August

Of all the decadent foods that we ate in New Orleans, August Restaurant wins hands down as what we think is arguably the best restaurant in that city. All dressed up, we were pumped up for a night of fine dining and August delivered. The entire execution of the dining experience and food at August stayed true to Chef John Besh's awards: Top 10 Best New Chefs in America by Food & Wine magazine, James Beard Award for Best Chef in the Southeast 2006, America’s Top 50 Restaurants by Gourmet magazine.

If the amuse bouche was any indication to the level of goodness of the rest of our meal, it certainly was a good way to start us off. The egg shell was filled with fish mouse and topped with black caviar and a tiny sprig of parsley. There was no hint of fishiness in the mousse which should be the way how fresh fish items are. The mousse was light and maybe even a little fluffy.

August gets bonus points from us for having the flexibility of the menu. While the degustation menu looked absolutely amazing, we had just come from happy hour at Luke and managed to eat an obscene amount of raw oysters and therefore would not have been able to stomach a 5-course dinner. Our server told us that if we liked any of the items from the 5-course degustation menu, we could order them ala carte style. Score.

The sunfish crudo was a winner in its own category. Dressed with a citrus vinaigrette, the sunfish slices were perfect for every bite. While we have seen ceviche in many places, we noticed that crudo seems to be popping up at restaurant menus these days. Crudo is raw fish in Italian and the fish is commonly accompanied with some sort of citrus dressing. While ceviche and crudo sound and look similar, the difference is that crudo is not "cooked" in the citrus juice but serves as an accompaniment.

The mangalitsa pork belly was amazing in its own right. We first learned about the Mangalitsa pig from Ming Tsai who said during one of the episodes of The Next Iron Chef that this breed is one of the most expensive and premium swines around and it is noted for its lard. While we have not seen Mangalitsa pork in any Chicago restaurants, they definitely are making the rounds in Chef John Besh's New Orleans restaurants including Luke which we also went to.




If there was a category for decadence, the best contender would have to be the duckling breast served with roasted duck foie gras. The duckling breast was tender and juicy done medium rare. The foie gras was rich and its petite serving was well portioned.

We topped off our meal with a deconstructed Hummingbird cake. The bite-size sponge cake was lightly seared on one side which gave it a slight crisp and burnt fragrance. It also came with a scoop of cream cheese ice-cream which replaced the traditional cream cheese frosting of a Hummingbird cake.

A large part of our travels involve gastronomic adventures and at the end of each trip we always ask each other So what was your favorite meal? August it was for the both of us.

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August

301 Tchoupitoulas Street

New Orleans, LA 70130

Accolades

2008 Food & Wine Magazine 50 Best Chef Hall of Fame

2008 Bon Appetit Magazine The Hot 10 Restaurants

2006 James Beard Award Best Chef in the Southeast

2006 Gourmet Magazine Top 50 Restaurants

1999 Food & Wine Magazine Best New Chef

Emeril's

Bam! Ah, that's Emeril Lagasse's famous catchphrase on his TV food shows. His personality on TV is such that people either like him or they don't. One thing is for sure, I find him entertaining although I have to say that I am still trying to find out the reason when each time he mentions garlic in his cooking shows, the audience on TV cheer and clap in delight.

We made advance reservations for our dinner at Emeril's and I also have to admit that before that night, I thought nothing more of Emeril than being a celebrity chef on Food Network TV. I had thought, hey, we are going to New Orleans, we have to try Emeril's flagship restaurant. Our entire experience that night at Emeril's sealed the deal for us. During our meal, I told T, "He isn't just a celebrity chef. His restaurant makes goods stuff. This place has standards".

Our experience was enhanced by the fact that we were seated at the kitchen counter. We did not realize that kitchen counter seating was available when we made reservations but when we checked in with the maitre'd, T saw the kitchen counter seating and requested if we could be seated there. We lucked out; the manager said he could put the two of us there. Score!

