Happy Good Friday everyone! I'm coming to y'all on back to back days (be sure to check out yesterday's MLB opening day Wakey Whiskey post) with an all new Feature Beer Friday. I've ventured out of state a few times already, but today will be my first feature from the state of Texas. My mother was over in Houston a few weeks back and was nice enough to bring a few 6-packs back for me (it's like she knows I like beer) so here's the first review from that haul. 11 Below Brewing is a relative new-comer to the Houston, TX area, a city that not too long ago was virtually a craft beer wasteland outside of Saint Arnold and is now blossoming with breweries everywhere you look. Houston itself is home to around 20 breweries now, not counting the rest of the metro area, which is large to say the least. If you are ever in Houston (to check out an Astros game maybe?) 11 Below can be found in an industrial park just to the NNW of the beltway. They are open every Thurday and Friday from 5 to 9, and Saturday and Sunday from 12 to 6. Like all the other Texas breweries, they operate on a token system, where $10 buys you admission and you get three tokens to redeem for beer. It wasn't too long ago that Louisiana breweries operated their tours/tastings in a similar fashion, and hopefully Texas can catch up to the taproom trend before long.
Oso Bueno Amber from 11 Below Brewing
Now for the beer itself, Oso Bueno is an American Amber Ale, a stalwart of styles that has been popular for years among novice and expert craft beer drinkers. The style is defined by the BJCP as: "An amber, hoppy, moderate-strength
American craft beer with a caramel malty flavor. The balance
can vary quite a bit, with some versions being fairly malty and
others being aggressively hoppy. Hoppy and bitter versions
should not have clashing flavors with the caramel malt profile." Oso Bueno (which translates into "good bear" and don't miss the pun...) clocks in at 5.3% abv and 22 IBU, which puts it on the lower end for the style and has me expecting that this will be a more malt-forward example. This beer pours a reddish brown, deeper than what I would consider a true amber color but not all the way into brown ale territory. True to expectation, the aroma on this one is rich with toffee and caramel, with just a hint of hop bitterness adding a bit of a floral note. There are no surprises on the taste, the malt sweetness dominates and provides a nice change of pace from all the NEIPAs I've been drinking lately. This offering is a smooth easy drinking malty amber ale that definitely has a place in my fridge. Unfortunately nothing from 11 Below is available in Louisiana yet, but if you are ever in Houston (or other parts of SE Texas) and you see the Good Bear, don't hesitate to give it a try. Cheers, and happy Good Friday to you all!
Since establishing Pico’s in 1984, it has become a shining beacon of “Mex-Mex” cuisine in the holy land of Tex-Mex. The Richards family treats their customers like relatives. When you enter the sprawling restaurant you can hear fresh margaritas shaking, smell the hand-pressed tortillas on the flat top and see the genuine smile across the faces of their employees. You can’t have a bad time at Pico’s; they simply won’t allow it.
It’s a large restaurant, but don’t let that fool you. Chef, and owner, Arnaldo Richard has his hand in every dish. The attention to detail that goes in to the flavor built on each plate is extremely authentic. If you’re looking for true Mexican cuisine in the Houston area, you need not look any further.
The depth of flavor isn’t just in the food though. Arnaldo’s daughter Monica Richards is at the helm of their fantastic tequila program. Even the most baseline of margaritas at Pico’s is top-notch. Whether you’re looking to demolish a couple of shakers of their house margaritas or taste from some of Monica’s select barrels, she has taken the time to curate a truly special tequila experience for their guests. The tequila selection alone is a worth the trip.
Jay, Chef Aimee and I have had the pleasure of dining with Monica and visiting with Arnaldo on a couple of occasions and each trip has only made our hearts grow fonder. Here are a few of the best bites and sips we had the last time we were there:
Ontiones Carlos Slim is one dish that I think speaks to the attention to detail and flavor building Arnaldo's cooking is centered around. With this take on Oysters Rockefeller, Arnaldo uses an intricate blend of celery leaf, tarragon, chervil, parsley, herb saint, spinach, collard greens and purslane and tops each bite with cotija and parmesan cheeses.
