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Tag Archives: Food

MiLa – a beautiful union

20 Friday Dec 2013

Posted by sweepingthesouth in Food, New Orleans, Restaurants, Travel, Uncategorized

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Tags

Cook, Food, Home, Louisiana, Mississippi, Recreation, Roasting, Root beer, Soft drink

We had been wanting to try MiLA for a while now, a union created by a Mississippi and Louisiana Chef. It had been recommended to me over a year ago and then when we saw it on the list of New Orleans’ Top 10 Restaurants, we had to try it. If you are staying at the Pere Marquette Renaissance Hotel, it is conveniently located inside. We made an early dinner reservation because we were heading to a show at the Saenger Theatre. It was quiet inside and dimly lit, the décor was modern upscale, maybe a bit opulent. Our host seated us promptly and we had a lovely booth overlooking Baronne Street. The menu is neither large nor overwhelming, but has a fair amount of appetizing options.  They immediately brought out bread, but this was not ordinary bread.  There were sweet potato rolls served with a lima bean puree and biscuits served with soft sea salt butter. Yum!

Top from Left: Pan Roasted Sweet Breads over grits; Roasted Beet Salad; Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Top from Left: Pan Roasted Sweet Breads over grits; Roasted Beet Salad; Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

We were conflicted over what to order, but our waiter was knowledgeable about the menu and very helpful. We began with the Pan Roasted Sweet Breads served over creamy black truffle grits, Creamy Butternut Squash Soup served with generous lumps of blue crab and crème fraiche, and a Roasted Beet Salad served with a goat cheese mousse (I know, I have a thing for beets lately). The Sweet Breads could have easily been a meal themselves, but were worth every bite. For our entrees, we ordered the Roasted Beef Tenderloin wrapped in Bacon and served with creamy salsify, and Crispy Baby French Chicken with a crawfish in a lobster sauce served with fingerling potatoes. Pan-fried and served with two tiny wings and two tiny chicken breasts, each was beautifully battered and served over the lobster sauce. It was a cold winter’s night so both entrees hit the spot! For those of you who never tried or even heard of salsify, it is a root vegetable with an oyster like flavor, definitely an interesting vegetable.

From Top: Roasted Beef Tenderloin; Crispy Baby French Chicken

From Top: Roasted Beef Tenderloin; Crispy Baby French Chicken

Of course, we still ordered dessert! How could I resist a Chocolate Peanut Butter Tart? It was so rich, crispy and chocolaty served with a chocolate sorbet! We also ordered the Deconstructed Root Beer Float, which was really unique. It was made with a vanilla bean bavarois, a ginger snap tuiles and an Abita Root Beer Sorbet. It is presented as an ice cream bar, but the moment you cut into it and take a bite, it tastes like an actual Root Beer Float!

Top: Chocolate Peanut Butter Tart Bottom: Deconstructed Root Beer Float

Top: Chocolate Peanut Butter Tart
Bottom: Deconstructed Root Beer Float

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Juban’s

20 Friday Sep 2013

Posted by sweepingthesouth in Food, Restaurants

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Chef, Cook, Crab, Crab meat, Fish and Seafood, Food, Louisiana, Pork belly

This summer, my fiancé and I were in a celebratory mood and decided to go back to Juban’s. I say, “go back” because we had went years ago and were not that impressed. However, recently they promoted a new Executive Chef, Joey Daigle. I have to say, I really like what he has done with the menu, it had become more modern and fresh. Also, they now use local ingredients, which I can appreciate.

Crispy Seared Pork Belly

Crispy Seared Pork Belly

We started off with the Crispy Seared Pork Belly and the Seafood Napoleon Salad. Two very different appetizers, but also very flavorful. The pork belly was served with a red bean relish and charred green onion chimichurri. I don’t know why, but I never thought to pair Pork Belly with red beans. The pairing was rich, savory and mouthwatering. We then had the Seafood Napoleon which was layers of Louisiana lump crab meat with gulf shrimp, and fried green tomatoes. It was heavenly, but also filling. We could have easily just eaten those two appetizers, had dessert and been done with it.