The kitchen was huge. We got full view of all the action going on in there with each chef working on their own stations. The station right in front of us was for grilling meats and preparing the seafood bouillabaisse dishes. The station to our left worked mainly with searing and grilling fish and shrimps. The two other stations to our right prepared the appetizers such as crawfish tails and pasta. A kitchen staff whose main responsibility was to oversee and expedite the entire process made sure each item was good to go before the food left the kitchen for the tables. It was non-stop action the entire time that involved seasoning, grilling, searing, boiling, and finally plating. We were mesmerized and just could not stop staring.

 

No, Emeril himself wasn't there. We chatted with the chef working right in front of us and he said that Emeril came in about a 2-3 weeks ago. With many of his other restaurants in different cities in the US, he divides his time between places. I asked the chef if Emeril's personality is exactly like what we see on TV and he said, Yeah, pretty much. You'd think that he'd be full of himself with his status but he's a nice guy.

I think the kitchen counter attracts diners that think alike. The rest of the diners at the 9-seater kitchen counter were as enthusiastic about their food and experience as us. We gave quick glances at each other's food, commented that it looked good, asked what was it and how it tasted.

 

 


Emeril's changed the way I feel about corn bread. Sounds like a pretty bold statement, I know. I never was a huge fan of cornbread but I blame it on the fact that the ones I've had were dry in texture. The cornbread at Emeril's was so soft it was almost cake-like. Each of our bread dish also included a sweet potato roll which was also so good and light, I ate it up in no time.

We shared the chicken gumbo and I don't remember us previously being this satisfied with gumbo. It was rich and the thick broth was immensely flavored perhaps even with some beef broth.




My smoked duck breast was something to rave about. I requested it medium rare and the meat was tender at every bite. The accompaniments of rhubarb, kale greens, and beans were great although halfway through my meal I felt that there were way more beans on my plate than I could finish.

T was equally happy with his cast iron fillet of beef that came with a small BBQ shortrib shepherds pie and apple walnut salad. The beef was perfectly prepared and the shepherds pie was a nice contrast from the steak.

Our dessert was Emeril's version of a deconstructed Black Forest cake. Unlike the traditional form of Black Forest cake that has cherries sandwiched between layers of chocolate cake, this dessert at Emeril's came with a square slice of Doberge cake that had thin layers of chocolate cake in between what tasted like chocolate ganache. The must-have cherries in the Black Forest cake were served as a compote as an accompaniment. The scoop of vanilla bean ice-cream was also an added touch to the dessert. This classic dessert was transformed into a new form and it worked.

When we eat, we not only focus on the end product on our plates but also like to think about the entire process that involves prepping, and then cooking itself, and finally plating before eating. It is almost like a short story in itself and sitting at the kitchen counter allowed us to participate in this entire process.



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Emeril's
800 Tchoupitoulas Street
New Orleans, LA 70130

Accolade
2011 James Beard Nominee for Outstanding Service

Cochon

Cochon could possibly be New Orleans' answer to Chicago's Publican. The Publican has a special place in our hearts and while Cochon is no Publican, it felt like we were transported to New Orleans' take on gastronomy celebrating the pig, Cajun-style. Sister restaurant to Cochon Butcher next door, Cochon is another food playground for James Beard award winner Chef Donald Link with James Beard nominee Chef Stephen Stryjewski.

Cochon seems to be the place to celebrate Old World classic food with a modern take. It's ambiance seems to agree with the concept. The wooden furniture in the entire restaurant gives a slight rustic hint but not without a contemporary feeling.

Bread baskets can be undervalued sometimes since items on the menu are generally considered the star of the meal. But these rolls, oh my, soft to touch, warm on the inside and melting the whipped butter as I spread it, and slight sweetness on the taste. I was a happy camper even before the food we ordered arrived. What a way to set a good tone to the beginning of our meal.

The crab-stuffed artichoke is one beautiful dish served right inside the "shell" of the artichoke leaves. Baked and topped with crispy bread crumbs, we used our forks and dug all the way down to get a scoop into our mouths. The texture and presence of crab meat was there and the taste of crab combined with the somewhat creamy dressing was well balanced. T thought it was a good idea to spread the crab stuffed artichoke onto his bread.




