Tuesday, June 7, 2016.
Saveur. Lots Of Cobia.
When Mary Ann called at the end of the show to make dinner plans, the first place on her list was a kind of switcheroo. Instead of mentioning Shaya--which may be the most talked-about restaurant in New Orleans at this time--she said we should go to Saveur, across the street.
[caption id="attachment_51744" align="alignleft" width="480"]
Dining room at Saveur, formerly Baie Rouge. [/caption]So there we were. I was recognized immediately by the partner who runs the dining room and the bar. The subject of the Negroni cocktail came up, and he and I noted almost in unison that this is National Negroni Week. I read that somewhere and it registered, being as I am the first person in modern times who drank Negronis regularly. (I began in the late 1980s, when I had to explain the drink to every bartender.
[caption id="attachment_51743" align="alignright" width="367"]
Pineapple Negroni.[/caption]
Nowadays, Negronis are very hip. I suppose that news of my favoring it was suppressed, or else that wouldn't have happened. Here's how hip: in this with-it French-Creole restaurant, they are sending money to a local charity for every Negroni sold. To make it easier to hit the mark, Saveur created an alternative Negroni, replacing the orange wheel with enough pineapple to cover up the sides of the glass. I tried that and thought it was a good idea.
[caption id="attachment_51742" align="alignleft" width="320"]
Chef Dominique Macquet at Saveur.[/caption]
Not many minutes later, as I knew he would, Chef Dominique Macquet emerged from the kitchen. Another switcheroo: Dominique's last restaurant of the many where he has worked around town was back across the street, where Shaya is now. But we don't talk about that. He tells me that he has a fresh cobia just arrived, along with a smaller but equally interesting red snapper. The latter fish was arranged by my dermatologist and erstwhile groomsman Bob DeBellevue, who is a regular at Saveur. He will be there tomorrow for his red snapper.
[caption id="attachment_51741" align="alignleft" width="296"]
Ceviche of cobia and "tiger's blood." [/caption]
The waitress touts two items that I would not have ordered on my own. Not both of them, anyway. The first was a ceviche of the cobia. The second was the same fish, grilled. Dominique came out with something called something like "sang de tigre"--"tiger's blood." It is a special ceviche marinade. He hands me a little glass of the stuff. I take a tiny sip. I feel myself flying backwards and hitting the wall with some force. Not really, but that's what it felt like. Habanero peppers, Dominique explains, adding that the marinade for the actual appetizer that came next was much more dilute. Still, it is almost painfully powerful.
[caption id="attachment_51740" align="alignnone" width="480"]
Grilled cobia with couscous.[/caption]
This was the wrong day for me to eat something like this. Yesterday I had a minor digestive problem. (I will not gross you out with the details.) I don't think it was Dominique's tiger's blood that made it get much worse. But again, this is not something I should have eaten this evening.
[caption id="attachment_51739" align="alignright" width="179"]
Saveur-Burger&Fries[/caption]Dominique paraded into the dining room with the enormous cobia--fifty pounds, I'd guess. I have it grilled--a little closer to daily fare than the tiger-blood version--and I enjoy it. Mary Ann eats even more safely: Caesar salad, followed by a burger with fries. The fries were the best part of that. For dessert, I have a creme brulee flavored with ginger, a little more sharply than I expect, but interesting.
[caption id="attachment_51738" align="alignnone" width="480"]
GInger creme brulee.[/caption]
All this big flavor is very much the style of Chef Dominique. He's a native of Mauritius, and he spent many years in tropical island nations. He was the first person who offered me some raw conch, back when he ran the restaurant of his name at the Maison Dupuy. I learned that there is a good way to prepare conch, one much better than fried.
The art on the walls kicks off a long conversation at our table, with the manager and the waitress taking part. Do the half-dozen paintings, whose titles all end in the word "Queen," depict women, or men in drag? I say definitely women--but that was before we discovered the titles. MA says they're obviously transvestites. I still say I recognize a woman's face when I see one, and I am looking at one right now. I keep this to myself: better to talk about art than about Trump.
