Father's Day

Last year on Father’s Day, ML and I came up with what we thought was a beautiful way to celebrate Tom in his absence on Father’s Day. We went to church at St Augustine in Treme, where he was baptized. Then we went to Galatoire’s for lunch. It was such fun day ML suggested we do it once a month. It’s been a year and we haven’t done it since. It’s hard to get her to the South Shore. This year we were planning to do a different church (there were several in Tom’s life) and a different restaurant. The one requirement for the restaurant was that it be a place he would love.

But she is working very long hours right now, so we planned to have dinner the evening before at Dakota in Covington. Tom did love Dakota, and there was no need to cross the lake.  We chose Dakota because Tom loved it and they had a Father’s Day menu of items that were specials from Thursday through Saturday evening. But another late work day allowed us to only pick it up, so we only got two appetizers and an order of their fabulous housecut bistro fries.

The Picanha, which also goes by the name of top sirloin, came as two very thin pieces with Chimichurri sauce and two pickled onions that were cooked and looked like roses. A smattering of arugula came with this. The steak needed to be cooked a bit more for our taste. We weren’t nearly as good at plating it as the restaurant, but Chimichurri is so delicious it doesn’t matter. I wasn’t too crazy about the Picanha, but those onions…

We also had a fried oyster salad, something Tom would have loved. It was a wedge with baby lettuces, sweet  banana peppers and  grape tomato halves.  This is a very good salad. We loved the combination of flavors and the surprise sweetness of the usually very spicy banana peppers. The oysters were medium sized with a light coating.

The fries were the best thing we had, and that is what usually happens when these terrific fries are in the table. They usually have truffle oil on them but we asked them to hold that. A decent dusting of herbs, garlic, and Parmesan make these carbs irresistible and worth it

The next day ML worked again, negating the possibility of repeating our plan to honor Tom. I went with my brother and his wife to The Audubon Clubhouse for their Father’s Day buffet brunch. It was warm outside but the fans on the porch made it delightful outside. Although the clubhouse is lovely, I’d never sit inside with a porch like that.

I arrived before my companions, and I went to the buffet for a few apps. They had four: deviled eggs, duck poppers, mini Beef Wellingtons, and mini crabcakes. I had never had poppers, and I was curious about how Beef Wellington would work
As a canapé. The answer? Fantastically well.

I was delighted with this first round of food. The crab cakes were golden brown Panko crusted and filled with lump crabmeat. It is rare to see something like that with no filler. They were called deviled crab cakes but there was no deviling  It was all crab. And the Remoulade sauce was a little thin but had a nice flavor.

The duck poppers were a big hit at the table, with everyone marveling at the flavor. They were wrapped in thick smoky bacon but the fat in the second row closest to the duck was still not really cooked enough, so I just ate the duck. The outer layer of the bacon was broiled. These were very good.

It was the baby Beef Wellingtons that most intrigued me. They were a reinterpretation of the real deal, with a thick but flaky pastry stepping in for the puff pastry wrapping.  Beef was inside but I didn’t taste mushrooms. A dollop of sauce topped these little gourmet tidbits.

I could have stopped with just these but I went to a few tables. The brisket was a little dry but otherwise very good. The slices were quite thin, making it more tender than otherwise might be.

I went to the prepared salads table which offered theee salads: a succotash with a light vinaigrette and some grape tomato halves, a creamy dill potato salad, and the squeakiest and crunchiest green beans I may ever have encountered. The potato salad was very good, consisting of just red potato chunks and a creamy dill dressing. The potatoes were cooked appropriately and this was quite tasty. I liked the dressing in the succotash as well.

There was a mini salad bar between the beet salad table and the three prepared salads. It had two bins of lettuces, one spring mix and the other chopped so well we couldn”t really tell. It seemed like iceberg to me. There were tomatoes and chopped cucumbers  here as well as bacon bits and Bleu cheese crumbles. The dressing was Green Goddess.

In the warmers lining one wall were roast chicken, carnitas enchiladas, sweet potatoes, smoked ribs, brats and smoked sausage.  In the kids sections were large chicken tenders and macaroni and cheese, sliders and hot dogs. Bread pudding and apple crisp were dessert.

The long room was filled with exactly enough great choices for everyone in the immediate and extended families to find a lot to eat. And it was really good food.

Much better than it needed to be in a setting like this. Our daughter's work schedule gave me an opportunity to experience this lovely and delicious buffet, which would not have qualified as a way to honor Tom, who hated buffets. Or would it? He was all about family, too. And I can't imagine a better way to spend a meal celebrating Dad, and maybe Grandad too, watching their progeny roam through the oaks and run around being a kid. No fights about food, because anyone of any age would love this. A great one to remember for next year.