Trev's Bistro

Sazeracs, Hurricanes, Ramos Gin Fizz: Challenges with Cocktails in New Orleans

If you want a terrific cocktail, get away from the French Quarter is what I learned. For a city known for inventing and perfecting so many classic cocktails, from the basic Sazerac to the often complicated (or very basic) Hurricane, finding a worthwhile cocktail or beer from a bar not named Cure or affiliated with Cure became a steep challenge.

Cure has already been documented here, crafting what I’ll go on record as the premier cocktails in this city, and certainly a challenger for the best in this whole country. They are serious over there about the drinks, yet so relaxed in atmosphere. Cure is a breath of fresh air in the mixologist circuit. Luckily, the minds behind Cure have now opened up a second bar, Bellocq, on the Robert E. Lee Circle and St. Charles Avenue, near the Central Business District and a block from the World War II Museum. Bellocq is part of, but unattached to the Hotel Modern, forming quite the 1-2 drink and eat punch with the next door restaurant Tamarind by Dominique (Harrison Ford would agree as visited the restaurant the night I was there). The seductive lounge feel of Bellocq is more swank than Cure, a little bit more chic, intimate, and classic feeling with a grand piano in one corner and velvet couches in place of plush booths. While Cure evokes the trend of Prohibition era drinking without being a speakeasy like the rest of the cocktail world, Bellocq runs even further back in time to the late 19th century.

New Orleans photographer E.J. Bellocq is the namesake for the bar, who became famous for his pictures of madams in Storyville, the city’s old Red Light District. The sexual revolution theme is celebrated in the sleek, sexy vibe, the frequent burlesque shows, and of course the Bellocq photos that decorate the walls. While Cure focuses most on crafting intricate, multi-dimensional, thought-provoking wonders of cocktails, the 19th century theme of Bellocq is reflected drink-wise by its emphasis on cobblers– basic cocktails of a spirit or apertif accompanied by one or two elements, served in a frosted cup with a mound of beautifully manicured crushed ice, garnished with a few grapes and assorted fruits. Essentially choose your alcohol of choice, and a little juice or essence joins it in the cup. In the 19th century, drinkers either chose to not get smashed or got smashed very easily, so an apertif such as port or Cocchi Americano is a terrific base for a cobbler. I’d recommend the startling depth of a Madeira or the sweet nutty essence of Amontillado Sherry.

The cobblers go down quickly, yet don’t effect you like a real cocktail. That’s the point. You don’t have to stagger off the bar stool after every drink. A cobbler is an idyllic refresher on a hot New Orleans afternoon. It’s not a ground-breaking drink like the menu at Cure. However, this being a bar run by Cure, you can absolutely get an exceptional Sazerac or Cure-caliber, innovative cocktail as well. Great bartenders know how to make great drinks, no matter what century the bar’s theme is. Try a cobbler, then grow ambitious.Continue reading “Sazeracs, Hurricanes, Ramos Gin Fizz: Challenges with Cocktails in New Orleans”

Plat du Jour: June 8, 2012: Paris Is The New Brooklyn and the California Foie Gras Countdown

It’s the end of the week, graduation time, summer is almost here (officially that is), and that glorious time of the year when fresh produce are bountiful everywhere, with tomatoes preparing to emerge in a little over a month. What a great weekend for barbeque dinner and a stone fruit compote over ice cream!

Foie Gras at The Big Four Restaurant, San Francisco

Or if you’re in California, this is a great weekend to go overboard with foie gras everything because there aren’t many weekends left to do so. The New York Times captured both sides of the hotly contested debate, one that surely will not die down once July 1st comes around. One thing I’m guessing no chef will do is the proposed complimentary foie gras dish with a dramatic increase in prices for a glass of wine to reflect that. Somehow, you just know that the ban will soon be reversed.