Red Snapper

Red Snapper

However, per usual, we carried on. He ordered the Hallelujah Crab and I ordered the red snapper special of the evening. The crab is a classic at Juban’s, flash fried stuffed with Louisiana crawfish tails, shrimp and crabmeat, topped with a creolaise sauce. The presentation itself is lovely and the dish delightfully filling. My red snapper was served with lump crab meat, local tomatoes, roasted garlic and corn puree. It was light and flavorsome. Needless to say, it was a pleasant return to Juban’s and we were glad we dined there that evening.

Hallelujah Crab

Hallelujah Crab

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10 Sunday Mar 2013

Posted by sweepingthesouth in Food, Restaurants

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Beausoleil, Cajun, crawfish, Food, Louisiana, Restaurants, South, southern delicacy

My New Year’s Resolution was to eat healthy, exercise, and save money, probably the same resolutions as everyone else. I was doing really well at first and then disaster strikes! That afternoon I stopped at Truly Free Bakery and had myself a Ground Turkey Quinoa bowl. It was truly delicious with a side of their homemade teriyaki sauce. What I like about Truly Free is that everything is organic and made from scratch. So what went wrong?

Quinoa Bowl with Ground Turkey

Quinoa Bowl with Ground Turkey

We really wanted to go out to dinner that night, my fiancé had been gone for a week and we just wanted to do something fun. So we went to Beausoleil, a favorite restaurant of mine here in Baton Rouge. And because my best friend had bought me a gift card, we went out to eat with no holds barred. We started out with delicious truffled fried oysters and a mussel frites cooked in a saffron sauce. Divine! My fiancé had the seafood pasta special, which was also cooked in a butter saffron sauce. I had the scallops served over chorizo risotto. Everything was delicious! And just because I felt like being bad, I had the chocolate pot de crème! Melt in your mouth! God, I could go for some of that right now and a glass of cabernet!

Truffled Fried Oysters

Truffled Fried Oysters

The next morning, because we hadn’t had enough, we went to the Chimes for Brunch. I had The Benediction, which is like an eggs benedict, served on English muffins, with ham, tomatoes and fried crawfish tails. My fiancé had the crawfish omelet accompanied by a bloody Mary. It was great southern comfort food on a cold Sunday morning in January (Louisiana cold, not meant to be confused with New England cold).

The Benediction

The Benediction

You would think we were done after that, but convinced ourselves that pizza was a great idea for dinner! That evening we went to Schlittz and Giggles. I insisted we have the Mediterranean salad to start; it made me feel better about myself. But then we ordered the Kitchen Floor pizza, topped with pepperoni, ham, Italian sausage, bacon, roasted red peppers, green bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, olives, and lots of shredded mozzarella.

Mediterranean Salad

Mediterranean Salad

We decided it best to end the weekend there, no need to go over board, right? Start fresh in the morning.

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Noshing in Nola

17 Saturday Nov 2012

Posted by sweepingthesouth in Food, Restaurants, Travel

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felix's, Food, french, goat cheese, martinique bistro, Restaurants, South, Travel, upperline, vacation

This is going to have to be a two-part blog post. My mom and sister came to town to visit for a weekend. And what’s a trip to Louisiana without going to New Orleans and eating lots of delicious food? We spent the morning on Magazine Street, browsing through its charming little boutiques. Finally, when we were absolutely famished, we stopped at Martinique Bistro for Brunch, it’s a quaint and enchanting little bistro. I really adore their outdoor private courtyard. Their menu is crafted by using local ingredients from nearby farmers and fishermen.

Pine nut crusted goat cheese salad

We sat down and immediately ordered some creole Bloody Marys. I began with the pine nut crusted goat cheese over a bed of baby lettuce. My sister had the Gulf Coast Apple Salad with blue cheese and my mother, the asparagus and watercress bisque. My mother must have really enjoyed her soup, because it was gone before I got to try it. The scarlet frill gave my sister’s apple salad an interesting appearance and I really enjoyed my goat cheese salad.

Seared Scallop Nicoise

For entrees we had the house smoked salmon club, the seared scallop nicoise and the French style crepe. Even though we were stuffed, we ordered the chocolate soufflé for dessert served with a Guinness ice cream. I really just wanted to try it because of the ice cream; it almost had a coffee like flavor to it.

