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Borgne (CBD, New Orleans)

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Chef John Besh does it again! I’ve heard about Borgne by word of mouth, but what really inspired me to go try it out for myself was when I tried the Oyster Amandine at New Orleans Oyster Festival at Woldenburg Park 2012 (click for pictures). I swear, festival food is always the best..Have you ever heard of the law of Diminishing returns? Basically, when applied to food, it means serving food in small bites that leave your palate longing for more…so when I tried multiple miniscule oyster dishes at the festival, you can only imagine how I felt when I only got to enjoy a BITE of Oysters Amandine…After that experience, I’ve had high expectations for Borgne…

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Panoramic restaurant view.

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Early for lunch…

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Charbroiled Oysters. 

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Duck Poppers. Jalapeno. Bacon.

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Slow Smoked Pork Empanadas. White BBQ Sauce.

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Sopa Ajo (Garlic Soup). Garlic Soup. Idiazabal Cheese. Cured Egg Yolk. 

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Honeysuckle Hotty. Cathead Honeysuckle Vodka. Hot Chamomile Tea. (Missing: Sugar Candy pop)

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Marinated Crab Fingers. Bread Salad. Torn Herbs.

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Ragout of Louisiana Rabbit (Lunch Special). Orecchiette Pasta. Garlic. Tomatoes. Rapini. Reminds me a lot of the Spicy Lamb Meatball dish at Domenica’s except with rabbit! 

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Fried P&J Oysters Amandine. Grilled Mushrooms. Wilted Spinach. Oh..the delicious Oysters Amandine…Delicious and LOADED with cornmeal crusted oysters!

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Seared Jumbo Shrimp. Brandade Ravioli. Shrimp Chorizo Consomme. Brussel Sprouts. Pumpkin. Chick Peas. 

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Pecan Praline Beignets. 

My favorite dishes had to be anything with oysters: Charbroiled oysters and Oysters Amandine. I also LOVED the Pork Empanadas...Honestly, I hadn’t known much about Spanish or Mexican food until I relocated to Texas and since then, I just LOVE it. It’s just so rich, but can be so refreshing at the same time. 

What didn’t I like? We had a grapefruit sorbet (not pictured) that was definitely homemade, but the fruit itself was not ripe and left a not-so-enjoyable bitter aftertaste. Another item I could’ve done without was the Honeysuckle Hotty. My girlfriend said the same about her cocktail so if anything, I would suggest grabbing a local beer like NOLA Brewing. I really like the blonde ale..it’s lighter and goes great with the food at Borgne.

Overall, good meal! I feel like Borgne’s menu is a boiling pot of Domenica and Luke…The rusticness of Luke together the Italian refinement of Domenica. If you’re in the CBD and looking for a fine lunch, Borgne is a great place to try! 

Borgne (Hyatt Regency) on Urbanspoon

Emeril’s Delmonico (St. Charles, New Orleans)

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Emeril’s Delmonico is a classic New Orleans restaurant located along the streetcar line on St. Charles. It’s on the upper end of Emeril’s line of restaurants. Decor was classic NOLA style and the service was friendly…a little awkward at times, but still very good. “The Chef” has a friend in the industry, who works at Emeril’s New Orleans, and ever since our dining experience there, we’ve gained a newfound respect for Emeril’s work so we just had to try Delmonico again after all these years. 

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Blue Crab Dip. You know how much I love my crabmeat…

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Sweet Potato and Ricotta Gnocchi.  Nola brown ale braised MS rabbit. Tasso. Roasted mushrooms. Carmelized Onions.

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Broccoli Rabe. 

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20oz. Bone-in Ribeye.  (1/2 of the steak pictured above…”The Chef” and I shared it) Served w/ housemade compound butter. Emeril’s worcestershire. Bearnaise and Chimichurri sauces. Naturally raised, dry aged on premises for 17-23 days. Handcut and broiled at 1200 degrees. 

Chef friends have recommended this steak and I can taste why...It was delicious. No extra sauces needed. Well-seasoned and moist. We ordered medium since it was a thicker steak and it came out perfectly! Delmonico’s isn’t a steakhouse, but you don’t have to be  steakhouse to know a good steak. I’ve been to a few steakhouses in the city and you can’t even compare those steaks to this one…

Overall, it was a great dining experience. Despite the fancy setting, it’s more laid back than the showy presentation I remember from years ago, which I don’t really mind. It’s comfortable and better reflects true New Orleans fine dining..great food with good ‘ol Southern hospitality.

If you haven’t been to Delmonico, I’d recommend that you try it at least once!

