Jay D’s Backyard BBQ at Tin Roof Brewery

by Sophie Spring, intern

Our Bull Grill from Goodwood Hardware loaded up with meats at Tin Roof Brewing
photo credit: Jordan Hefler Photography

The Bite & Booze team was excited to throw a Backyard BBQ party at Tin Roof Brewery to help celebrate the release of their new Watermelon Wheat. The day started early, cleaning ice chests, loading red beans and Supreme Rice into the Goodwood Hardware trailer, lugging heavy cast iron pots to the brewery, cooking up cheese sauce and slicing smoked sausages. Aimee and Therese planned the schedule for smoking the chicken, ribs and sausage days in advance. The pimento cheese sauce was made with love the morning of the event, proportions of rice and beans and seasonings were calculated carefully, and lists of supplies covered tables in the office.

Grill me something mister! 📸: @jordanhefler . . . . . #jayd #hugjayd #biteandbooze #backyardbbq #batonrouge #br #gobr #225batonrouge #225 #summerBBQ #ribs #sausage #chicken #grill

A post shared by Bite & Booze (@biteandbooze) on Jul 10, 2017 at 11:20am PDT

What was on the menu for the event, you ask? Tender, fall of the bone ribs, juicy smoked chicken, and flavorful sausage. The trio of meat was accompanied by impossibly creamy pimento mac and cheese, dirty rice and BBQ beans.

Chef Aimee Tortorich shows off some Jay D's smoked ribs!
photo credit: Jordan Hefler Photography

All of which was served with an iconic slice of white bread to sop up all the juices that gather in the bottom of the red checkered trough used to serve our “Full Monty” (a plate of all three meats and each of the sides). The team used Jay D’s Spicy & Sweet BBQ Rub to season the meats, Louisiana Barbecue Sauce to mop the meats as we finished them on the grill and Louisiana Molasses Mustard and barbecue sauce were available for dipping and slathering.

What a weekend! The Jay D's Backyard BBQ at @tinroofbeer was a huge success. Sorry if we sold out before you got to taste all this deliciousness but hopefully we will be doing it again very soon! Stay tuned to find out where we will be cooking next. . . . . #backyardbbq #bbq #jayd #tinroofbrewery #watermelonwheat #summer #summerBBQ #usa #fourthofjuly #independenceday #225batonrouge #eatbr #gobr #batonrouge

A post shared by Bite & Booze (@biteandbooze) on Jul 5, 2017 at 9:52am PDT

The weather was perfect for the event, sun shining and clear skies. It was the ideal day to relax in the yard at Tin Roof Brewery, Watermelon Wheat in one hand a smoked BBQ rib in the other. As we anticipated, the “Full Monty” was our best seller. No one wanted to miss out on any of the meats or sides. We were so happy with the turnout, it felt like there was an endless line of people from the start to when we sold out of meat.

Sophie Spring and Chuck P. scooping the Supreme Rice dirty rice for service
photo credit: Jordan Hefler Photography

The team was running back and forth with hot trays of ribs and sausage, using paddles to scoop steamy dirty rice into hotel pans, pulling BBQ beans out and rushing to get them to our customers.

Sold out BBQ! photo credit: Jordan Hefler Photography

The food was gone before we knew it, and at the end of the night all we had left was the bottom of the pot of dirty rice and BBQ beans. Overall, the event was a success: beer, BBQ, and a good time!

All Aboard The Gravy Train: The Darrell’s Special

by Charles Pierce

The culinary scene in Lake Charles has grown significantly over the past few years. There has been a growth of new restaurants doing truly fantastic dishes and they are making their presence known with local foodies. But, along with that rise, there are a few old favorites that have stood the test of time. Personally, the one place that keeps me coming back is Darrell’s Famous Poboys and their mouth watering Darrell’s Special.

Since 1985 Darrell’s has been serving up some truly awesome poboys. Their commitment to quality shows in their food and has been rewarded by the loyalty of their customers who have been returning time and time again for lunch and dinner since they’ve opened their doors. It’s no surprise to see the parking lot packed no matter what time of day you visit. And I am willing to bet the majority of orders coming out of the kitchen throughout the day and night are the exquisite Darrell’s Special.

It’s actually a pretty simple sandwich. You’ve got fresh cut ham, turkey and made-in-house roast beef, lettuce (I normally pass on this because...it’s lettuce), mustard, mayonnaise (regular or jalapeno), your choice of cheese (American, Swiss or Provolone) and the absolute best roast beef gravy I’ve ever had. The beauty lies in the simplicity. Or is it the gravy? It might be the gravy.

While sitting at the table awaiting your order you’ll notice a very large stack of napkins. 

SPOILER ALERT: You will need these. 

The Darrell’s Special is as messy as it is delicious. They’re very generous when it comes to the roast beef gravy, which is certainly not a bad thing. To quote their website “Unless you use at least 10 napkins, you’re doing it wrong”.

Now don’t get me wrong, there are other great tasting poboys on the menu as well. The BBQ Beef is really good and I’ve heard the Surf & Turf is almost as popular as the Darrell’s Special. Almost. But for me, it’s that signature sandwich that gets me every time.

No matter what I’m doing in Lake Charles, I make it a point to stop in and grab a Darrell’s Special. It truly is that good. Next time you’re in Lake Charles stop by and see for yourself.

Burgers With Chuck: The Brunch Burger at Tiger Deauxnuts

by Charles Pierce

When it comes to finding a tasty burger, one of the last places some people might think to look would be a donut shop. Unless, of course, you happen to stop by the newly renovated Tiger Deauxnuts and check out their revised menu which now features lunch options, including one very delicious Brunch Burger.