Mole holds a very special place in my heart. There's a lot that goes into each mole, but you can always be sure of one thing when it comes to this comforting dish: whoever took the time to make it, undoubtedly stirred in a lot of love. In this case Arnaldo moved me to feelings. The duck fell apart in the rich, decadent mole and the tostones hit the hearty, but sweet notes. I would order this dish again and again.
Until next time, Pico's! If you're ever in the Houston area, Pico's is a must. Keep a look out for some of their phenomenal tequila dinners as well!
Texas and BBQ are a classic duo like peanut butter and jelly or cereal and milk. No matter what city you're in, it won't be hard to find a tangy rack of ribs, smoked chicken or juicy brisket. Recently, the whole Bite & Booze team had the lucky opportunity to try some some legendary BBQ when we visited Killen’s BBQ in Pearland, Texas.
Established in 2013 by Ronnie Killen, a local pitmaster, Killen’s has made a name for itself as one the best BBQ spots in the Pearland/Houston area with lunch lines on the weekends stretching out as long as the lines you'd see at Austin’s famous Franklin Barbecue. On a recent trip to Franklin, I'd proclaimed their brisket to be the best ever (which it is), I found the rest of their choices to be just average; at Killen’s this is not the case.
All the meats at Killen's BBQ in Pearland, TX
After a few moments of trying to decide what to pick from the menu, Jay made the choice of just ordering everything: brisket, beef and pork ribs, and smoked turkey along with sides of mac n cheese, baked beans and what was definitely the best creamed corn I'd ever had.
The Pork Ribs
Every piece of juicy meat on our tray was absolutely delicious. The pork ribs may go down as my favorite, but the brisket and turkey were seriously vying for second place. I don't remember ever having a full plate of such amazing BBQ selections and not really having a bad choice in the bunch. And I'm telling you that creamed corn…it changes a person.
We did our best to take down as much as we could and then made our way inside for some of their famous bread pudding.
Everyone knows I love burgers and beer, but the simple pleasure of bread pudding can tempt me like no other.
This was not just any regular ole bread pudding; this one was made with croissants. The airiness of the croissants was a nice change to the normal denseness of a classic bread pudding.
If you find yourself in the charming town of Pearland, Texas stop and visit Killen’s BBQ for a true Texas treat, order extra creamed corn and you can thank me later.
The city of Austin, Texas is known for many things. It’s eclectic music scene, the University of Texas, Austin City Limits, Matthew McConaughey, bats and SXSW name a few, but the one thing that Austin is definitely known for is BBQ.
You could probably stand on any corner in Austin, throw a rock and hit a BBQ shack or food truck. Out of the many local spots you could go to for some finger-lickin’ goodness, there’s one place that’s considered the Mecca for BBQ in all of Texas: Franklin Barbecue.
Our tray at Franklin Barbecue: Turkey, Sausage, Ribs and Brisket
Aaron Franklin has created a cult following for his delicious meats and it all started out of a trailer in 2009. Franklin is probably the only place in the country that consistently has over a 2 hour wait for their food. Outside, in the elements, year-round, people get in line as early as 5am. As the line begins to spread out from the front door down the block and into neighborhoods you can see people setting up folding chairs and grabbing beers out of their tag-along ice chests.
People come from literally all around the world just to get a taste. When (not if) they run out of food,that’s it! There’s no dinner service so if you were one of the unlucky ones who stood in line all morning and braved the elements only to miss out, then it’s a return trip tomorrow to get back in line once again.
When Jay told the Bite & Booze team about our stops in Texas during our Gov’t Taco research trip, I was extremely excited to see Austin on the itinerary. I knew that we were going to be trying out tacos at all of our stops, but I made a vow to stand in line for some of that famous Franklin brisket.
When we arrived in Austin, Jay told us that Wednesday was our only day with nothing on the calendar. In that moment, the BBQ stars aligned. Although Jay had been to Franklin twice before, he agreed to come hang with me in line. We set our alarms that night to be there no later than 8:30am as I drifted off to sleep dreaming of the BBQ deliciousness that was to come.
After hitting snooze on my alarm about 4 times I woke up and realized it was now 9am! Jay mentioned that if the line was too long, he knew of some other great places we could go, but my heart was slowly breaking just thinking about missing the opportunity while we were in town.
I had never felt so betrayed by a snooze button.
To my suprise, as we made the turn off of East 11th St. onto Branch St. we saw there only about 30 people in line. The BBQ Gods do exist.
