The ultimate extravagance

A dilemma I frequently face when going out to brunch is whether to have sweet or savoury.  I have found a solution in the form of the Brennan’s three course breakfast.  First up (not counted in the three courses) was an “eye opener” – brandy milk punch.  This was deliciously cool, smooth and spiced.

Brandy milk punch

For the first course I had the southern baked apple with double cream.  This was delicious – the apple was perfectly cooked and beautifully spiced.  And there was some caramel in there too.  A delight.

Southern baked apple with double cream

Next I had the eggs Shannon – poached eggs, fried trout, creamed spinach with Hollondaise sauce. The creamed spinach was divine.  The trout was good – although, to be honest, it could have been any other white flesh fish for all I knew (I don’t even know if trout is a white flesh fish??).  The eggs were perfectly poached and the Hollondaise was smooth, creamy and delicious.

Eggs Shannon

For “dessert” SP and I shared the Bananas Foster (bananas sauteed in butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and banana liquer, flamed over run and served with icecream)  and the Crepes Fitzgerald (crepes filled with sour cream and cream cheese with strawberries flamed in Maraschino).  Both were great but I though the Bananas Foster was better.  The crepes were a little on the dry side but that’s just me being picky.

Bananas Foster

Crepes Fitzgerald

Next up was a class at the New Orleans School of Cooking.  Over 2 and a half hours participants were entertained, informed and fed by an excellent instructor (whose name I annoyingly did not catch).  The focus was the food but the instructuor cleverly wove in much about the history of Louisiana, as well as the difference between cajun (brown) and creole (red) food.  During the course of the lesson the instructor made gumbo, jumbalaya, bread pudding and pralines.  With the exception of the bread pudding which was decidedly average, the dishes were delicious and it was amazing to watch them being made (especially the roux for the gumbo – he took us expertly through all the stages of brown!).

Stages of roux browning for gumbo

Gumbo

Jumbalaya (half eaten - sorry about that!)

Bread pudding

Praline

Finally, I walked 3 miles to The Joint (in Bywater) for some barbecue.  It was wonderful to get out of the French Quarter and to get an idea of how some of the “real” people in New Orleans live.  I passed so many lovely people on my walk who volunteered “hello”, “happy thanksgiving” or just a friendly smile.  Such a different vibe from the French Quarter.   The Joint itself is a tiny place (well, shack really) that roasts its meat out the back.  I ordered ribs and ate them out the back on a picnic table with flys and smoke swarming.  The ribs were moist, succulent and wonderfully spicy.  Delicious.

Barbecue ribs

Tables and at the back of The Joint

On that note I farewell you.  I’m now in Anaheim where, as the focus is Disneyland, I’m unlikely to be anywhere near any good eating establishments.  Hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed planning and eating.

Hurricanes, swamps and ‘gators

Early start this morning to fit in breakfast at La Cote for their acclaimed vanilla sourdough french toast.  Not on the menu and we had the banana chocolate french toast instead which, although yummy, was essentially a fried cake and not really what I was after for breakfast.

Chocolate banana "french toast" with caramel sauce

After tours of Oak Alley plantation (enjoyed a mint julep there – thankfully virgin as the real deal was way too potent for me) and some swamps (only two smallish alligators spotted but it was great to travel on the bayous and riding on the airboat was fun) SP and I were keen for a muffaletta.  Unfortunately the Central Grocer was out by the time we got there, so we went to Napoleon House instead.  The Napoleon House version was toasted and filled with ham, salami, pastrami, swiss cheese, provolone cheese, and olive salad.  Superb.

Muffuletta

Dinner was at Arnaud’s.  I had the alligator sausage, served with a mustard sauce and apple and onion relish.  In addition to being beautifully presented this dish tasted fantastic.  All of the parts worked together perfectly.

Alligator sausage with mustard sauce and apple and onion relish

I haven’t had quail before so thought I’d give this a try.  Mine were stuffed with a foie gras mousse, wrapped in bacon and served with a truffle-infused Bordelaise sauce.  It was good but not brilliant because of the excess of strong, competing flavours.

