Hollywood Casino's Bourbon Dinner

The funny thing about bourbon dinners is that while they are supremely delicious, you don't always remember the fine details of the evening.  The Hollywood Casino in Baton Rouge had a bourbon dinner a little while back and I had the pleasure of attending.  I knew the night would be good when they were passing out whiskey sours and mint juleps upon arrival!

What I don't remember is exactly which bourbons were in each drink.  I know I had some Bookers, Bakers, Knob Creek and more... but I can't tell you which bourbons are photographed above.  I looked for notes and couldn't find that either.  Ah, bourbon, how I love you!

We had a salad.  It was, well, as salad.  There were some mixed greens.  And sprigs of thyme.  I recall the salad being really good, but I was far more concerned with the bourbon.  Oops!

I did mention that there was more bourbon, right?  This reminds me of my time on MasterChef! 

Okay, I do remember the steak.  This was actually a buffalo ribeye topped with a garlic and bourbon infused butter!  The tender buffalo meat caressed my tongue as it partied with the lingering bourbon in my mouth.  The grilled endive that accompanied the steak really stood out as well.  I was a happy man after this course... I just needed more bourbon!

We finished the meal with a bourbon milkshake and a chocolate raspberry cake.  I really can't argue with that.  At all.  The shake had a great flavor that tasted of bourbon but not so much that it stung.  

I know when I left this meal I had a big smile on my face.  Every dish pleased the palate and even more importantly, the bourbon reduced my inhibitions enough to go play a little blackjack.  I was way up until I had a huge hand that I had to split and double down on... then I got robbed.  Oh well.  Such is life in a casino, but at least I had some tasty bourbon to drown my gambling sorrows!

Bandit Blonde Ale is the latest release from the Tin Roof Brewing Company

On Wednesday, November 9 Tin Roof, Baton Rouge's own local brewery, will launch their third beer to hit the taps of area tap rooms and restaurants.  The Bandit Blonde Ale pays homage to the Chinese Bandits, the famous defensive unit responsible for helping LSU bring home the 1958 National Championship. The beer is a light-bodied, crisp American blonde ale, which in their opinion and that of many of LSU's faithful, is suited perfectly for Tiger tailgating.

Tin Roof owners William McGehee and Charles Caldwell are thrilled to finally be able to launch the new brew to their Baton Rouge customers.  They had long been expecting a Fall release but it kept getting held up due to official collegiate licensing on the cans.  Tin Roof has been working closely with LSU, and students have already been attending regular brewing sessions at Tin Roof throughout the semester as part of a new, brewing-based food science course. The Louisiana Business and Technology Center, the LSU business incubator, has been assisting in business planning and marketing with its counselors and MBA graduate students.  The brewery also provides the LSU AgCenter with cattle feed.  Thousands of pounds of spent grain from the brewing process are sent to the dairy on a weekly basis.  While that is still moving forward in the process, the owners decided to go ahead and release the beer on tap now that they have the capacity to brew it.  They will also be donating 10% of all proceeds from the Bandit Blonde to the LSU Foundation until the proper licensing agreements are finalized.

The extra brewing volume is due in large part to the arrival of three new 60 barrel fermenters earlier this Fall.  A barrel, which is twice the size of our normal kegs (hence the 1/2 barrel name), holds 31 gallons of liquid.  Thus, the new fermenters will expand brewing capacity by over 5,000 gallons of beer per brewing cycle.  These extra suds will allow Tin Roof to keep up with demand in the Baton Rouge market and continue their expansion throughout the rest of Louisiana.  Prior to the new fermenting tanks the Perfect Tin Amber Ale and Voodoo Bengal Speciality Pale Ale were all they had room for.  Now the Bandit Blonde Ale will also have its spot in the brewery on Nicholson Drive.  Make sure to stop by on most Fridays from 5:30 to 7:30 PM to get a tour and a sample!

300seats Pop-Up Restaurant with the Edible Event

If you haven't noticed for some reason, culinary events are kind of my thing.  That's why when Manny Valencia and Andrea Fontenot told me that their startup 300seats was going to host a pop-up restaurant in Baton Rouge, I knew I had to be a part of it.  I had the fortune of helping out early in the planning process and then, more importantly, the pleasure of enjoying the opening night dinner!  The Edible Event, a local catering company under the same umbrella as Boudreaux and Thibideaux's and Serrano's Salsa Company, served as chefs for the event.  Fellow food blogger Jeremy Wells joined me for the dinner.

A pop-up restaurant is an emerging trend in the food world.  The premise is to convert a space into a temporary restaurant where a chef can be experimental for a short time period and then move on to their next thing without the risk of a full restaurant startup.  While it certainly isn't the easiest thing to pull off, it is quite an extraordinary dining experience when it all comes together.  