We decided to grab some coffee and made our way around the corner to get in line. We mingled with other customers there who were from out of town and who were also shocked by the short line.
Pro Tip: We went on a Wednesday if you want to try your luck next time you’re in Austin
After about 20 minutes one of the employes started making their way through the line taking orders from everyone. The minimum order is 5 pounds so we went with smoked turkey, ribs, sausage and of course, their world famous brisket.
Around 11am the doors opened and the line began to filter inside. Close to noon, we finally made our way through the doors and into Franklin. The aroma of smoked meats inside overwhelmed me. Tables began filling up with eager, hungry guests. I eyed each tray of food that passed making myself hungrier by the minute.
As we made our way closer to the counter I noticed the man himself, Aaron Franklin, was hanging out by the register just chatting with everyone and taking pictures with enamored guests.
Aaron Franklin, Jay and myself posing after a behind the scenes tour of Franklin Barbecue
That’s cool. Here’s a guy that could be at home, on a golf course or anywhere just letting the place run itself and not even worrying about showing up and yet there he was! To see him chilling in a t-shirt, shorts and Chuck Taylor’s just mingling with his clientele was very humbling.
After grabbing our order and some drinks we hit up the patio and got our grub on. I’m not gonna lie to you folks -- the turkey, ribs and sausage were nothing to write home about. They were straight up just ok BBQ. I enjoyed them, but I would not order those again if I went back. However, I would happily pay $100 for a whole brisket.
Brisket at Franklin Barbecue in Austin, TX
THIS IS THE BEST BRISKET I’VE EVER HAD! I don’t even know where to start... The perfect smoke ring, the juiciness of the meat, the incredible flavor of it all was too much to comprehend. It was like the best chocolate or the best steak or the best whatever is your favorite thing in the world times 100. I couldn’t get enough of it and was felt stupid for not ordering more. I ate until I was miserable.
After our meal we were able to go into the back of the restaurant and talk with Aaron Franklin. This guy was so down to earth and eager to talk with us and answer any questions we had for him. I also discovered that he was also a fellow drummer (!) and that we had similar taste in music.
Killer brisket and he was a drummer?! Our wedding date is set and we’re registered on Amazon.
We said our goodbyes and headed back to the hotel and I realized 2 things: I need more than a couple of days to fully experience Austin and when I do get back most of that time will be spent eating brisket at Franklin.
Every year when I look back on the adventures I've taken and the amazing things I've eaten, I'm always amazed. I love what I do and I work really hard for it. For me, rewards are often more embodied in a bowl of soup or a mouth-watering dessert than they are in any other way. All of this king-like feasting is documented fairly well, so when taking a stroll through the various and copious photo libraries at my disposal of food pics from throughout the year, I find myself salivating all over again.
Blair and Chuck have written about their 'Best Bites of 2016' and now it's my turn. I focus on three categories: dishes from the road that blew me away, desserts that I'll never forget, and times that I impressed myself with food that we prepared. Here's my best of 2016:
On the Road:
Khao Soi Neuea: Short Ribs, Coconut Curry Soup, Housemade Baa Mee, Noodles, Crispy Noodles
Khao Soi Neuea: Short Ribs, Coconut Curry Soup, Housemade Baa Mee, Noodles, Crispy Noodles
Alfie's pop-up in DC made the list for Blair and Chuck, but I knew long before I took them in July that Alfie's would make my list as well. I got my first taste of Alfie's back in February on snowy trek to our nation's capital for a beer dinner with the NBWA. Alfie's was just opening, but I managed to get a closing-time table thanks to my buddy Alex McCoy from Food Network Star. With a contingent of Louisiana friends now living in DC, we set up camp at Alfie's and nearly consumed the entire menu.
The Khao Soi Navea, beef short ribs simmered down in a coconut curry broth with noodles, nearly made me move to Thailand. The dish had just the right amounts of spice and complexity. The beef fell apart at the twist of a fork. The crunch noodles added the right textural contrast to bring it together. I'd take another bowl right now, but Alex has moved on from Alfie's to create new pop-ups in the same space, but don't fret! It'll be back one day, and I'll be there!
No trip to Nashville would be complete without hot chicken. I loved the hot chicken so much that we did a hot chicken pop-up here in Baton Rouge; more to come on that later.