Quail with a foie gras mousse, bacon and truffle-infused Bordelaise sauce

Dessert was a cream cheese-filled crepe with a caramel praline sauce.  Delicious.

Crepe with cream cheese and caramel praline sauce

Finally (at that restaurant – the evening was still young!) I had the cafe brulot.  This citrus, spice and alcohol infused flambed coffee was spectacularly prepared at the table.  A highlight of the trip.

 

Cafe brulot in preparation

Cafe brulot in preparation

Cafe brulot

 

The final food for the evening was a carrot, ginger and marscapone gelato from La Divina Gelateria.  Delicious.

 

Carrot, ginger and marscapone gelato

 

The evening concluded with a trip to Pat O’Briens piano bar and a Hurricane.  The piano bar was kind of fun.  Would pass on the Hurricane in the future as it was sickly sweet (even for me) and boozy (ok, to be expected, but I kind of hoped the sweetness would make up for it).

 

Hurricane

 

 

The den of iniquity

I stupidly chose to stay in a hotel on Bourbon Street for my stint in New Orleans.  The only advantage is that I haven’t needed to bother about its street address – I just follow the noise and drunken people to the hotel.  Despite the sleaziness and tackiness of Bourbon Street specifically and, to a lesser extent, the French Quarter, the food to date has largely been magnificent.

SP and I arrived last night and headed to Muriel’s for dinner.  Turtle soup for starters.  I’ve wanted to try this for ages since seeing Babette’s Feast.  Yes it was real turtle but the turtle would have been farmed not wild.  SP commented that it was more like swamp soup which was a fair description.  The flavours were complex and interesting but a bit too strong for my liking.  Also the texture was a bit off putting – rather slimy.

Turtle soup

Next up was barbecued shrimp.  The creamy worcestershire sauce reduction was divine and the prawns were delicious.

Barbecue shrimp

Finally the best bread and butter pudding I’ve ever eaten.  Just the right consistency and topped off with a toffee crust, caramelised pecans and a brandy sauce.  The perfect blend of fine dining and comfort food.

Bread and butter pudding

On the way home we walked past Cafe du Monde and I couldn’t resist the chance to try their cafe au lait and beignets.  I wasn’t expecting much from the coffee but the beignets themselves were a bit of a disappointment.  They’d been overcooked and sucked in too much grease.  Not good now matter how much icing sugar they’re smothered in.

Cafe au lait and beignets

Today we were in a rush to catch a morning city tour and were lucky enough to chance upon Johnny’s Po-Boys on our way.  I ordered the BLT po-boy and SP had the shrimp po-boy.   Mine was delicious and quickly devoured on the back of the bus.  The shrimp po-boy was also good – although the shrimp were battered and fried so it was a bit on the greasy side for breakfast.

BLT po-boy

We had enough time between tours (after the city tour we’d booked tickets for a Mississipi steamship ride) to lunch at Mother’s.  I had the crawfish etouffee.  The etoufee bit was great but I’m not sure about crawfish.  I hadn’t eaten these before and expected them to be like prawns and / or crayfish.  In reality they had a much stronger flavour and were  more crumbly in texture.

Crawfish etoufee

Whilst on the steamboat SP and I shared an Evans creole pecan log, filled with vanilla nougat.  Delicious.

Evans creole pecan log

Before dinner we had a Pimm’s cup from Napoleon House.  Refreshing as promised by the bartender but boy what a hit.  I’m steering well clear of the Hurricane.

We had dinner at Tujagues.  No a la carte menu here.  Everyone gets a six course dinner and your only choice is your main.  This was fine with me.  Sometimes choice is overrated.  First up was the shrimp remoulade.  SP noted that this is essentially a variation on the shrimp cocktail.  The sauce was spicy with a bit of a hit.  Delicious with the cold prawns and lettuce.

Shrimp remoulade

The crab and corn bisque was a real disappointment because despite all of its wonderful flavours and perfect texture, it was too salty for both my and SP’s palates.

