[title type="h6"]Tuesday, September 24, 2013.[/title]
Our friends John and Patty Poche are back in New Orleans after a few years spent in Los Angeles. John's trade is writing computer software for the management of radio stations. Most of the companies he's worked for locally are competitors of my radio station group. But Patty worked on our side in sales for a long time, and I don't know what he's talking about when we discuss his projects. So there's no espionage or fraternizing with the enemy in our friendship.
But we do have radio in common, as well as a love of New Orleans, food, and New Orleans food. While they lived here, the Poches were near the top of my list of people I'd call to share restaurant dinners. I'm happy they're coming back.
They were on Mary Ann's mind, which is why we called them for dinner. Although I am just about resigned to going along with the changes that will happen on my show in three weeks, Mary Ann's mind is buzzing with ideas triggered by the shift. She thought John would have some perspectives. If so, they were not the miraculous plans she was hoping for.
So we had to content ourselves with a delightful evening of margaritas and Mexican food at Santa Fe. This restaurant got slammed so badly by the anonymous crowd that it took them awhile to get back up to speed. But they always seem to be busy now, and the cooking is as good as any I remember under its banner, either here in the former Gabrielle location or the original in the Marigny.
One thing that really stands out is Santa Fe's salsa. I don't like the look of it--it seems too thick. But the flavor beats that of any other salsa I know. It's just peppery enough against a background of ripe tomato and cilantro and a few secret ingredients.
There's only one issue with the salsa and chips: they charge you two dollars a bowl after the first one. That seems fair to me, but when you encounter an item that most restaurants offer free, you're asking for trouble. Those for whom saving a few nickels comes before superb flavor, unfortunately, outnumber us.
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Chicken Maximilian.[/caption]
We had two fascinating main dishes. One was chicken Maximilian, a major specialty of the Santa Fe going back to its earliest days. It's a rolled-up chicken breast with chorizo, roasted Anaheim peppers and cheese, then pan-fried. This is a great dish, but it's frustrating, too. It's so much work for the kitchen that they only serve it in the latter half of the week. But we got lucky. For some reason, this Tuesday was graced by Maximilian's presence. John was kind enough to swap out a roulade for a wedge of what I had on my plate.
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Rueda de huevo.[/caption]
Which was rueda de huevo. Clue: Mexicans think much more highly of eggs than American do. You will find many dishes featuring eggs on well-connected Mexican menus. This one was a stack of tortillas with pulled pork at the bottom and a fried egg on top. In between were layers of roasted chicken, sweet potato puree, and cheeses. A very large and very good plate of eats.
Something funny happened to Mary Ann. She's not much of a drinker, but for some reason she knocked back two margaritas tonight. She has always been a cheap date in this regard. But tonight I had to be the designated driver, for a change. Fair enough.
[title type="h6"]Santa Fe. Esplanade Ridge: 3201 Esplanade Ave. 504-948-0077.[/title]