This restaurant is not very busy, but it is Tuesday.
Saveur. Uptown: 4128 Magazine. 504-304-3667.
Dining room at Saveur, formerly Baie Rouge. [/caption]So there we were. I was recognized immediately by the partner who runs the dining room and the bar. The subject of the Negroni cocktail came up, and he and I noted almost in unison that this is National Negroni Week. I read that somewhere and it registered, being as I am the first person in modern times who drank Negronis regularly. (I began in the late 1980s, when I had to explain the drink to every bartender.
[caption id="attachment_51743" align="alignright" width="367"]
Pineapple Negroni.[/caption]
Nowadays, Negronis are very hip. I suppose that news of my favoring it was suppressed, or else that wouldn't have happened. Here's how hip: in this with-it French-Creole restaurant, they are sending money to a local charity for every Negroni sold. To make it easier to hit the mark, Saveur created an alternative Negroni, replacing the orange wheel with enough pineapple to cover up the sides of the glass. I tried that and thought it was a good idea.
[caption id="attachment_51742" align="alignleft" width="320"]
Chef Dominique Macquet at Saveur.[/caption]
Not many minutes later, as I knew he would, Chef Dominique Macquet emerged from the kitchen. Another switcheroo: Dominique's last restaurant of the many where he has worked around town was back across the street, where Shaya is now. But we don't talk about that. He tells me that he has a fresh cobia just arrived, along with a smaller but equally interesting red snapper. The latter fish was arranged by my dermatologist and erstwhile groomsman Bob DeBellevue, who is a regular at Saveur. He will be there tomorrow for his red snapper.
[caption id="attachment_51741" align="alignleft" width="296"]
Ceviche of cobia and "tiger's blood." [/caption]
The waitress touts two items that I would not have ordered on my own. Not both of them, anyway. The first was a ceviche of the cobia. The second was the same fish, grilled. Dominique came out with something called something like "sang de tigre"--"tiger's blood." It is a special ceviche marinade. He hands me a little glass of the stuff. I take a tiny sip. I feel myself flying backwards and hitting the wall with some force. Not really, but that's what it felt like. Habanero peppers, Dominique explains, adding that the marinade for the actual appetizer that came next was much more dilute. Still, it is almost painfully powerful.
[caption id="attachment_51740" align="alignnone" width="480"]
Grilled cobia with couscous.[/caption]
This was the wrong day for me to eat something like this. Yesterday I had a minor digestive problem. (I will not gross you out with the details.) I don't think it was Dominique's tiger's blood that made it get much worse. But again, this is not something I should have eaten this evening.
[caption id="attachment_51739" align="alignright" width="179"]
Saveur-Burger&Fries[/caption]Dominique paraded into the dining room with the enormous cobia--fifty pounds, I'd guess. I have it grilled--a little closer to daily fare than the tiger-blood version--and I enjoy it. Mary Ann eats even more safely: Caesar salad, followed by a burger with fries. The fries were the best part of that. For dessert, I have a creme brulee flavored with ginger, a little more sharply than I expect, but interesting.
[caption id="attachment_51738" align="alignnone" width="480"]
GInger creme brulee.[/caption]
All this big flavor is very much the style of Chef Dominique. He's a native of Mauritius, and he spent many years in tropical island nations. He was the first person who offered me some raw conch, back when he ran the restaurant of his name at the Maison Dupuy. I learned that there is a good way to prepare conch, one much better than fried.
The art on the walls kicks off a long conversation at our table, with the manager and the waitress taking part. Do the half-dozen paintings, whose titles all end in the word "Queen," depict women, or men in drag? I say definitely women--but that was before we discovered the titles. MA says they're obviously transvestites. I still say I recognize a woman's face when I see one, and I am looking at one right now. I keep this to myself: better to talk about art than about Trump.
This restaurant is not very busy, but it is Tuesday.