Unlike Michael Bloomberg, the Mayor of New York City, who is specifically targeting obesity by tackling the problem head on by restricting the sizes of sugary drinks, the foie gras ban supporters led by Rep. John Burton simply are doing something against meat eaters for the sake of combating eating meat. Force feeding is indeed cruel for the geese producing the foie gras. Slaughterhouses aren’t exactly less cruel, either. If the target is animal cruelty, then outlaw meat eating period. If the target is the foie gras eating audience, a tiny sliver of the “1 percent,” then there are many other ways to have an effect as well. Outlawing foie gras in one state will not make waves. It will only make people roll their eyes and chuckle at how little an effect it has.Continue reading “Plat du Jour: June 8, 2012: Paris Is The New Brooklyn and the California Foie Gras Countdown”

Restaurants: The Donald Link Trio: Cochon, Cochon Butcher, and Herbsaint, New Orleans

Chef expansion is always a precarious dilemma. One formula hits the right notes at the right time for the original restaurant to achieve a certain level of popularity. The food, the service, the atmosphere, the size of the restaurant– everything clicks. However, it is very well known in the restaurant industry that the only way to make a possible profit is to expand. Of course, even then there is far from any guarantee of success. Succeeding at one restaurant makes a chef beloved. Succeeding with multiple restaurants creates a famous chef. Fame brings television exposure. Fame brings photo shoots of July picnics in your backyard in glossy national magazines. Fame brings cookbooks. Fame most of all, brings profit. Or, at least the potential for profit.

Expansion on the other hand also means somebody else is in the kitchen when the heart of the original restaurant is not. What might have clicked perfectly at the original restaurant may not translate at a new spot. How many film sequels have been able to replicate the original film? “Star Wars.” “The Godfather.” (That would be “The Godfather Part II” but not Part III). That’s about it.

With the sudden rise in the past half decade of television chef-celebrities, pioneered in the 1990’s by the likes of Wolfgang Puck and Emeril Lagasse, chef empires have become more prevalent. Diners seek local, sustainable ingredients, yet many also feel at home eating at Emeril’s Restaurant when Emeril is on the other side of the country. It’s fine for the chef to be 3,000 miles away, but the asparagus better be from five miles away. Continue reading “Restaurants: The Donald Link Trio: Cochon, Cochon Butcher, and Herbsaint, New Orleans”

Cocktail of the Week: None But The Brave from Heaven’s Dog, San Francisco

You don’t have to be very brave to order this delightful, refreshing while thought-provoking cocktail. It’s not too sweet, not too boozy, not too wham you over the head with an herbal or bitter taste. The secret to the success comes from an unlikely source: Delord Armagnac, brilliant with its toffee and stone fruit notes. Like Pisco, Cognac, and other brandies, the Armagnac driven None But The Brave refrains from being spirit-driven, but the drinker is aware of the spirit. Pure ginger extract and a hefty dash of allspice dram add a very noticeable spice, a bitter allure from lemon, all served beautifully balanced up in a coupe with the somewhat sweet forward Armagnac as the base.

Why is Armagnac, or its double distilled brother Cognac for that matter, not used more often as the driving force in cocktails? Why must it always be the rum, vodka, gin, tequila, whiskey quintet most of the time? Luckily the likes of Pisco and Mezcal are making cracks in the old quintet armor.

Heaven’s Dog was the first completely non Vietnamese, sit down restaurant created by Charles Phan of San Francisco’s famed The Slanted Door. Both Heaven’s Dog and the flagship have some of the cities most intriguing bar programs, with Heaven’s Dog best known for its also ginger flavored Shanghai Buck to go with the much talked about, slightly disappointingly bland pork belly in clam shell bites. Bartender Trevor Easter should be invited to Trev’s Bistro’s Hall of Fame not just for his name, but his excellent creation showing how the unlikely trio of Armagnac, ginger, and allspice dram can make such a delightful cocktail. It takes a very brave bartender to create something this riveting.