Emeril's Delmonico on Urbanspoon

Tartine (Audubon, New Orleans)

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Tartine is a cute and quaint little cafe that serves French breakfast and pastries. Before I even show you pictures, I must say that the food here is delicious! All the breads are made in house…nice and crunchy on the outside, but dense and soft on the inside. Breakfast is delicious and lunch is basically a breakfasty version of lunch…(my best explanation). They put a little touch of “Tartine” on every menu item…


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Baked Egg in Brioche. 


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My favorite part about breakfast foods…the cutting of the poached egg. Who knew egg yolk could be such a delicious sauce! 


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Quiche. 


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Cafe Au Lait.


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Ham Sandwich. Triple Cream Brie. Fig Mustard. Butter Lettuce on a Baguette. 


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Salmon Rillete. 

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So I’m showing you pictures from two different occasions…one to go order and one sit down in their tiny patio. It’s THAT good..I’ve been here multiple times and just can’t get tired of the food. It’s refreshing and not overly heavy considering you’re eating quite a bit of carbs. All spreads are flavorful and leave you wanting more…

I don’t know what else to say. I love it so much that writing this post is making me want to visit tomorrow morning. I’ll see y’all there! 


Tartine on Urbanspoon

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UPDATE 12/28/2012

So as promised, I paid another visit to Tartine and they did it again! I know this is a long post, but I’m sure a little eye candy won’t bother your taste buds…

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Soup of the Day: Cauliflower Soup. 


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House Pate.  Dijon. Onion Confit. Baguette.


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House Smoked Turkey. Gruyere. Avocado. Roasted Gartlic Aioli. Butter Lettuce. Honey Wheat Bread.


Everything was delicious, as expected. The thing I’ve noticed with Tartine is the simplicity of all their menu items. All tartines consist of a skinny baguette baked to a perfect crunch on the outside and dense yet fluffy inside. Each baguette is topped with a fully flavored, well-seasoned spread of choice (salmon, pork, pate..etc). Sandwiches are simple and plain in appearance, but don’t let that fool you…like the House Smoked Turkey Sandwich did to me. The bread was a light and fluffy texture stuffed with deliciously smoked turkey. What really blew me away was how the garlic aioli could add so much flavor. I just wanna add garlic aioli to everything now! I can go on and on…but you’ll just have to try it for yourself! 

My favorite items: 

  • Pork Rillette
  • Smoked Turkey Sandwich
  • Ham Sandwich

 




Dallas State Fair October 2012 (Dallas, Texas)

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So it’s been quite a while since my last post. I’ve been on a bit of a hiatus, but I’m back and I’ve got plenty of foodventures to share with y’all! My latest foodie event: The Dallas State Fair! The day before I arrived, Big Tex, the State Fair mascot burned down and I never got to take a picture of him! For those who don’t know, Big Tex was the 60 year old mascot of the Dallas State Fair. He passed due to an electrical fire.

Click here for article…

The Food

Just so you know, the State Fair is known for EVERYTHING FRIED. I mean EVERTHING! I didn’t order everything, but these are just a few things that caught my attention.

Fletcher’s Jalapeno Cheese Corndog. Best corndog ever! Crispy on the outside, jalapeno-ey and cheesy on the inside. One of my favorite items at the State Fair.

Fried Frito Pie. Crispy fried batter on the outside, chili on the inside. Not my fav, but I’d rather an actual frito pie! For those who aren’t familiar with frito pie (it must be a Texas thing!), it’s Frito lay chips with chili and any other additional toppings.

Fried Tres Leches Cake. (above and below) My fav fried dessert at the state fair! Great thing crispiness on the outside with moist tres leches cake on the inside. 

Fried Cheesecake. Not my favorite…You get tired of it really fast and the fried part had an old grease flavor..eh!

Fried Brownies. 

My favs: Fletcher’s Jalapeno & Cheese corndog, Fried Tres Leches Cake

Not so fav: Fried cheesecake, Fried Frito Pie

Whoever said “Anything fried is good!” may have been on the right track, but you gotta admit, some things just aren’t meant to be fried.

Overall, it was a great foodie trip. If you didn’t go this year, it’s worth a shot! Check it out around Sept/Oct 2013. I had a great time finding good food and enjoying Texas culture! 

Cochon Butcher (Warehouse District, New Orleans)

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If you’re familiar with Chef Donald Link‘s restaurant, Cochon, well you’re in luck because Cochon Butcher is right around the corner! It’s a casual deli as opposed to the finer Cochon. They offer a variety of meats, sausages, and best of all sandwiches! Cochon is known for their charcuterie so it’s only natural that the sandwiches are fresh and equally as delicious as the fine meals at its finer counterpart. 