T always teases me that I do not eat as much greens as him but in my defense, I do eat my greens. They just have to be prepared the right way, or at least a way that I find enticing. After we polished up the first plate of smothered greens, I asked if we could order another plate of it and we did. It was that good. Hopefully that would also have put his teasing to rest? Southern-style greens have always been something that we really like and understandably we don't see it much, if at all, in restaurants in Chicago. Usually simmered for up to an hour or more, these greens were tasty.

Fried alligators have always been one of the delicacies of New Orleans and since it was our first time trying any form of alligator dish, this dish was very welcoming to our palettes. The alligator meat bites were first deep fried until crispy and then tossed in chili garlic aioli. The entire dish had an oriental taste to it especially with the tangy hint coming from the aioli. The alligator meat itself was almost like a chewy form of chicken meat.

 

We also tried the fried rabbit livers that came on petite pepper jelly toasts. The livers were crispy on the outside and rich in the inside which was very well balanced out with the pepper jelly on the toast. Cochon is a fine example of contemporary Cajun and Southern-style cuisine done right and there is great reason for it to stay for a long time. We generally do not eat Cajun or Southern style cuisine often given that the couple of Cajun restaurants we have back in Chicago are tourist traps, but Cochon reminds us that we ought to seek it out more than we do now.

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Cochon

930 Tchoupitoulas Street

New Orleans, LA 70130

Accolades

2011 James Beard Award winner for Best Chef in the South: Stephen Stryjewski

2010 James Beard Award winner for Best American Cookbook by Donald Link

Swine Bar at Cochon Butcher

Meat galore for the pork lovers! Oh this is so much more than just a butcher shop. It's a sWINE bar; what an ingenius way of swanking up the concept of a butcher. Meat and wine. Cochon Butcher. We had just arrived in New Orleans hungry, checked into our hotel, and then made the trek to Cochon Butcher in the 88 degree F heat. Tucked away in the Warehouse District of New Orleans, this place is a gem to pop in for a quick and casual lunch. As the name suggests, they sell butchered meats as well.

We got there after 1:30pm and it was bustling with people sitting at high-top tables eating their lunch, or either that, standing in line to order their food.
 

Cohon Butcher clearly knows their strength i.e. pork, and they do it well. The platter of headcheese with green tomato relish was absolutely delicious and a perfect start. The headcheese was soft with enough moist and provided a great contrast in texture to the perfectly toasted bread that we ate with the headcheese. We shared a pork belly sandwich that came with white bread, mint, and cucumber. It was filling and yet not too heavy since there wasn't any heavy dressing on the sandwich. In between bites, T commented, "Mmm it was worth the trek here".

At the butcher section, the top wall displays various cured hams and house made sausages hanging from inside the wall-mounted glass casing. The variety of house made meats that can be bought from the butcher section include boudin, andouille, lardo, duck rillette, ham, etc. The sausages are also made on the premise.

They have two types of house made hot sauces which include the sweet potato habanero sauce which I found pretty good but did not exactly rock my socks off although I really liked that the habanero gave it a spicy kick. The sweet potato gave the sauce a hint of sweetness but it did not stand out to me. I preferred their other original red hot sauce which I enjoyed with the pork belly sandwich. Along with these accompaniments, they also have house made pickles sold in jars conveniently displayed along the walls of the dining area.

If the meal isn't already enough, they do sell cupcakes, cookies, and pretzels which you could easily pick up from the counter. This, I thought, was pretty random but whatever works that makes people's stomachs happy, right? 

We read that Cochon Butcher is a favorite lunch choice among locals on a workday and it is easy to see why. As for us, if we are regular travelers to New Orleans, Cochon Butcher will definitely be our regular go-to place.