Beer of the Week: Mikkeller and Stillwater Two Gypsies “Our Side” Saison-IPA

ourside_12_12_10crop — http://stillwaterales.blogspot.com/p/stillwater-portfolio.html

The famed Danish gypsy brewer Mikkel Borg Bjergsø strikes again with this exceptional Saison meets IPA, a collaboration with fellow gypsy brewer Brian Strumke of the Baltimore based Stillwater Brewing. Stillwater initially created a Stateside Saison, itself a terrific Farmhouse Ale with lovely citrus notes. Mikkeller also came out with his own offering, a Stateside IPA. What comes next from the pair both creating beers called Stateside? A beer brewed together where Stateside Saison and Stateside IPA meet one another for a truly unique, brilliantly bright, slightly edgy brew known as “Our Side,” neither Stateside or Europe-side.

Mikkeller’s beers are some of the in your face vivid ones currently being brewed. If there is coffee in it, the taste is as present as it is in espresso. The same goes for a fruit centric beer, or one of my favorite flavors in one of his porters, chipotle. Perhaps it’s a Scandinavian influence, but many of his creations are strong in pine flavor. With this terrific, eye-opening mixture enjoyed on draft at the Avenue Pub in New Orleans, the pine flavor is more mild, beautifully balanced with the hoppy nature of an IPA and the citrus from a Saison. Everything connects, just like the two gypsies working together. Teamwork makes invigorating, unique beer.

Wine of the Week: 2008 Kunde Reserve Century Vines Zinfandel, Sonoma Valley

kunde-century-vines-zinfandel-sonoma-valley-reserve-series-main — http://www.kunde.com/2008-kunde-reserve-century-vine-zinfandel

From the nutrient rich soil creating some of the world’s most earthy, smooth Zinfandels comes this excellent offering from Kunde Family Estates, a fourth and fifth generation winemaking family in Kenwood, California. Luscious boysenberry and a touch of pepper spice, or even cumin adds tremendous depth to this perfect pairing with a rack of lamb, or even duck breast and confit, as was the case when enjoyed at Commander’s Palace Restaurant in New Orleans.

What struck me most about this lovely bottle was the smooth body, yet it was a hefty tannin rich wine. Everything came together, a beautiful expression of wine making and the terroir. Instead of being a stylized big body wine, this is a free-flowing wine that is allowed to really be itself. 2008 was a dry season for Sonoma, perhaps the reason why this well-rounded wine is ready to enjoy now, and very advanced for its relatively young age.

Restaurants: Commander’s Palace, New Orleans

In the year 1880, Helen Keller and W.C. Fields were born. James Garfield became the 20th President of the United States, defeating Winfield S. Hancock.

132 years ago, Commander’s Palace also opened its stately doors in the Garden District of New Orleans, a mostly residential, Victorian home and grand tree lined area, a far cry from the cramped French Quarter.

The name Commander’s Palace is synonymous with New Orleans fine dining. It is a true destination for a special occasion night out, not just the place to go when you don’t feel like cooking. In this day of quinoa, foraged vegetables, Niman Ranch this, Coleman Farms that, sous-vide duck breast, and de-constructed s’mores, they just don’t make them like Commander’s Palace anymore. New Orleans is one of the few gifted cities to not need to preserve its dining past because so many of its century old establishments are still running. Some of them are running on fumes and more comparable to an antique by recent visits (Galatoire’s), while Commander’s Palace continues to push itself to a rare level of excellence that blends equal triumph in the cuisine, the elegant sprawling former plantation atmosphere, and some of the most gracious hospitality that exists in 2012. It’s hard to say which is the leading part of that trio for Commander’s Palace. Instead, it should be acknowledged that the restaurant achieves the dining version of the horse racing Triple Crown, complete with steep prices that cannot really be considered steep when comparing to the competition.Continue reading “Restaurants: Commander’s Palace, New Orleans”

Tuesday’s Project: Bananas Foster

The tableside flambé is a dying art, much like professional service at restaurants. Diners seem to prefer a de-constructed take on Bananas Foster or a slab of herb butter on an unadorned steak, instead of the pomp and circumstance of the flambé cart being wheeled tableside and the server finishing off the Bananas Foster or Steak Diane preparations.