Crab and corn bisque

The beef brisket was melt in your mouth tender and accompanied by a fiery but delightful horseradish-based creole sauce.

Beef brisket and creole sauce

 

Instead of the stated options for our main SP and I requested the chicken bonne femme, a secret dish that you have to know about to request (thankfully a review outlining this “secret” was stuck to the wall next to our table!).  This was an extraordinary dish.  Four cuts of chicken (leg, wing, thigh and breast) covered in a wonderful blend of spices and pan fried so the skin is thin and crispy, served with tablespoons of chopped raw garlic and parsley and sauteed potatoes.  Magnificent.

Chicken bonne femme

Finally, banana bread and butter pudding with caramel sauce and coffee.  The pudding was fine – incomparable to our pudding from Muriel’s last night though so a bit of a disappointing way to end the meal and the day.

Banana bread and butter pudding with caramel sauce

St Louis family style

SP and I parted ways for a few days – she went to Chicago to check out their galleries (as if NY wasn’t enough) and I went to St Louis to catch up with my relatives (uncle, aunt, three cousins [aged 4 to 7] and my aunt’s mum).  It was fantastic to be able to see them in their new home and to be able to really relax for a few days ( I didn’t even have to set my alarm – every morning my three gorgeous cousins would run into my room for my wake up call).  They were kind enough to show me the sights around St Louis.  These included the gorgeous historic town of St Charles, Santa’s Magical Kingdom (no exaggeration) in Jellystone park, Castlewood State Park, the St Louis Zoo and the St Louis Arch.

From a culinary perspective it was great too, to be able to have some fantastic home cooking and to try out some local places.  In terms of home cooking I was spoilt with lots of lovely fresh vegetables and great meat and some Norwegian salmon too.  My aunt cooked a lovely breakfast of bacon (beautifully cooked – not overdone as is the custom over here) with both pancakes and waffles.  Another morning my uncle made me one of his specialty omlettes packed with a selection of veggies and some of that great bacon too.

Bacon, pancakes and waffles

Omlette with vegetables and bacon on the side

In St Charles there were heaps of interesting shops, including a shop with about 35 flavours of popcorn, a doggie treat shop (e.g. pepperoni flavoured dog popcorn) and a sweet shop.  I indulged only in the latter (Riverside Sweets) with a massive selection of chocolate (e.g. chocolate pretzel, chocolate covered oreo, chocolate covered s’more) and fudge (shared with my relatives of course!).

Chocolate selction from Riverside Sweets

For lunch one day my aunt and her mum went to Miss Aimee B’s, a quaint restaurant located within a converted house.  This is definitely the place for the ladies to go to lunch (not a man in sight) and we were served by a lovely lady who reminded by aunt of Betty White from Golden Girls (I concurred).   I ordered their lemonade with mik (yes, with milk, that’s the way they make it here) which was tasted unusual but was actually quite good.  I had their spinach crepe with a cheese sauce, with macaroni cheese on the side (can’t have too much cheese can you?).  The crepes were incredibly bland but the macaroni cheese was delicious.  I finished with the dessert platter – pumpkin pie, moon pie (an open eclair) and chocolate cake.  The pumpkin pie was excellent but was bested by my aunt’s choice of bumbleberry pie (no such thing as a bumbleberry I discovered – just a “bumble” of various berries).

Spinach crepe with macaroni and cheese

Dessert platter

One afternoon my uncle (who shares my fondness for sweet delights) took me to Maggie Moo’s Ice Cream and Treatery, where you pick your icecream and toppings and the staff mix them altogether to create your own special concoction.  Too bewildered to be able to come up with my own selection I ordered one of the standard combinations – chocolate icecream, chunks of Reese’s cups, Reese’s pieces and peanut butter.  Oh yeah.  My uncle ordered the marshmallow icecream with M&Ms, oreo chunks, chunks of Reese’s cups and sprinkles.  Both were delicious.

