Wednesday, July 13, 2016.
Hanger At Café B.
I like traveling as much as the next guy, but there are things I hate about it, mostly all the get-ready I have to do before I hit the road. Today, I was handed four radio scripts that must be done in the next couple of days. It it had been just one a week before it goes on the air, I would have read it without a hiccup, and got it done in one take. But because the deadline, I have to do the spots many times over to nail it. It doesn't help that I have to do this during a news bread, with not a minute to spare.
To those who, reading this, shake their heads at my petty complaints from a guy who really has an easy life. . . well, you're right, of course. So I will say no more about this.
The Marys have their share of assignments, what with ML's wedding less than two months away. Today, they finally line up the band for the reception after they get a good listen to the ensemble at a club on Bourbon Street. Of all places: Mary Leigh has always had an aversion to that storied part of our city. But these musicians have the sign my daughter wants to hear.
We discuss this over dinner at Café B in Old Metairie. Its chef Chef Michael Uddo is a terrific culinarian who we have known since he and his brother operated the G&E Courtyard Grill in the late 1980s. But for some reason, whenever I go to Café B, Michael has just left for the day. Oh, well.
[caption id="attachment_38969" align="alignnone" width="480"]
Egtgplant sticks at Cafe B.[/caption]
I have no complaints about the cooking or the service, though. We begin with some fried eggplant sticks. The Marys dined at Café B long before I went there for the first time, and therefore got Café B's original, much less good menu. Their order seems to remain along those lines: a hamburger and a wedge salad.
[caption id="attachment_51642" align="alignnone" width="320"]
Chef Michael Uddo Tasting. [/caption]
I have something much more interesting: the hanger steak with a demi-glace and bearnaise. They conquer the big problem with hanger steaks: the toughness--by cooking it quickly with a lot of heat, and by cutting it exactly perpendicular to the grain of the meat. The waiter says that this is the longest-running entree on the menu, and a serious specialty. Makes perfect sense.
I am also impressed that whoever writes the menus at Cafe B knows that the name of the dish is spelled "hanger," not "hangar." As far as I know, none of these steaks have ever been prepared in a storage facility for aircraft.
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Thursday, July 14, 2016.
Kenton's Is Right Where I Left It.
The Marys are busy all day buying fabrics which they will turn into bridesmaid's dresses and other matters about which I haven't the slightest understanding. I remove myself from this no-man's land and have dinner at Kenton's. The handsome new restaurant on Magazine at Nashville is quite busy--probably because the popular outdoor dining area's heavy rain, fallen already or on the way.
Tonight I enjoy the best dinner I've had at Kenton's in four visits so far. It's not just satisfaction. I now have a subject for my CityBusiness column. I suppose every other food writer in town has already reviewed Kenton's. But I can claim to have the most up-to-date review in the market. It doesn't include any of the food about which the kitchen has changed its mind since Day One. Also, I get to write about the restaurant at its peak in the near term. Finally, I give my readers a four- rather than a three-fleur-de-lis eatery to consider.
I begin with one of the first rosé wines I have ordered in a very long time. The rosés that come my way--usually in wine dinners--are more than enough to make me feel up to date on that scene.
The starter special is house-made, thin string pasta, tossed with a few slivers of vegetation and a buttery sauce with something spicy in it. This was even better than the engaging waitress led me to believe--enough so that I felt guilty about eating all this pasta. (It wasn't all that big, actually.)
The entree is assembled with the most unusual coloring I think I've ever found before me for eating purposes. The roasted drumfish has a sauce in a deep, saturated green. Never saw anything like that before. The fish, in contrast, is a brilliant white. Submerged in the green sea is an assortment of beans. And we have a magic formula:
Beans + Seafood = Deliciousness
And it does indeed work this evening.
I finish the dinner with an ice cream parfait put together in a fanciful way. When the check comes, a young woman sitting with her friends or relatives at the next table over asks me if I am who I am, which brings the evening to a nice finish.
A few hours later and a few blocks away, a less pleasant event occurs at the Noodle and Pie, a small café. The restaurant was closing when a pair of robbers forced the employees back inside to turn over the cash they had on hand.
Having been the victim of robberies in this category during my Time Saver years, I keep thinking of ways to address this. What worked for us at the Time Saver was to have almost zero cash on hand, with a safe that can't be opened except in broad daylight by armed guards. I also believe that restaurants ought to accept nothing but credit cards. Unfortunately, the law says that anyone doing business in America must accept the legal tender.
I congratulate the Noodle and Pie operators for reopening only two days later. We must act as if nothing happened, but with our shields up.
Kenton's. Uptown: 5757 Magazine St. 504-891-1177.
Egtgplant sticks at Cafe B.[/caption]
I have no complaints about the cooking or the service, though. We begin with some fried eggplant sticks. The Marys dined at Café B long before I went there for the first time, and therefore got Café B's original, much less good menu. Their order seems to remain along those lines: a hamburger and a wedge salad.
[caption id="attachment_51642" align="alignnone" width="320"]
Chef Michael Uddo Tasting. [/caption]
I have something much more interesting: the hanger steak with a demi-glace and bearnaise. They conquer the big problem with hanger steaks: the toughness--by cooking it quickly with a lot of heat, and by cutting it exactly perpendicular to the grain of the meat. The waiter says that this is the longest-running entree on the menu, and a serious specialty. Makes perfect sense.
I am also impressed that whoever writes the menus at Cafe B knows that the name of the dish is spelled "hanger," not "hangar." As far as I know, none of these steaks have ever been prepared in a storage facility for aircraft.
[divider type=""]
Tonight I enjoy the best dinner I've had at Kenton's in four visits so far. It's not just satisfaction. I now have a subject for my CityBusiness column. I suppose every other food writer in town has already reviewed Kenton's. But I can claim to have the most up-to-date review in the market. It doesn't include any of the food about which the kitchen has changed its mind since Day One. Also, I get to write about the restaurant at its peak in the near term. Finally, I give my readers a four- rather than a three-fleur-de-lis eatery to consider.
I begin with one of the first rosé wines I have ordered in a very long time. The rosés that come my way--usually in wine dinners--are more than enough to make me feel up to date on that scene.
The starter special is house-made, thin string pasta, tossed with a few slivers of vegetation and a buttery sauce with something spicy in it. This was even better than the engaging waitress led me to believe--enough so that I felt guilty about eating all this pasta. (It wasn't all that big, actually.)
The entree is assembled with the most unusual coloring I think I've ever found before me for eating purposes. The roasted drumfish has a sauce in a deep, saturated green. Never saw anything like that before. The fish, in contrast, is a brilliant white. Submerged in the green sea is an assortment of beans. And we have a magic formula:
Beans + Seafood = Deliciousness
And it does indeed work this evening.
I finish the dinner with an ice cream parfait put together in a fanciful way. When the check comes, a young woman sitting with her friends or relatives at the next table over asks me if I am who I am, which brings the evening to a nice finish.
A few hours later and a few blocks away, a less pleasant event occurs at the Noodle and Pie, a small café. The restaurant was closing when a pair of robbers forced the employees back inside to turn over the cash they had on hand.
Having been the victim of robberies in this category during my Time Saver years, I keep thinking of ways to address this. What worked for us at the Time Saver was to have almost zero cash on hand, with a safe that can't be opened except in broad daylight by armed guards. I also believe that restaurants ought to accept nothing but credit cards. Unfortunately, the law says that anyone doing business in America must accept the legal tender.
I congratulate the Noodle and Pie operators for reopening only two days later. We must act as if nothing happened, but with our shields up.