However, the hot chicken from Nashville isn't what's on my list. Instead, the dish I crave to this day is the East Nasty from the popular restaurant in The Gulch, Biscuit Love. The buttermilk biscuit sandwich features a deep fried chicken thigh, aged cheddar cheese and a decadent sausage gravy. It's the kind of biscuit sandwich that you have to eat with a fork and knife, but that's alright by me!
Cream, Butter and Corn Milk Poached Silver Queen Corn
Cream, Butter and Corn Milk Poached Silver Queen Corn
Sometimes it's the most simple dishes that create lasting memories. I've eaten some true fine dining and molecular tinkering this year, but I always remember what Wolfgang Puck told me is the secret to good cooking. "Start with good ingredients," he said with a smile, "and don't fuck them up."
Chef David Bancroft at the restaurant Acre in Auburn, AL is the embodiment of that philosophy. He grows a lot of what he cooks on the one acre plot on which the restaurant sits. When it's time to harvest, his menu features food that is essentially grown in his parking lot.
The most memorable dish that he served us on our drive home from the James Beard House in New York was this cream, butter and corn milk poached Silver Queen corn. There wasn't much to it, but it was quite simply one of the best things I ate all year. That's how corn is supposed to taste. And rather than try to do too much with it, David instead chose to just not fuck it up.
Cooking competitions are tricky, and with as many of them as I judge, there's a reason that I usually don't feature dishes from competitions on these kinds of lists. However, this year at The Wharf Uncorked, Chef Chris Sherrill from the Flora-Bama Yacht Club pulled off an nearly unprecedented kind of feat. His smoked and fried oysters took home three prizes, best in his category, best in show as picked by the judges, and people's choice as voted on by the public. He didn't just win, he blew the competition away.
The oysters were coated in a batter of dehydrated okra and potato flour. The oysters were served with more dehydrated okra for a little show-and-tell, as well as a rustic corn aioli. I could have sat back and eaten these like they were popcorn.
Cosme in NYC impressed me so much that they are going to make this list twice. The Duck Carnitas were nothing short of inspirational. As a signature dish, they certainly nailed it. It is the kind of dish that pushes me forward and makes we want to replicate it my own way. It's the reason why we've been practicing duck carnitas tacos for Gov't Taco. It HAS to go on the menu, and it has to live up to this sort of legendary status.
It takes a lot for a pork chop to get me excited, but this is the best pork chop I've ever had! Served with the most interesting cut that I've ever seen and prepared in a mind-boggling fashion. the slab of Compart Duroc pork featured the loin, baby back rib, belly and skin of the pig all in one cut. This meant that the finished product had pretty much everything: juicy, tender pork loin, succulent rib meat, fatty belly and crispy skin.
Chef Larry Delgado got each piece of the chop to work right by using multiple cooking methods including searing, sous vide, baking and frying. Honestly, it doesn't matter to most people what he may or may not have done to perfect the pork. What matters is that I've been craving more of it ever since and if you're ever in McAllen, TX you have to dine at this restaurant.
Desserts:
Carrot Cake
Kyle Field, College Station, TX, Thanksgiving Day
Chef Picou and Jay Ducote in the Kitchen at Kyle Field with Carrot Cake
I had the pleasure of traveling to College Station for the LSU vs Texas A&M game on Thanksgiving Day. As impressive as LSU was on the field, the Aggie Hospitality team may have taken the cake in terms of impressiveness. They're taking stadium food to a new level. If you're lucky enough to get catering in the club level or a suite, you're in for a treat at Kyle Field.
On day one of my behind-the-scenes tour and tasting, I got to sample a lot of their smoked meats, specialty hot dogs and more. The beef short ribs weren't far from making this list, but Chefs Picou (pictured above) and Mora, both assured me that I needed to try the carrot cake the next day. I got a special invite to track them down in the stadium's kitchen at halftime of the football game to give it a try. Folks, I'm not kidding when I say it's the best carrot cake I've ever had. I'll go back to a football game and sneak into a suite if I have to in order to get another slice!