Bananas Foster was created at Brennan’s in New Orleans’ French Quarter, where you can start the day right with a three course power breakfast, complete with a Bananas Foster flambé finale. You can also get an outstanding Bananas Foster flambé at Commander’s Palace, also owned by the legendary Brennan family.

Before going to New Orleans, I used my family’s old Bananas Foster recipe to prepare a version, then figured I could learn a thing or two over dinner at Commander’s Palace.Continue reading “Tuesday’s Project: Bananas Foster”

Po-Boys, Beignets, Shrimp Remoulade: Classic New Orleans

The most exciting dining to be found in New Orleans comes today from the new guard of the city’s chefs. Yet, there’s a reason that dining is such a part of the city’s DNA, as essential to the Big Easy experience as jazz at Preservation Hall and a picture at Jackson Square. It’s the classics that keep any city’s dining scene humming along consistently. The question always is have those classics grown tired and touristy, or do they continue to perform at the level they once did to deserve an exalted status.

For the most part, except for a certain grande dame restaurant on Bourbon Street, the New Orleans legends are as strong today as when they started decades ago or even a century ago.Continue reading “Po-Boys, Beignets, Shrimp Remoulade: Classic New Orleans”

Monday’s Neighborhood, Magazine Street in Uptown New Orleans

Between the Garden District to the east and Audobon Park to the west, Magazine Street has become the go to destination for galleries and boutique shopping in New Orleans, a 180 degree turn from the shops and bars of the French Quarter. Fortunately for shoppers and everybody else, Magazine Street happens to be a top tier dining thoroughfare as well. The gentrified stretch runs from feeling very much like you’re in the South towards the east end, through the hipper Touro area, and an almost Californian vibe arrives towards the west (perhaps because there is a Pinkberry there and Velvet serves Intelligentsia coffee?).

Starting on that west end, Velvet is a sliver of a cafe, where a massive painting of Johnny Depp’s The Mad Hatter will stare at you as you sip an outstanding drip coffee from Intelligentsia beans or hands down the best espresso in New Orleans from Portland’s Stumptown beans. Across the street is a massive Whole Foods Market, inside a former bus barn, and what just might be the most impressively stocked Whole Foods I have visited to date. Across from Whole Foods, get a workout in at Romney Pilates…not certain if there is any relation to the Republican presidential candidate or not.

A few blocks south reside the essential snow ball stop, Hansen’s Sno-Bliz, along with the po-boys at Domilise’s, and power dining at the legendary Clancy’s. Further north along Freret are some of the country’s best cocktails at Cure, intriguing sausages at Dat Dog, Neopolitan pizza at Ancora, and burgers that draw lines for The Company Burger.

Back down on Magazine, cruising the boutiques to the east, stop for a coffee at the Jefferson intersection branch of CC Community Coffee. They’re everywhere in New Orleans and beloved by the city. Grab some chocolates at Lolli’s or a dollar beer during Saints game at the Le Bon Temps Roule. Matt Farmer’s French-Cajun cooking in a cute cottage at Apolline is a very worthy stop for dinner, as is the similar in style, but much more hyped Lilette, from one of New Orleans’ famed chefs, John Harris, which resides further east. Near Napoleon Avenue, Casamento’s provides the city with the classic oyster loaf (not a po-boy!) and excellent oysters on the half shell, when in season. Alas, it’s not true oyster season, so Casamento’s is closed. Nearby is La Petite Grocery, one of New Orleans’ most impressive courtyards and excellent New French cuisine. Also, a new offshoot from Houston, Magasin serves contemporary Vietnamese in chic surroundings.Continue reading “Monday’s Neighborhood, Magazine Street in Uptown New Orleans”