Salmon Club

Feeling like we were going to burst at the seams, we headed back out onto Magazine Street for round two of shopping and to walk it off, of course. We drove back downtown, checked in to our hotel and went to roam the French Quarter. My mother had never experienced having chargrilled oysters in the Quarter so we had to bring her to Acme, which was packed and had a line out the door and around the corner.  So we walked across the street to Felix’s, when we sat down to order we discovered they lost their liquor license (no wonder they had no line!) but suggested we walk around the corner and order our drinks and come back. So we did. Drinks in hand, we ordered crab fingers (if you haven’t had these before, you must!), chargrilled oysters and oysters Bienville. I actually really enjoyed their chargrilled oysters, you could taste the smokiness in them. Then back to the hotel room.

Oysters Bienville

We got a taxi back uptown to the Upperline Restaurant, where our driver missed the street because he said we smelled so good! Finally having arrived at our destination, we were presented with a  charming little house that is Upperline. It is definitely a restaurant that the locals frequent. It is warm and inviting, the people there are friendly. They serve mostly Cajun and creole food with a modern flare.  To start we ordered the Fried Green Tomato with Shrimp Remoulade and Spicy Shrimp with Jalapeño Cornbread & Aïoli. I relished in my appetizer (is that weird to say?). It doesn’t sound like anything amazing on the menu, but it is! The flavors are zesty and fiery, but not over powering. For dinner we ordered the petite filet served with fried oysters and a béarnaise sauce, grouper and a slow roasted duck served with a peach sauce.  I don’t think I need to say it again, but we left satiated.

Spicy Shrimp

My advice for anyone going to New Orleans, especially for the food, leave the Quarter! Not that there isn’t great places to eat at in the courter, but there is so much more else where around town. Go out and explore!

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Roux 61

16 Friday Nov 2012

Posted by sweepingthesouth in Food, Natchez, Restaurants

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Tags

crawfish, Food, Natchez, Restaurants, Roux 61, South

Traveling north on Route 61, towards Natchez, we were suddenly ravenous. It was after work on a Friday and we needed to eat something and quick! Right when we get to Natchez, we see a restaurant called Roux 61. How fitting! We decide to try it and just not expect much of it, because let’s face it, we were starving.

Portabella Mushroom

When you walk in, you immediately feel like this is a chain, like outback steakhouse, or some family friendly place. Not in the mood to eat healthy, (I mean it was Friday) we order the stuffed portabella mushrooms and Roux Rita cocktail. It’s stuffed with crabmeat and topped with a crawfish sauce. Very rich and tasty. I guess the bed of spinach it came on made it healthy, ha-ha. The Roux Rita was also very good, not made with sour mix and not too sweet. I ordered the Barbeque Burger. It was huge! Topped with cheddar cheese, bbq sauce, pecan smoked bacon and their own homemade coleslaw on a sourdough bun. And it was cooked medium, just like I asked! Amazing! My fiancé ordered the shrimp platter. It was good ol’ southern cooking. Needless to say, we left in a food coma.

BBQ Burger

Pleasantly surprised, Roux 61, pleasantly surprised!

Roux Rita

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French Wine Dinner

05 Friday Oct 2012

Posted by sweepingthesouth in Food, Restaurants, Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Beausoleil, buerre blanc, Food, french, lamb chops, lamp chop, Restaurants, sausage, seafood sausage, South, wine, wine connoisseur

A couple of weeks ago a group of us went to the French Wine Dinner at Beausoleil. As soon as we walked in the door, we were greeted with a glass of Domaine del Sol (so refreshing after working all day) and hors’ oeuvres, which were, smoked oysters. We proceeded to our seats, which featured the dinner menu and many many wine glasses! The “premier plat” was a grilled seafood sausage with pickled fennel and a buerre blanc. It was amazing! You could clearly see the lobster in the sausage. Normally, I don’t like fennel but pickled it was delicious.  Who doesn’t like anything pickled? The seafood sausage was served with a crisp 2007 Mommessin.

