Tuesday, April 12, 2011.
Ralph, Elmer, Roosevelt, And Passover.
Mary Ann assembled the best bunch of guests yet for today's Round Table radio show. She likes the idea of doing themes. I don't--when everybody is on the same subject, it removes a lot of texture from the conversation. But an Easter show worked because the guests had such different involvements.
Ralph Brennan--in addition to having an Easter buffet at the Red Fish Grill and a lot of regular business at the sunny Ralph's on the Park--also had news about his two new restaurants. One is already open, sort of: the Heritage Grill, in the location formerly that of Charley G's, DiAngelo's, and (most recently) Chops Bistro. "For now, we're doing the minimum required by the lease, lunch five days a week," Ralph says. "We're redecorating the dining room, and using the kitchen as a facility for our catering jobs. We'll look into dinner later."
In a couple of weeks, Ralph will also open Café B, in the former New City Grille on Metairie Road at Labarre. He still is saying nothing about the menu, except that it will be New Orleans style, casual, and moderately priced. The chef there will be Chris Montero, formerly of Bacco, which Ralph put in limbo back in January. He swears it will reopen someday, but I'm not holding my breath on that.
Also in the room was Rob Nelson, the prez of Elmer's Candies. He settled a lot of often-asked questions, the first concerning the fate of Mint Bublets. "We made those back in the 1950s and 1960s, mainly to have something to sell in the summer, before air-conditioning. Chocolate melts in the summer."
I remember Bublets well. They were the size of large marbles, and even though they seemed hard to the touch, they sort of vaporized in your mouth. They came in big tin cans that required a key to open. "I remember helping my dad trying to keep the machine that packaged Bublets working," Rob siad. "We finally gave up. We get more questions about Bublets than about any other former Elmer's product."
Also revealed: the relationship between Elmer's chocolates and Elmer's Chee-Wees. "There isn't any," Rob said. "It's a branch of the Elmer family, and we sold them the Chee-Wees line and the name years ago. You know, Chee-Wees were the first product of its kind in the country. Now everybody copies it."
Since we were talking about Easter, I guessed that this is the busiest time of year for Elmer's, what with Gold Brick Eggs and Heavenly Hash Eggs. I guessed wrong.
"Seventy-five percent of our business is boxed assortments of chocolate for Valentine's Day," Rob said. "We sell those nationwide. The Gold Bricks and Heavenly Hash are really just a regional product, very popular here but not many other places."
And hardly any chocolate bunnies, he adds.
Over in that seat was Brink Grush, the head marketing guy for the Roosevelt Hotel, who announced that the Easter brunch buffet at the grandly reborn hotel will be in the big ballroom (as it always is), would feature the music of James Rivers, would have an Easter bunny running around to cuddle the kids, and would cost $89, complete with champagne, mimosas, and the rest of it. I think it's safe to say that's the top dollar for Easter this year.
Also from the same building came Alon Shaya. He's the executive chef of Domenica (Sunday in Italian). For the second year, he's mounting a Passover seder-style dinner. Alon (who says his name is pronounced like the first two syllables in "a lawnmower") was born in Israel, and grew up with the Passover tradition. He loves it and found, last year, that a lot of other people do, too. "It's not kosher--that's impossible with all the salumi we serve--but the dinner is very traditional, in a Jewish Italian style."
Say what?
"We're making our own matzos for the dinner in the pizza oven," A Lawn says. "And the soup is going to be like an Italian wedding soup, except that instead of the meatball its matzo balls," Alon says. "And the dessert--our pastry chef made it, and it's incredible. She uses almond flour, so we don't have to work around the matzo for that."
Domenica is starting the Passover menu at sunset next Monday, April 19. It runs until the following Wednesday. I forgot to ask the price, but it wasn't even a little expensive last year.
Speaking of good deals--the mid-afternoon half-price pizza and cocktails at Domenica seem to be working. "The secret's out on that," he says. "We sometimes fill up, especially after five."
This brought us around to Ralph Brennan again. I told Alon that his was not the first New Orleans restaurant to offer a Passover seder. The Red Fish Grill did it in 1997 and 1998, when Mitch Engleman was the chef there. Ralph said he'd completely forgotten about that.
But Stu Barash remembered. Stu is a guy I've known for thirty years when he was in the hotel and travel businesses here. He married a girl he met by chance through my radio show. They live in Houston since Katrina did in their Lakeview home. He happened to be in town today and called into the show.
"Joe Cahn and I went to the seder at the Red Fish," Stu recalled. (Joe Cahn founded the New Orleans School of Cooking, and now spends the entire football season going from one game to another checking out the tailgate food.) "As soon as we sat down, the waiter brought in a loaf of hot French bread! Joe said, 'I'll take care of that!' and he squashed it flat. Instant matzo!"
These Round Table shows get better and better.
Domenica. CBD: 123 Baronne (Roosevelt Hotel). 504-648-6020.
Red Fish Grill. French Quarter: 115 Bourbon. 504-598-1200.
(Not rated). Blue Room. CBD: 123 Baronne, Roosevelt Hotel. 504-648-1200.