When I noticed there was a burger on their new lunch menu, my obvious first thought was “This thing better have donuts for buns.” I mean, how could it not? This is a donut shop and it would only make sense! Thankfully, I was not disappointed.

Sandwiched between two donut buns was a perfectly cooked patty that was seasoned to perfection. There was a nice crust on the top and bottom of the incredibly juicy patty. And of course, what’s a Brunch Burger without a fried egg. The egg was cooked just right with very little greasiness. The bacon was crispy without being overcooked and dry and the tomato marmalade was a nice touch to finish it off. My only suggestion would be to maybe drizzle a bit of glaze over the donut buns to give it that sweet and savory taste.

Owner Jeff Herman has been making some of my favorite donuts ever since he was operating out of a very small shop right off of Coursey Blvd years ago and I’m happy that he has continued to grow and be successful with his newly renovated location on Government Street. The next time you’re craving a burger and want to try something new, give the Brunch Burger at Tiger Deauxnuts a try.

Aaron's First Month: From Coors Light to Craft Beer

by Aaron Arnold, intern

Before late April I had no idea what Jay Ducote did or who he even was, but that all changed when Jay spoke to my Digital Marketing class at LSU. Usually the guest speakers don’t interest me all too much, but when Jay came along and talked about Bite & Booze, Jay D’s, and Govt Taco, I was sold. I am not sure if it was Jay’s public speaking ability that caught my attention or the fact that he ate and drank for a living. All I knew was that I wanted to be a part of his team.

A few days later I emailed Jay about the possibility of joining the company as an intern and he invited me to the office for an interview. When asked what my least favorite food was, I responded “pickles..” (as anyone should) and Blair replied “Oh great, Jay hates pickles too.” That’s when I knew I was in.

When Jay spoke to my class he said he was looking for a jack of all trades type of intern, and he meant that literally. On the first day I put tags on our bomb AF Louisiana Molasses Mustard (seriously if you’re reading this and haven’t tried it then do yourself a favor and go buy some right this second, this blog isn’t going anywhere) helped craft tweets for our Twitter accounts, created graphic designs, and worked a private dinner at the office. At the end of the day I had worked a little over 13 hours. You’re probably thinking “I bet this dude wanted to quit immediately”, but you would be mistaken. It was single handedly the best day of “work” I have had in my entire life, and I worked at Disney World for 6 months so that’s saying something! The best part about it was that at the end of a 13 hour work day I felt like I knew everyone in the office for years and that I was a part of the family.

Aaron rocking his Jay D's shirt alongside fellow intern Drew, helping serve at Jay D's Backyard BBQ at Tin Roof Brewery. Photo by Jordan Hefler Photography

In a month’s time I have done so many things that I never expected to do. I recorded a podcast sampling beer, wrote multiple blog posts, assisted at demos in grocery stores, made product deliveries, packed and moved our entire office (#RIPOfficeHouse), and attended a handful of Gov’t Taco and Jay D events. It has been a great experience so far and I can only imagine it will keep getting better.

In addition to all of these great experiences I’ve gained an appreciation for local products and most importantly craft beer, thanks Chuck! You would think being from the Baton Rouge area I would try to stick to local products, but I have honestly never thought much about it. Now, I make an effort to only shop at Calandro’s or other local grocery stores. The team has shown me a bunch of locally owned restaurants in Baton Rouge that I never even knew existed, and my fridge is stocked with delicious Louisiana beer.

I hope the rest of this internship goes just as smoothly as the first month, I certainly think it will.

Taco 'bout a Good Time at the Capital City Mac Fest!

by Paige Johannessen

Happy National Mac and Cheese Day! In honor of this glorious day, we thought we'd give you a look into Baton Rouge's innagural Capital City Mac Fest where our Gov't Taco team took home the People's Choice Award earlier this summer. Geaux Rouge presented the first ever Capital City Mac Fest at Curbside Burgers where 15 competitors showed up to present their version of mac and cheese and raised money for altBR.

A ticket to this gastronomic festival got you a one way ticket to cheese town where you could taste each competitors interpretation and cast a vote for the People's Choice Award. There was also a "Taste Award" voted on by a panel of judges and a battle amongst the competitors for The "Best Booth Award."

The competition was comprised of a heavy hitting list of some of the best places in Baton Rouge. This is definitely something you won't want to miss out on next year.

GOyaya’s Crêpes won the the judge’s “Taste Award” with their “Pot Calling The Kettle Mac,” a pot roast mac and cheese with caramelized onions and tomato confit with a lattice work pie crust.

photo by: Blair Thompson Photography, GOyaya's Crepes "Pot Calling The Kettle Mac" 

Gov't Taco won the People’s Choice award with their Clucks & Balances taco. The taco features pimento mac and cheese, smoked chicken thigh, nashville hot chicken skins and white BBQ sauce.

Peep the Clucks & Balances taco: pimento mac & cheese, smoked chicken thigh, #nashvillehot chicken skins and white #bbq sauce! Only the tastiest at this @visitbatonrouge shoot with @meshbr. #intacoswetrust #gobr #tacostacostacos #macandcheese

A post shared by Gov't Taco (@govttaco) on Jun 9, 2017 at 4:07pm PDT

The team had a blast and we hope this festival sticks around next year! p.s. we heard there is another mac and cheese festival happening in New Orleans this October with a very special celebrity guest judge...hope to see you there!

photo by: Blair Thompson Photography, Gov't Taco Team: Blair Loup, Chef Aimee Tortorich, Jennifer Breithaupt, Jay Ducote, Sophie Spring, Charles Pierce, Paige Johannessen