I said earlier that Cosme would make this list twice. Here's number two: the illustrious corn meringue has made magazines and headlines, so I'm definitely not the first person to admire its glory. However, this list of foods I ate in 2016 wouldn't be complete without a mention of it. With a hard shell on the outside and creamy corn sweetness on the inside, this dessert gave me a new respect for how many ways people can make something as simple as corn into something awesome.
Speaking of making corn into something awesome, 2016 started out strong with a culinary trip to Lafayette and a feasting at Dark Roux. The entire meal was quite exceptional, but it still managed to end on an even higher note. The cornbread bread pudding had the flavors and textures that help a bread pudding stand apart. With so many bread puddings on southern menus, It's hard to be impressed by this classic dessert these days, but when one does, it's divine. Using cornbread to make a dessert gave it just enough of a savory edge to make it truly memorable instead of just being a block of sugar. If you go to Dark Roux, don't miss it.
My opinion on bread pudding, as seen above, is that bread pudding is good, but it takes a truly special one to impress me. However, my feeling on tres leches is that they are usually rubbish. They are wet, soggy messes of batter and milk and sugar and they shouldn't be a thing. So when I was told to get the Tres Leches Cake at Corks & Cleaver in Gulfport, MS, my first instinct was to run.
However, trusting Chef David Dickensauge's skills and palate, I decided to give it a try. I'm sure glad I did. I've never had a tres leches like this. It's all about the texture, and this one worked. Not existent was the soggy goop of traditional tres leches. Instead, this cake featured magnificently velvety layers of sweetened milk and spongy cake. Now I think I'm scared of tres leches cakes even more though, because I'll probably never have another one like this again.
Food Prepared by Me and My Team:
Nashville Style Hot Chicken, Mustard Greens, Mac & Cheese
Hot Chicken on a Tin Roof pop-up for flood relief, Baton Rouge, LA, September
Nashville Style Hot Chicken, Mustard Greens, Mac & Cheese
Having eaten at Hattie B's in Nashville twice this year, I developed a true respect and subsequent craving for hot chicken. It provides a mouth sensation that can best be described by a Ray Bradbury quote from Fahrenheit 451: "It was a pleasure to burn."
Not being able to get hot chicken in Baton Rouge is a problem, so I decided to take it upon myself to do a hot chicken event at the Tin Roof Brewing Company called Hot Chicken on a Tin Roof. My team with Blair, Chuck, Aimee and interns (Marit and Rachel) were joined by Jason Lees of Roux 61, Alex Barbosa from Barbosa's Barbeque and Alex Hamman from the Louisiana Culinary Institute to pull off an epic hot chicken popup.
Complete with a bad ass mac & cheese and braised mustard greens (donated by Table Fresh), the plates of hot chicken flew off our serving line as fast as we could fry them. We served over 300 people that night, and between us and Tin Roof, donated over $1,000 to the Greater Baton Rouge Area Food Bank as a part of a flood relief effort.
Also, the chicken, to put it mildly, was on point.
One of our very first taco experiments to get Gov't Taco menu development started featured a dish containing a black bean puree, goat cheese, pepitas, chimichurri and cane-syrup-glazed roasted carrots. The ingredients were designed to be fillings in a vegetarian taco option, and it worked. It worked so well, in fact, that we did it again at another Gov't Taco pop-up and we're almost certain that it will end up on our opening menu. So we have that going for us, which is nice.
Fig, Fennel, Almonds, Hybrid Tortilla
Gov't Taco Pop-up at Slash Creative, Baton Rouge, LA, October
Fig, Fennel, Almonds, Hybrid Tortilla
The roasted carrots were great, but the fig and fennel taco that we did for Spooky Taco Tuesday at S/ash Creative may have been even better. The combination of sweet late-season figs from Indie Plate and anise flavored fennel with crunchy toasted almond slices explodes on the taste buds. This is a taco that we are sure to repeat as soon as fig season is back.
Granny's Pecan Rolls
James Beard House, NYC, July
Granny's Pecan Rolls
Photo: Fortunato M. Ramin
My top professional accomplishments of 2016 were having a pilot for my own show air on Travel Channel, launching my Spicy & Sweet Barbecue Rub and Single Origin Coffee, and cooking at the historic James Beard House in New York. For the dinner, I knew I wanted to do some of my "greatest hits" dishes from TV shows and cooking events, but I got hung up on what to do for dessert. I wanted to feature a dish that truly meant something to me, so when we came up with the idea to feature my Granny's pecan rolls, I knew we were onto something.
