Friday, May 11, 2012.
Speckled Trout And Lawyers At Café Hope. Juicy Lucy.
Speaking at lunch to the Jefferson Bar Association presented a challenge. The three anecdotes I have used to begin every public address for twenty-five years were heard before by this group, about a decade ago. (I know it's at least seven years, because that lunch was at Barreca's, which hasn't been open for a la carte business since Katrina.)
I went ahead and told the stories anyway. They got the usual laughs, and when I asked if anyone had heard them before, nobody raised his hand. Thank goodness for turnover!
The lunch was at Café Hope, an organization similar to Café Reconcile in that it takes in at-risk young people and gives them professional training in the hospitality industry. The café is on the campus of Hope Haven, in one of those beautiful Spanish-style buildings flanking Barataria Boulevard just south of West Bank Expressway.
The lunch was astonishingly good. It began with a salad that only a gourmet restaurant would have served back when I started telling the aforementioned anecdotes. Baby greens of various colors, two or three different kinds of heirloom tomatoes, fresh mozzarella cheese in little balls, homemade croutons.
The entree was even better: a generous fillet of fried speckled trout, topped with a sort of pico de gallo of diced cucumbers and tomatoes, with fresh steamed spinach on the side. The contrasts in texture, flavor, and temperature made for very enjoyable eating. A macaroni and cheese gratin filled out the plate.
I shared a table with, among others, retired judge Sol Gothard. He had enough jokes to fill the entire luncheon, as well as some words of wisdom about how important it is to keep young people on a productive path. Which is the mission of Café Hope.
The restaurant serves lunch almost every weekday. (Although not today, because the lawyers filled the whole place.) It has the menu of a neighborhood restaurant, with a little more polish. The prices make dining here a giveaway.
Back across the river for the radio show and a birthday party for Diane Newman, the programming boss of WWL and my station. She has much to celebrate. Not only are the radio stations doing very well against new competition, but she also beat cancer during the past year.
Diane said she heard the interview that Mary Ann and I had with Tommy Tucker this morning, and that she felt sorry for me about the way those two beat up on me. I said I was just letting Tommy win one for a change. As for Mary Ann, I'm quite accustomed to being so treated.
After a piece of Diane's birthday cake (a wonderful, moist chocolate cake from Maurice's) and the big lunch, I had little hunger for supper. But I felt I had to eat something, if only to gather data. Ah! It's the perfect day for my first taste of Juicy Lucy's. I have heard a number of complaints about the place lately, enough to make me wonder whether it's an organized effort to discredit Mike Juan and his unique Mid-City hamburger hangout.
Mike wasn't there, and the young waiter had no idea who I was. He asked me whether I was in from out of town. Good! I will see how things really are here.
A Juicy Lucy is a hamburger in which the add-ons (cheese, onions, mushrooms, or whatever) are sealed into the center of the double meat patty, and then the whole thing is grilled. They do indeed come out very juicy. The idea does puzzle some customers, who wonder where the cheese went when they bite in. (It melts into the meat and disappears, even if you use a lot of cheese.) The concept has been popular for a long time in the Midwest, particularly in the Minneapolis area.
I started with a frozen schooner of LA31 from the tap. It's a very hoppy pale ale I've enjoyed before. The special of the day sounded good and was. The recipe jammed chili, pepper jack cheese, and onions between the grilled ground beef, resulting in a very spicy burger. But I like that.
It's too thick, though. Getting jaws around it and biting down has to be done carefully, to avoid compromising the structural integrity of the sandwich. Indeed, I was proud of myself that the last bite still had all the elements of the first one.
On the other hand, I will never get used to the idea of being served food in a plastic basket lined with waxed paper. Or being asked by a waiter whether I want utensils or not. If I'm sitting down and dining, I want a plate (melamine would be fine), a fork, and a knife. Especially if the check goes past $20, as it did here.
On the other hand, Juicy Lucy's is in line with a reliable predictor of goodness: the best hamburgers are made and served in bars. This is a bar, nobody under twenty-one allowed, video poker in the corner. The design--with ceiling panels made of reflective foil--looks almost like the lounge on Star Wars.
Cafe Hope. Marrero: 1101 Barataria Blvd. 504-347-5581.
Juicy Lucy's. Mid-City: 133 N Carrollton Ave. 504-598-5044.
It's over three years since a day was missed in the Dining Diary. To browse through all of the entries since 2008, go here.