Our meal at the 300seats pop-up restaurant in a vacant restaurant space in Perkins Rowe began with some adult beverages.  I immediately grabbed a can of Tin Roof's Perfect Tin Amber Ale.  Being a Baton Rouge brewery, I was happy to see them help sponsor the beer for the event.  And if you haven't had a Tin Roof beer out of a can yet, I suggest you try it!  Adding to that, each course beautifully paired with a different wine to keep our boozing options varied and plentiful.

The first course from The Edible Event featured a delightful tray of fresh fruits, meats and cheeses.  The sliced pecan plank held Aged Manchango, Drunken Goat, Azores Flores, Goat Cheese Stuffed Piquillo Peppers, Membrillo Jelly, Spanish Chorizo, Serrano Ham, Pears and Champagne Grapes.  The latin-influenced platter warmed up my taste buds.  Of special note were the chorizo, pears and stuffed peppers.

Course two brought out my favorite dish of the night because of the surprising flavors and spices that were bold and delicious.  Sticking with the Latin American theme of the evening, the soup course featured a chilled avocado soup with lobster ceviche.  The intense heat from the ceviche peppers and spices combined with the cool and creamy texture from the pureed avocados worked in harmony in my mouth.  Combine that with the acidic citrus juices which cooked the tender lobster and we had a dish that impressed, pleased and evoked conversation around the dining room.

Our salad also had a scrumptious twist.  The fried softshell buster crab salad boasted chorizo, candied pecans and a spicy buttermilk dressing.  The buttermilk and crab worked very well and the differing textures added extra pizzaz to the dish.  I loved the way the sweetness of the pecans played against the spiciness of the dressing and chorizo.  All in all the salad worked really well and got me ready for the main course.

Portobello and Fontina cheese ravioli topped by a ragu of braised beef cheeks and fire roasted tomatoes covered our entree plate.  The beef cheeks oozed of succulence with every bite as the tender braised meat melted in my mouth.  The ravioli combined the flavors of the pasta, cheese and mushrooms along side the tempranillo wine braising liquid sauce and sauteed spinach.  Each mouthful delighted the guests and we knew that this pop-up restaurant dinner was something special for Baton Rouge and the Edible Event team sure knew how to cook!

The course ended with chocolate-espresso pot de creme with toasted coconut and whipped cream.  While I didn't get even one hint of coconut, the chocolate and espresso were very well pronounced and the dessert's texture was silky on the tongue.  I could eaten three of four if they had let me.  Combined with a nice cup of gourmet coffee from A Coffee Truck, this dessert, and entire meal, wrapped up very nicely.

Congrats to Manny, Andrea and the team on such a successful pop-up restaurant and thanks for brining an event like this to Baton Rouge.  Also congrats to Celeste Landry, Sean Malone and the team at The Edible Event for putting together such an amazing meal for the guests.  I'm pretty sure that everyone left  with full stomachs and smiles on their faces!

Bite and Booze Investigates: The McRib

While I'm certainly no advocate of National chain fast food dining, there is something to say about their marketing and ability to set trends which create frenzies. There is perhaps no better example than the McRib at McDonald's. The processed pork patty slathered in sauce makes its appearances for limited times only, seeming sporadic at best. Still, each time it comes back, the crowd of hungry Americans goes wild. So what is it about the McRib? I had to find out!

Alright, I've actually had a McRib before. Several in fact. And I'm not afraid to admit it. I don't get worked up about it, and I'm not proud of it, but I'm no stranger. However, I can't recall having one in the past four or five years, so when I landed at the BWI airport and had two (that turned into nine because of storms) hour layover before my next flight to the Big Apple, I thought it couldn't hurt to revisit the pinnacle of limited-time-only foods.

McRibs are to the Nation what King Cakes and Crawfish are to South Louisiana. The "seasonality" of them only increases the demand. When they are barren from the golden arches menu board people go hungry. When they appear again, people rejoice. I ordered mine, as you could probably guess, without pickles. Unfortunately due to the high traffic at the airport I had to wait 10 extra minutes for fries, during which time my McRib must have sat lifelessly under a heat lamp. The normally moist and tender pork patty was shriveled and dry. The only saving grace was the tangy barbeque sauce that covered the form-molded rib-shaped puck.

Perhaps I'll eat a McRib again in four or five years. Until then, I think I can avoid McDonald's altogether. Still, at times, research is necessary!

LSU vs Auburn Tailgating Eats

Once again this past weekend Courtney, Garrett and I went around campus trying to find the best eats at LSU.  Tiger fans were cooking up some amazing grub all over, so it proved to be rather easy to find some places to film!  When we found our boy Bucket over by the Energy, Coast and Environment building we knew we had struck tailgating gold... unfortunately, a lot of his quotes weren't acceptable for our LSUSports.net video production.  Clearly referencing our football team's off field troubles, Mr. Bucket kept referring to smoking his "synthetic beans" and "synthetic chicken."  While that didn't make the video, a lot of great food did.  Enjoy!!