Chef Aimee Tortorich worked hard on taking my grandmother's recipe and turning it into a dessert rather than a breakfast dish. We added a little more sugar as well as a pecan praline sauce. They filled every bit of the nostalgic void in my stomach. Our best batch came at the James Beard House, though all the practice runs were pretty spectacular as well.
So this one time, we were in the Hamptons, and we were asked to hang out for a pool party and cook for some local guests... and Heidi Klum showed up... and when I asked for a picture, she grabbed the leg of lamb from the table and we captured this magic.
But here's what you can't really see from that picture: that lamb may have been the best thing I cooked this year. Roasted whole in a La Caja China, the lamb was seasoned with nothing more than garlic-infused olive oil and Jay D's Spicy & Sweet BBQ Rub plus a little extra kosher salt. The toasted bark on the outside of the lamb from the rub and heat from the the wood fire provided charred heaven while the inside of the lamb was tender and succulent, containing lots of flavor in every bite. It truly was worthy of The Hamptons, Heidi Klum, our fantastic hosts and all the excellent wine we drank!
Jay Ducote makes biscuit dough at Mahaffey Farms for the Pineywoods Supper Club
Photo: Jennifer Robison
Jay Ducote works the mother fire at the Pineywoods Supper Club while biscuits cook in Dutch ovens
Photo: Jennifer Robison
Evan McCommon uses the light on his phone to check on a batch of Dutch oven biscuits
Photo: Jennifer Robison
Dutch Oven Biscuits from the Pineywoods Supper Club at Mahaffey Farms
These aren't the first biscuits to make this year's list, which just goes to show that biscuits are so hot right now. I put Dutch Oven Biscuits on our menu for the Piney Woods Supper Club, complete with many other delightful dishes from duck carnitas tacos (inspired from above) to glazed carrots (inspired from above) to a whole lamb (inspired from above). However, unlike all of those things where we had recent practice runs to base everything off of, these biscuits weren't something I had much experience with.
Buttermilk biscuit making is an art form. The proper mixing of flour, salt baking powder with cold butter, lard (from Mahaffey Farms in the this case) and buttermilk is the first step. On the farm this was all done in small batches and by hand. I actually didn't even have measuring cups so I just eye-balled everything and went by feel and ratios. I flattened the dough out on an outdoor table lined with contractor trash bags then laminated the dough, folding it over itself and stretching it back out again and again. Not having a ring mold, I used the lid to a mason jar to cut the biscuits into beautiful rounds.
Cooking outside on a farm can have its challenges, one of which is the lack of an oven to bake said biscuits. Needing to stay true to my word of delivering Dutch oven biscuits, I set up three cast iron pots above a bed of coals and then shoveled hot coals onto the lids of the pots as well once biscuits were inside. This is, afterall, the intent of the Dutch oven. Each pot fit around 7 biscuits, so using all three I was still only cooking 21 at a time.
With around a 20 minute cook time, the biscuits were the most elusive item at the 100-person feast. People waited in line for all the food, but the biscuits are what spread throughout the farm as the hard-to-get item worth waiting for. When all the smoke had cleared from the whole lamb and charred carrots, the last batch of biscuits were the only thing left over fire. Fortunately by that time most people had finished eating, so I got to have one of the biscuits right out of the Dutch oven. The buttery and flaky dough melted in my mouth as the salty lard gave a savory depth throughout the biscuits. The coal ovens gave the biscuits an outside crust with a beautiful, steamy interior.
I'll go so far as to say that they were the best biscuits I've ever made. I'm going to be searching for that satisfaction in every biscuit I create from now on.
In this installment of TX takes LA, I’m talking about BOUDIN!!! Boudin is something that always intimidated me growing up. I remember hearing a rumor when I was a kid that there were bugs in it… After that I always steered clear.
Once I got to Louisiana, boudin was around me more than ever. It seems like every restaurant here has boudin balls on their menu. Whenever I was with people who ordered them, I never tried them because I was scared of what actually made up “boudin”.
When I let it slip to the rest of the Bite and Booze team that I’d never tried boudin, all their mouths dropped to the floor. It was decided very quickly that I must try boudin. Chuck brought back a box of Tony’s Seafood boudin balls to the office the next week, and I finally got to try boudin.