Maggie Moo's icecream delights

I finally tracked down some Twinkies at a Wall Mart.  Sadly these did not live up to my memory of them from my childhood.  They looked great and the texture was fantastic but the artificial aftertaste was a real turn off.

For my final evening in St Louis we all went to the Home Town Buffet.  It was great fun and I indulged in the following four “courses”.  The best things were the steak and the apple crumble.  The worst (not shown here) was the bumblegum slushie.  Not recommended for human consumption.

Course 1 - pizza, fried chicken, coleslaw

Course 2 - barbecued ribs

Course 3 - steak, wedges and beans

Course 4 - apple crumble, chocolate pudding, bread and butter pudding, vanilla snow freeze

Farewell NYC

On my last full day in New York I went to Pastis for breakfast as it was conveniently located at one end of the High Line which I wanted to walk across.  I had the egg white omlette with spinach and herbs.  It was really good although the unrequested potatoes on the side were lukewarm and a bit soggy.  Strangely I was asked to not take a photograph of the food as apparently the chef likes to know in advance when someone intends to take a photograph so s/he can “make sure the food looks nice”.  Aghast I questioned the sanity of this and eventually the maitre d’ gave up and said she’d turn her back so I could take the photo.  Sorry about the bad quality of the photo but I didn’t want to take another one in case I got ejected.

White omlette with herbs and spinach, and potatoes

Djerdan’s was my stop for lunch.  I ordered a piece of cheese burek and a half serve of cevapi.  The burek was fantastic with its chewy pastry and creamy cheese filling.  The cevapi themselves (little veal sausages – no skin) were good (nicely grilled) although I don’t think the accompaniments did them justice (pita bread, raw onions and roasted red pepper sauce).  I also ordered the tulumba (“specially made dough fried and dipped into honey maple like syrup”) and was quite disappointed by the cold soggy reality.

Cheese burek

Cevapi in pita bread with roasted red pepper sauce and onions

Tulumba

I happened to pass a small branch of Dean and Deluca’s and stopped in to get their Thanksgiving menu (they order!) and was waylaid by their chocolate counter.  I succumbed to the apple chocolate and minty frog.  Both divine.

Apple and minty frog chocolates

SP and I decided to spend our last night in New York at the theatre and scored half price tickets to David Mamet’s Oleanna ( starring Bill Pullman and Julia Stiles).  We sought a nearby eatery and ended up going to the Clubhouse Cafe.  I ordered a buffalo burger.  Wish I’d gone to McD’s instead.  The meat patty itself was tasty and spicy but the bun was terrible and the salad paltry.  And it was dry – only ketchup supplied on the side.

Buffalo burger

After a late night search for Twinkies ended in vain I ordered a pizza from a nearby pizzeria (Patsy’s Pizzeria on 23rd) as somehow I’d managed to not have any to date.  It was a bit of a disappointment, primarily because my expectations of oozing stringy mozarella were not met.  Instead, a mozarella and ricotta concoction had been smeared over the base and after being cooked had turned to the consistency of dried paint.  It was really strange.  Otherwise the pizza was good.  Hmmm.  Let’s see what St Louis has in store for me.

Pepperoni pizza

Overrated French and Italian

Balthazar is the most highly rated restaurant in New York on urbanspoon.com so I thought it was worth a shot.  I went there for breakfast and was not that impressed.  The service was mediocre and the pastry casing for the scrambled eggs with mushrooms and asparagus was so dry I needed a steak knife to cut through it.

Scrambled eggs, mushrooms and asparagus in puff pastry

I was much more impressed with the gourmet grocery store Dean & Deluca.  Photos of some of their wonderful stations are below.  I had a Doughnut Planet jelly doughnut which was pretty good.

Sandwiches to go

Poultry products

Breads

Doughnut Planet jelly doughnut

After visits to the Guggenheim and the Met I had a yummy snack (at the Met) of root bear and apple and caramel muffin.