Grilled Seafood Sausage

Unfortunately, the next dish I forgot to photograph. It was so delightful that I became so immersed in it and before I knew it was gone! Chef Nathan served a Lapin Au Vin (rabbit stew) with a house made fettuccine. C’est Marveilleux! Served with a Chateau Artix. I tried to ask for another serving so I could take picture (of course!) but the chef was already on to his next dish. The main entrée was pan roasted lamp chop satin potatoes and rosemary veal reduction served with a smooth Chateau Hoyt Bordeaux. The meat was tender and the potatoes were so rich and creamy. I wanted to lick the plate!

Pan Roasted Lamb Chops

The grand finale was a black cherry and walnut strudel with a white chocolate whipped cream and a vanilla brandy sauce. I don’t know how I managed to eat it all, but I did, including the Clos Sainte Anne Bordeaux I washed it down with. Everything was magnifique. Now, I am not a wine connoisseur, I just enjoy it. But everything at Beausoleil that evening was fabulous. We really enjoyed it and appreciated the fact that the chef came out to talk with us at our table and explain the menu. Can’t wait for the Beer Dinner this October!

Black Cherry and Walnut Strudel

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eating through the weekend

12 Wednesday Sep 2012

Posted by sweepingthesouth in Food, Restaurants, Yankees

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Beausoleil, Food, Magpie, Restaurants, Yankee, Zeeland

So my best friend comes in for the weekend (a fellow Yankee) and as usual we eat our way through Sunday. Three meals we shared really stuck out for me. We both love good food and a good time (you can’t really have one without the other, let’s face it). She arrives Friday night and I take her to Beausoleil on Jefferson Highway. I love it there because until now, I had to travel to New Orleans to find contemporary Louisiana cuisine. Plus it has a warm, casual atmosphere that is inviting and enjoyable. She had the scallops on chorizo risotto with chili butter. I had the veal cheek over Louisiana purple rice pilaf with pepper jelly. Both were superb! The seared scallops were not overcooked and my veal cheek was braised to perfection.

Braised Veal Cheek

Seared Sea Scallops

The next morning we headed over to a new favorite of mine, Magpie Café at the Perkins Overpass. I love this delectable little café with their Weck Jars and local products. Every morning is a surprise and particularly on this morning we were pleasantly surprised! Magpie’s was making fresh homemade strawberry-filled pop tarts! They were scrumdidalyumptious (to quote Roald Dahl)! The pastry was melt in your mouth delicious. Warm and buttery on the outside and oozing with strawberry on the inside! They don’t always have them so check them out on Twitter or Facebook before you go (not that they don’t have other tasty treats!).

Pop Tarts

Because we had not stuffed ourselves enough, we proceeded to Zeeland Street Market for lunch (after an estate sale). I had never been before but it came highly recommended from many people. When you walk in, you immediately feel welcomed at this family owned and operated establishment (even when you arrive 20 minutes before closing). We each ordered a sandwich but could have easily shared one. The portions are huge! I had the Belmont Po’boy. It’s a pot roast sandwich with turkey, ham and mozzarella cheese. Of course I had it fully dressed! The sandwich just exuded scrumptiousness. Sadly, I wimped out and couldn’t finish the other half. Next time, I will have to share. Beware they close at 2 p.m. and are only opened for breakfast and lunch. Enjoy!

The Belmont

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A New Italian Bistro – Zolia

21 Saturday Jul 2012

Posted by sweepingthesouth in Food, Restaurants

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

crostini, Food, goat cheese, Restaurants, roasted garlic, South, southern delicacy, Travel, tuna tartare

This little bistro is a hit with the downtown crowd during lunch. But my boyfriend and I went one evening after work to check it out. It’s inside of City Plaza II so if you are unfamiliar with the area you might have difficulty finding it. But that shouldn’t deter you!

I truly enjoyed the food at Zolia’s and was pleasantly surprised. We tried various tapas, Tuna Tartare, Abita Shrimp, Salmon Basilica and the Warm Truffled Crimini Crostini, to name a few. They were all delicious. My boyfriend normally doesn’t like sashimi but he loved this tapa. It was fresh and packed with flavor. The texture and consistency were just right.