While boudin balls aren’t boudin in its purest form, it still gave me a chance to try it and the fried version lessened the anxiety of what it was actually made of. I am very finicky about meats, (I even had a brief vegetarian phase for six months last year.) Not finicky about how they taste, but the thought of eating liver and things like that makes me squeamish. As long as I don’t know it’s there, I have no problem; it’s all in my head.
So what is boudin exactly?
It’s typically a mix of pork, rice, onions, green peppers, and seasonings. The Acadians brought boudin to Louisiana from Nova Scotia, although the traditional French “boudin blanc” is much different than the Cajun boudin most know today.
French boudin blanc is made with pork, chicken and/or veal, mixed with milk, cognac and spices; no rice, onions or peppers present. The recipe eventually adapted to the Cajun boudin we know today because the newly migrated Acadians had to be inventive to survive in their new home in Louisiana, and that meant making use of all resources.
They found that you could use many different parts of a hog in sausage, so along came the new form of boudin.
Where did the rice come in?
At the end of the nineteenth century, large-scale rice production began and rice was added to boudin for flavor and filler. There are two types of Cajun boudin: red and white. White is what most are familiar with, the mix of pork, rice, etc., and is pretty much all that is still available today.
Red boudin (blood boudin) is essentially the same as white boudin, but also has a large amount of hogs blood mixed in with it.
All in all, we have the French Acadians to thank for the Cajun boudin many know and love. Their crafty survival skills led to the modern delicacy that is boudin. Personally, now that I’ve tried it, I do think boudin is delicious. Although knowing that some interesting parts of the pig may be used in it does weird me out a lil bit.
For LSU fall break I made my way back home to Houston. I used this as an opportunity to eat at a lot of my favorite restaurants I’d been missing while at school. Lucky for me, Houston is a major foodie city with thousands of delicious restaurants to choose from. I’m a fan of different cuisines, so naturally my favorite restaurants reflect this. Here’s some of my faves that I was lucky to stop at over the extended weekend:
Chile Rellenos, Refried Beans and a Soft Taco at Chuy's
Chuy’s Tex-Mex is one of my absolute favorite spots for Tex-Mex. Although it has grown into a chain, it originated in Austin and the location I go to in Houston is one of the first franchises. I go to different Tex-Mex restaurants for different things: Los Tio’s for cheese enchiladas, Lupe Tortilla for the fajitas, El Real for nachos, etc.
My reasoning for loving Chuy’s the way I do is for its chile con queso and chile rellenos. The queso has roasted green chiles, which gives it a great smoky spicy flavor. The rellenos are roasted and perfectly fried Anaheim peppers stuffed with delicious melty cheese.
My go-to order is a soft ground beef taco and a cheese chile relleno, double refried beans and no rice. Chuy’s has THE BEST refried beans. I don’t usually end up being able to eat the double serving of refried beans, but I always order it for leftovers.
Fadi’s is a cafeteria-style line, with so many options. For example, they have about 10 different types of hummus alone. This time I got gyro, hummus, pomegranate eggplant, and dolmades (rice-stuffed grape leaves). Gyro meat is cooked on a vertical rotisserie. The most common is beef, which is what I ordered. Fadi’s has delicious homemade pita bread, it’s about 10x better than pita bread from a package-- hot, doughy and delicious. I try to order differently every time I go to Fadi’s, because everything is so good and I like to try out different things.
While this isn’t an ethnic restaurant, it can be considered “Houstonian” cuisine, kind of fits, right? The first Local Foods location opened in 2011, and they already have 3 locations and are working on a fourth. Their concept is just what the name entails: the use of local ingredients.
Each location is spectacularly designed, it’s the type of restaurant you love to go to because of the atmosphere (as well as the food, obviously.) Their menu consists mainly of sandwiches, salads and soups but they also have tons of delicious sides, as well as multiple vegan options.
Houston is a city full of food, but the focus on local organic foods has become increasingly popular, and the fast expansion of Local Foods is proof of that. I got the Seasonal Harvest Salad with chicken. I love getting this salad because it really does use whatever ingredients are in season, so it’s different each and every time I order it.