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Cochon Butcher
930 Tchoupitoulas Street
New Orleans, LA 70130

New Orleans: Warehouse District and Garden District

Our time spent in New Orleans actually turned out to be more of a foodie trip than anything else. Armed with our list of must-go-to restaurants and must-eat food list, we had non-stop gastronomic moments which deserve separate entries of their own. It wasn't just all eating, luckily. We walked a great deal everyday in the spring heat of 88 degrees F. We could only imagine how much warmer it becomes in summer. Our legs were put to good work the few days we were there and we really wouldn't have done it another way. What could be a better idea than walking to soak up and experience the local culture. And yes, we also needed to offset the amount of food we packed into our stomachs.

Our first trip to New Orleans was back in college and that was before Katrina happened. A few years have passed since the Katrina disaster and New Orleans is back to life, although the Ninth Ward area is still very much feeling the disaster effects and have yet to fully rebuild. Most often when people think of New Orleans, they associate the city with the French Quarter and the craziness and drunkenness on Bourbon Street. Beyond that, New Orleans has its own distinct areas that carry their own character. These areas are worth exploring and we got into a sense of a more local vibe that was beyond the overly touristy vibe.

Warehouse District (Arts District)

Some sections of Tchoupitoulas Street were quite reminiscent to the Fulton Market area in Chicago. Originally an industrial area, some buildings in the Warehouse District are converted into fine restaurants that are perfect for a great night out. This is where you can find Emeril's flagship restaurant. Other than restaurants, some storefronts are transformed into art galleries, wine lounges, and cafes. We were surprised to stumble upon a random Australian-themed cafe in the area. We walked a half block farther and saw a man set up a temporary cooking station right on the street. In true New Orleans fashion, the massive pot he was stirring into with an equally massive metal spatula was filled with crawfish, mushrooms, corn, lemon halves, bay leaves, and whatnot right outside the restaurant bar he worked at.

Most of the art galleries are concentrated on Julia Street or otherwise known as Julia Row. Here are some of the city's best art galleries although they weren't bustling with people on a Friday afternoon but interesting nevertheless to see the different types of art exhibits.

The historic sense of the Warehouse District is not all lost in this gradual transformation process. As we walked along the streets, there were many visible warehouses that were probably still functioning or at least appeared to be, as well as storefronts that were seemingly abandoned and perhaps waiting for its very slow transformation fate.

The Ambassador Hotel stays true to its historic origin in the Warehouse District with this plaque that tells people the building once used to be a coffee warehouse back in the days when this district was a bustling area for trade and commerce.

Garden District

At Garden District we saw a whole different community entirely. We went on a self-guided walking tour beginning from St Charles Avenue to Prytania Street and Coliseum Street and some other streets in between before ending on Washington Avenue. The mansion-style homes were grand and yet there was a strong historic sense in them with many of them built about 150 years ago. Many of the mansions have a plaque at the front gate that references the original owner(s) who lived there once upon a time. One of the notable original residents of the homes was the novelist Anne Rice.

One of the first mansions we saw was Colonel's Short Villa which was occupied at one time in history by one of the governors and his wife. The cast iron railings surrounding the garden has the distinct pattern of cornstalks.

We later realized that the cornstalk pattern theme in the cast iron railing was often a repeated design in some other homes.

Expansive gardens are also a common theme in this area with flowering plants. Some mansions have enough space for their own mini fountain.

One of the mansions was previously the Our Mother of Perpetual Help Chapel that was once owned by the novelist Anne Rice. The original use of this building as a chapel is still visible today with the statue in the garden, as seen in the picture below. The former chapel is now owned by Nicholas Cage.

Just across the street we saw a slightly different architectural influence for this mansion. Spotting the Greek Revival style architecture, this building is now owned by the Women's Opera Guild House which promotes the opera culture in New Orleans.

We ended our walking tour at the famous Victorian-style Commander Palace restaurant, noted for its tradition of turtle soup and jazz brunch in New Orleans.

We veered onto Magazine Street which is the area's main commercial area that reminded us a lot about the little neighborhoods back in Chicago. The street was bustling with pedestrians and there wasn't a shortage of coffee shops, bars, cafes, gelato store, salons, locally owned boutiques, studios, etc. We spent the whole afternoon strolling on the street and absorbing the local charm without the rush of having to do anything else or be at anywhere else.