Tuna Tartare

I really loved the Abita Shrimp served over a chive grit cake. I like to call it the “Cajun Tapa”. It’s really delicious and something different to try. I also enjoyed the Salmon with the tomato caper relish. It was cooked to the right temperature and not dry at all, like some salmon can be. And the Roasted Garlic and Goat Cheese on the mushroom crostini really complemented it well. The flavors were spot on.

Abita Shrimp

If you haven’t gone yet, then please go. I can’t wait to go back and try more of their delicious tapas and antipasto boards.

A few more pictures of their tapas:

Salmon Basilica

Warm Truffled Crimini Crostini

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A Yankee Eating Crawfish – Guest blogger from New York

19 Thursday Jul 2012

Posted by sweepingthesouth in Food, Yankees

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Tags

crawfish, crawfish season, Food, South, southern delicacy, Travel, vacation, Yankee

Sometimes, when I’m throwing a pity party for myself, I’ll express to Andrea how inconvenient it is that she now lives so far away. On the other hand, I’m glad she made that drastic move because that means I get to visit! I recently visited Andrea in May, before the heat really set in but most importantly before I missed out on yet another crawfish season. You see, as Andrea’s fellow East Coast friend, I could live on seafood alone. I love it all, slippery oysters, sandy mussels, and most of all “lobsta”, as Rhode Island natives say. So of course I was going to love diving into a bucket of crawfish, after all they are just mini lobsters, right? I salivated for weeks before my visit, incessantly reminding Andrea that I would be there within days and that she absolutely had to include a crawfish dinner in our itinerary. Kindly, Andrea and her hunky man, made my dream come true. However, when the tray of crawfish arrived at our table and was placed in front of me, my excitement quickly turned to panic.

The site of their ruby red bodies, darkened by loads of Cajun seasoning, piled on top of each other like so, made my stomach drop. You see, I live in New York. The truth about New York is that it is filthy! Making it the most desirable habitat for cock-roaches which render me totally limp and paralyzed in fear. A similar feeling set in when presented with my pile of “mudbugs”. Only then did I understand that vernacular. Andrea and Mathew looked scared for me but I couldn’t let them smell my fear so I started in. After all, I had been talking quite the talk.

Real Flattering

Lets just say, I can cross eating Crawfish off my bucket list. It sure is a lot of work to get to that little piece of meat and all your left with is what I can only describe as a fire in my mouth! I might not be attacking another tray of crawfish anytime soon but I can’t wait to try another Southern delicacy.

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Exploring the Natchez Trace

18 Wednesday Jul 2012

Posted by sweepingthesouth in Food, Natchez, Restaurants, Travel, Uncategorized

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Tags

autumn, Food, Natchez, Restaurants, South, Trace, Travel

So I know it’s still hot and only July but all this heat has me thinking of the fall. Autumn is my absolute favorite season and if you love it like I do, you will appreciate this post. I didn’t think the fall existed in the deep south, but last November proved me wrong. My boyfriend and I traveled to Natchez, Mississippi to see Angels on the Bluff (really great experience) and the following day we began the Natchez Trace.

Natchez Trace

It’s a pristine road that takes you from Natchez to Nashville. We only had time to go to Jackson and that took the entire day.

First Stop on the Trace

There are a great many stops and detours along the way, and if you love history like I do, you will want to see them all. It was a beautiful day, the air was crisp and the foliage was lovely. Some of the stops along the way included Mount Locust. One of the oldest structures in Mississippi.

And the Windsor Ruins which I think is a must see! It’s like you are visiting an ancient Greek Ruin. At one time, it was the largest Greek Revival antebellum mansion in the state.

There is also a ghost town known as Rocky Springs (after the spring dried up, it was just rocky). Many of the structures have disappeared but the old church is still there and functioning.

Along the way you can also see areas of the Sunken Trace.


And if you aren’t interested in history at all, you can still take the drive. It’s beautiful in the Spring and Fall and great for motorcycle riding.

Lastly, because I can’t go anywhere without talking about food, we happened to stop at this restaurant for lunch voted best fried chicken by Food and Wine magazine. Two Sisters Kitchen located in Jackson, MS is really delicious!

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