Root beer and apple and caramel muffin

By the time SP and I got to La Mela in Little Italy I was famished.  I’d walked through Central Park and shopped up a storm at FAO Schwarz, Tiffany’s and Saks.  We ordered their 5-course set menu.  The courses were (1) mozarella and tomato, (2) mixed hot antipasti (stuffed mushrooms, fried mozarella, asparagus with mozarella and roasted capsiums, (3) mixed pasta (tomato rigatoni, tortellini with creamy sauce and gnocci with mozarella), (4) meat dish (veal, prawns and chicken) and (5) mixed desserts (cheesecake, tiramisu, icecream and fruit).  Photos below but disappointingly average.

Mozarella and tomatoes

Mixed hot antipasti

Mixed pasta

Meat dish

Mixed dessert

Sweet dreams

I headed out early to the Empire State Building this morning to beat the queues and had breakfast afterwards.  I went to Astro restaurant. I ordered bacon and eggs with potatoes, followed by a single pancake. I can’t remember who recommended it but it wasn’t that good.  As I was starving I virtually inhaled it so it probably didn’t matter that much anyway.

I then did the Radio City Music Hall tour (thanks for the recommendation Danielle – it was great) and went to MoMA.  The Hallo Berlin cart had been recommended by Holly Moore on HollyEats.com (“wurst not hot dogs”) but my increasingly desperate searching was to no avail.  Instead I succumbed to ‘Wich Craft at the Rockefeller Center.  I was pleasantly surprised with my order of the meatloaf sandwich.  The meatloaf was thick, juicy and tasty, accompanied by bacon and smothered in an Italian tomato sauce and melted cheese.  Yummo.  I also ordered a Boylan black cherry cola.  Delicious – it tasted of real cherries!

Meatloaf sandwich

My final meal was a dessert.  I decided to forgo a proper dinner as I’d heard that Serendipty 3′s desserts were amazing.  I had been well informed.  MyForbidden Broadway Sundae – chocolate “Blackout” cake (3 layers of chocolate cake sandwiched together with chocolate ganache and chocolate chips), ice cream, hot fudge and whipped cream – was a colossal gooey delight. I’ve also included a photo of the restaurant as it was really neat.

Forbidden Broadway Sundae

Serendipity 3

A couple of photos below from my final destinations for the day.

Dylan's candy bar

Dylan's candy store

Candy display at Bloomingdale's

New York deli and Ukrainian

This morning I took the Staten Island ferry to get a slightly closer look at the Statue of Liberty and then walked across the Brooklyn Bridge (from Manhattan).  Once in Brooklyn I made my way to the Brooklyn flea, at the base of the bridge.  By the time I got there it was 11.30am and I was famished.  Thankfully in addition to the clothing, posters and antiques there were some food stalls.  I had a cherry pastry followed by a fish taco.  The pastry was wonderful, although not as good as those at the at my Ellerslie local Boulangerie l’Epi.  I watched the fish in my taco being dunked in its beer batter and fried in a gas fired pot of oil before being assembled in its taco with guacamole, coriander, red onions and red cabbage and a white sauce that I didn’t catch the name of.  It was really delicious.

Cherry danish

Fish taco

I also bought some Nunu chocolates (make locally in Brooklyn) which I have just sampled.  I had the coffee and raspberry ones and they were delicious.

Nunu chocolates

I returned to Manhattan and walked to Katz’s delicatessen.  Katz’s is regarded by many as the quintessential New York deli so I patiently waited about half and hour in a shambolic queue before I could make my order.  I was then castigated by the sandwich maker for holding up the queue by asking a question.  Thankfully I wasn’t kicked out of the queue a la Seinfeld in the “Soup Nazi” episode.  I ordered a pastrami Reuben’s: a thick wad of hot melt in your mouth pastrami with sauercraut and melted cheese on rye and pickles on the side.  A work of magnificent wonder and worth any kind of telling off.

Pastrami Reuben's with pickles

I had dinner at the much lauded Veselka.  They’ve expanded their merchandising into cookbooks and opened a new “mini” store.  Despite not being particularly hungry I ordered the deluxe combination meat platter as I wanted to try their Ukrainian signature dishes.  The platter came with a small soup to start.  I chose the borscht which was wonderful.  Chunks of beetroot, cabbage and beans in a thick purple salty liquid topped off with some dill.