I have been going to eat at The Bombay Brasserie since I was a little girl. It is my absolute favorite Indian restaurant on planet earth. My parents both love Indian food, and introduced me to it at a very young age. I have loved it from the start and consider the Indian cuisine one of my favorites. Every day, Bombay Brasserie has a lunch buffet (typical of many Indian restaurants.)
I know that many people frown upon buffets, as they usually aren’t the best quality, but this is not the case with Bombay Brasserie. Silver ornate chafing dishes and white tablecloths are what you get at this lunch buffet.
Why do I love going to the buffet versus going for dinner? The Indian cuisine has so many different dishes and unless you go with a larger group for dinner, you won’t get to try different ones. It is a cuisine best served family style, but I typically am eating out with one parent or the other. That doesn’t enable you to be able to order in typical “family style” fashion so the buffet is perfect.
It’s all served with warm Naan, traditional Indian flatbread similar to pita, and poppadum, a thin, giant, round Indian cracker (typically made from lentils or chickpeas.) My all time favorite dishes are Saag Paneer, a creamed spinach with cubes of paneer cheese (a cheese used in many Indian dishes), and Chicken Tikka Masala, cubes of roasted chicken in a creamy tomato and butter sauce. I also can’t go to the Bombay Brasserie without ordering a Mango Lassie to drink. It’s a mango yogurt drink that is perfect in cooling your mouth down from the many spices in the food.
My last stop of the weekend was Thai Cottage, my favorite Thai restaurant. I almost always order the Red Chicken Curry; because it is so good I have a difficult time straying from it. Thai red curry is very different from Indian curry. It is soupier and made with red curry paste, coconut milk, bamboo shoots, peas, carrots and basil served with rice. If you didn’t know any better you would think it was full of cream, but its smooth, velvety texture comes from the coconut milk.
When ordering, you tell the waiter which spice level you want, from one to five. I opt for level three, which is pretty spicy but not so spicy that you can’t enjoy the food. Thai cottage has nine Houston area locations, so no matter what part of town you’re staying in, there will likely be a Thai Cottage in the vicinity.
These are just a handful of my favorite Houston spots that I miss dearly when I’m in Baton Rouge. I hit up most of these places every time I’m back in H-town. If you find yourself in Houston anytime soon, check any (or all) of these out. You’ll thank me later.
by Rachel Hamburger, intern
It’s time for the second installment of TX takes LA! Today I’ll be telling y’all about chicory. It’s in lots of the coffee here in Louisiana, and I have set out to figure out what chicory actually is. I had never heard of chicory before living in Louisiana, and when I first heard about it was thoroughly confused. What is it? Why is it mixed in with the coffee here? How does it taste? Well, I found an answer for all these questions.
The use of chicory in coffee became popularized in France during Napoleon’s Continental Blockade in 1808, which resulted in a major coffee shortage. The French began mixing it with their coffee to stretch their coffee supply. Once the blockade lifted, the use of chicory in coffee came to a halt, but the practice of using chicory in coffee made it over to the French colonies in North America. The Acadians brought it down with them to Louisiana from Canada, just like they did with beignets.
The use of chicory in coffee became wildly popular in Louisiana during the American Civil War. Union naval blockades cut off the port of New Orleans, and coffee shipments could not get through. Similar to the French during Napoleon’s Continental Blockade, the people of New Orleans began mixing chicory with their coffee to make their coffee supply last. After this, the use of chicory in coffee became a tradition in New Orleans, hence why it is often in our coffee today.
How does it taste?
It is somewhat difficult to put how chicory tastes into words, as it does taste very similar to regular coffee. Chicory has an almost chocolate and slight anise flavor, and many believe it offsets the bitter taste of coffee.
Oh barbecue, where do we start? At Bite and Booze, our appreciation for barbecue runs deep. Three of our products were thoughtfully considered and concocted with the beauty of this "low and slow" cooking method in mind. Whether he's competing or simply taste-testing for the betterment of mankind, Jay has eaten his share of barbecue over the years.
While spring time in Louisiana may be dominated by seafood, people pivot to pork, chicken and beef when the summer rolls around. Now that July 4th is upon us and we are itching to hit the grill, let's take a look back at some of our favorite barbecued dishes that we've enjoyed over the past few years!
The Best Brisket from Franklin Barbecue in Austin, Texas