Pastrami w/ Sauerkraut on Rye. 


BBQ Pork. “Carolina Style”


Hot Boudin. To Go! I’ve been on a boudin craze lately so anywhere there’s boudin, you know I’ll be getting it! This particular boudin was SO good. Who would’ve thought that creole mustard could go so well with it? 


Each dish was served with homemade sweet pickles. Great for balancing out their savory dishes. After dining at Cochon Butcher, I ordered a few other sandwiches for “the chef” so he could enjoy at work…and he agrees! Not a single sandwich disappointed us. Every bite infused with flavor… 


Cochon Butcher has been open for quite some time now, but lately has been “Talk Of The Town” (on Urbanspoon). Why now? Who knows, but it deserves the recognition! 

Cochon Butcher on Urbanspoon

Upcoming Entries..

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Just wanted to let y’all know that I didn’t forget about you! I’ve been on a little hiatus and doing a little travelling to Houston and Dallas so look forward to upcoming entries from there. And of course, for my NOLA readers, I definitely have some great NOLA entries coming as well!

Texas Entries:

Houston Greek Festival

Dallas State Fair

NOLA Restaurants:

Cochon Butcher

Tartine

La Boca

and more…

Until then..Enjoy your week and have a Haunted Halloweeeen!!

Katie’s Restaurant & Bar (Mid-City, New Orleans)

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What inspired me to write this post was this lovely Groupon deal: click here. Now I  wouldn’t advertise it if I didn’t think it was delicious. And if that didn’t convince you yet, Chef Scot Craig’s restaurant was featured of Diners, Drive-in’s, and Dives.

I discovered Katie’s through Oyster Festival (click here for Oyster Festival post)…and one of my favorite foods at the Oyster Festival was Katie’s White Chocolate Bread Pudding so I just HAD to check them out! 

It was a beautiful day outside..so we opted for streetside seating. 


Jay’s Chargrilled Oysters. Louisiana Chargrilled Oysters. Garlic Butter. Parmesan Cheese. 

Katie’s Homemade Crab Cakes. Two 4 oz Crab Cakes Overstuffed with Crabmeat and topped with Jumbo Lump Crabmeat and Remoulade Sauce.

These crab cakes were GINORMOUS and delicious…fried deliciousness balanced w/ the tartness of remoulade. My only complaint would be the lack of “Jumbo Lump Crabmeat” on top. It was there, just not as JUMBO as you would imagine. The overstuffed crab cake itself made up for that…


Scottie’s Cnn Blackberry & Jalapeno Ribs. Slow cooked baby back ribs marinated in tangy and spicy blackberry and jalapeno bbq sauce with choice of two sides: Mashed Potatoes and Veggie du Jour. 

Ribs were fall-off-the-bone and you wouldn’t expect good BBQ in NOLA, but it was delicious!


White Chocolate Bread Pudding. Just as delicious as I had remembered! 


Did Katie’s Restaurant live up to all the hype??? Definitely! In fact, I’ll be back to try their brunch and I’ll tell you all about it! =)

Katie's Restaurant & Bar on Urbanspoon

Boucherie (Carrollton, New Orleans)

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I discovered this restaurant years ago at a Festival downtown, where they had their food truck, “The Que Crawl”…They served these delicious roast beef poboys. Then I found out that “The Que Crawl” is a branch off of Boucherie so I just had to check it out. Went there for lunch one day and have loved it ever since!

12 Hour Roast Beef Po’boy w/ Pickled Red Onions & Horseradish Cream.  Moist and savory with a wonderful balance of pickled onions and horseradish cream. What’s different about this poboy is that it’s stuffed into French bread from a local Vietnamese bakery, Dong Phuong. It’s a must try if you eat here!

Boudin Balls w/ Garlic Aioli.  I’ve been on a major boudin kick lately and this has to be the best boudin ball I’ve ever had…I don’t know what they put in here, but it was DELISH! Boucherie does a great job at balancing flavors with a little bit of tartness.

Smoked Wagyu Beef Brisket w/ Garlicky Parmesan Fries.  

Every dish was a 10/10 and to top it all off, you get so much bang for your buck! Boucherie offers the best prices for upscale dishes. One suggestion…Make sure you make reservations on weekends. It’s a tiny little restaurant so they get packed really easily and with no reservations…it’s a looooonggg wait AND all you can do is be tortured by other guests devouring Boucherie’s finest dishes. 

Try it out, you’ll LOVE it!

Boucherie on Urbanspoon