleans classic.  In some senses, maybe it is.  However, for my mouth and money, I won't go there.  I'll go to the Parkway Bakery in Mid City.  My good buddy Brandon Brown had been telling me about Parkway for years but I hadn't taken the journey over to Bayou St. John to check it out.  But then I did.  And I ate.  And I told my soul that I'd be back.

The order at Parkway Bakery is simple: Large Surf and Turf Poboy and a side of sweet potato fries.  The New Orleans sandwich features classic French bread, slow cooked roast beef, golden fried shrimp, and Parkway's roast beef gravy.  Obviously you don't order a poboy in New Orleans without lettuce, tomato and mayo as well.  I haven't ever been told to get anything else at Parkway... though I think more than 10 people have indepently suggested the Surf and Turf.  There were only a few variations.  Andrew Rose said to get an extra side of the roast beef gravy for dipping.  Noted, sir.  Matthew Colosino of LunchBoxFab likes to get his Surf and Turf as a shrimp poboy with the gravy on the side.  Close enough.  I suppose.

I went to Parkway, finally, with Jeremy Wells and his family.  It was after we competed in the New Orleans Food Experiment, yet we still found a way to be hungry.  It's a good thing.  That sandwich, the Large Surf and Turf Poboy at Parkway Bakery, is what dreams are made of.  Beef.  Shrimp.  Gravy.  Sandwich.  Simple.  Messy.  Amazing.  I need another.  My stomach grumbles at the thought of it.  My soul yearns for another bite.  I polished off the whole thing.  I could have eaten more... and been miserable.  The most amazingly awesome miserable imaginable.  The crunch of the French bread made with New Orleans water.  The textures and flavors of melted beef and fried shrimp smothered in gravy.  The lettuce and tomato and mayo to make the sandwich complete.  I'll have another.  Very soon.

And yes, the sweet potato fries were good.  Get them.  Some of the best I've ever had.  Hands down.

Lafayette's Jolie's Bistro

Jolie's Bistro in Lafayette reminds me of what the true dining experience should be.  Chef Manny Augello and bartender Luke Tullos like to keep things "fresh, local, and seasonal."  The menu at Jolie's names several Louisiana farms where local products are sourced.  Chef Manny offers a Louisiana Artisan Cheese Assortment and a Charcuterie de Maison that highlight local goat cheese from Belle Ecorce Farm in St. Martinville, LA and house made patés, terrines, cured meats, pickles and condiments.  But those items barely get the menu started.  Each day there are various bar snacks that are modestly priced at $3, $5, and $7 each.  The bar snacks are always creative expressions from the chef based on the fresh, local, and seasonal theme.

I have been to Jolie's twice in the past month.  Geoff Daily of Lafayette's Fiber Corps introduced me to Jolie's in March, and I returned with Jeremy, Eric, and Mandy over the weekend.  Each time I left having to loosen to my belt as well as say thanks to everyone at the restaurant.  The staff is friendly with impeccable service, the cocktails from Luke are unique, playful twists on classics or inventive inspirations of Acadiana, and the food out of the kitchen... well, it is what similar restaurants should aspire to serve.  I'll give you a taste of the menu from my two trips, but to really get the experience, you'll just have to go!

St. Patty's Day Amuse Bouche and Bar Snacks:

Top Left: Amuse Bouche featuring ceviche with fresh drum and scallops marinated in Abita Amber

Top Right: Irish style cabbage and potatoes

Bottom Left: Fish and Chips - Tilapia from the Gotreaux Family Farms in Scott, LA

Bottom Right: Irish pork stew

St. Patty's Day Charcuterie, Cheese Assortment, Soups, and Cocktails

Top Left: Charcuterie de Maison - house cured salami, salmon, pickled brussels sprouts, caramelized onions

Top Right: Louisiana Artisan Cheese Assortment - local goat cheese, aged cheddar, marinated pear

Bottom Left: Turtle soup with sherry in the back, leek and scallop soup in front

Cocktails from Luke: Protestant - Bushmills, house made Guinness syrup, old fashioned bitters, and vermouth

Not pictured: Catholic - Jameson and more spirits with fresh, unsweetened whip cream to cover the guilt

April 9th Bar Snacks and Cocktail:

Top Left: House pickled fruits and veggies featuring Louisiana melontons (I could actually stomach them!)

Top Right: Kimchi hotdog with Chinese mustard

Bottom Left: Sheepshead sliders

Bottom Right:  I told Like to serve me a play on a Mint Julep, he came back with an Apple whiskey smash

April 9th Charcuterie Madness

Top Left: Jolie's bread topped with pork tongue rillettes and stone ground mustard

Top Right: House made Spanish chorizo, duck salami, and pickled pears

Bottom Left: House pickled okra, prunes, and pork tongue rillettes, among other things

Bottom Right: Italian terrine with Chinese mustard

April 9th Plates and Drinks

Top Left: Crispy pork ribs - flash fried and dressed with house made pepper jelly

Top Right: Artisan cheese assortment with goat cheese, aged cheddar, beets, and prunes

Bottom Left: Luke's digestif: Grapefruitcello - amazingly smooth, fruity, and deceptively strong! 

Bottom Right: I asked for Luke to make a drink featuring honey and bourbon. He came back with his play on a "sidecar" - bourbon, honey-lavender syrup, peach bitters, and champagne

April 9th Dinner and Desserts

Top Left: Sweet potato and andouille hash with some lemon-garlic fries

Top Right: Jolie's BBQ Shrimp in a rich Abita Amber BBQ Reduction

Bottom Left: Prince Edward Island mussels tossed with shallots, bacon, fries, and a touch of Pernod

Bottom Right: Finally room for dessert: house made cream cheese icecream on a Florentine cookie with Chantilly cream

Now I'm hungry again!  When you go, make sure to ask about the bar snacks are as well as what sort of specials Chef Manny might have.  Feel free to talk to Luke about some signature cocktails.  Finally, have fun, enjoy exploring the many items on the menu both new and old, and take some risks... your stomach will thank you... okay, maybe not your stomach, but your taste buds sure will!