Borscht

The meat platter comprised meat stuffed cabbage with a creamy mushroomy sauce, grilled kielbasa (Ukrainian sausage) and three types of pierogi (boiled dumplings: chicken, potato and cabbage).  Fried onions in oil and a beetroot salad were on the side.  It was great to be able to try all of these things in one hit but it’s probably not the sort of food I’d choose to eat on a regular basis.  Also,  I reckon my mum’s Croatian stuffed cabbage (sarme) is better than Veselka’s.  As the locals say: a shout out to you mum!

Meat stuffed cabbage, kielbasa and assorted pierogi

Nathan’s and American bistro

For breakfast SP and I went to the nearby Empire Diner.  Despite it looking the part (its a free standing caravan type diner that’s all chromed out) breakfast was pretty average and expensive.  I had the lox bagel and a latte (US$17.50 before tax or tip!).  SP had poached eggs, bacon, “special” Empire fries and an English muffin.  Apparently it was good apart from the bacon that was returned because it had been cooked to a crisp despite being asked for it not to be.

Lox bagel and latte

Poached egg, bacon, special Empire fries and English muffin

Put off by the queues at the Guggenheim and the Met SP and I sauntered across Central Park in search of Zabars, a mom & mom run delicatessen that has been in operation for decades.  Hands down best delicatessen either of us had ever been to.  It has a phenomenal selection of great quality foods at reasonable prices.  See the selection of olives and strudels below.

Olives by the bucket

Oodles of strudels

They have a little cafe on the corner where some of their tasty delights can be sampled.  Unfortunately this did not quite live up to the deli.  I had a cheese blintz (served with apple sauce), a cinnamon bun and a filter coffee.  The blintz was a little on the sweet side but otherwise good.  The bun was sticky, sweet and moist. Zabar’s are known for their coffee and I was pretty impressed, despite not usually being into filter coffee.

Cheese blintz, cinnamon bun and filter coffee

SP had minipotato latkes, also served with apple sauce.  I thought these were OK.  SP quite liked them.

Mini potato latkes

We also took away some irresistable petits fours which we consumed on the subway a few hours later on the long subway ride to Coney Island.  Their fondanty moist goodness was most appreciated.

After walking from Brighton Beach to the main part of Coney Islands in the wind and drizzle, via the deserted fairgrounds and freak show stalls, it was a major boon that Nathan’s Famous hotdogs was actually open.  I ordered a hot dog with sauerkraut and fried onions.  It was really good.

Hot dog with sauerkraut and fried onions

For dinner we went to Odeon, recommended by a number of locals.  We both ordered the New York strip steak with a garlic butter sauce.  The dish is accompanied by a huge pile of fries.  The steak and its sauce were fantastic.  Best steak I’ve ever eaten (sorry Dad!).

New york strip steak with garlic butter sauce and frites

Bits and pieces

Today was mostly devoted to shopping so eating had to play second fiddle for a change.  I headed out to the Union Square Greenmarket for its 0800 start and many of the stalls were only just setting up, so headed back to City Bakery for breakfast.  I ordered their hot chocolate and a walnut pastry thing.  I wasn’t that keen on the walnut pastry thing as it was way too sweet and too walnuty.  The pastry around the outside was good.  As with yesterday, the hot chocolate was great and I loved the marshmallow.  I was served by an aspiring actor and musician Eric (www.myspace.com/funkyrock11) who kindly posed for the photograph.

Walnut pastry thing and hot chocolate

Eric ladles hot chocolate

Lunch was at shake shack.  I ordered a standard shake shack burger and one of their home made lemonades.  The burger was just perfect.  Nothing fancy, just good ingredients cooked well.  The lemonade was also good, thankfully not too sweet.

Shake shack burger and homemade lemonade

In the trash can near my table a squirrel also had its lunch.  Judging by the size of its backside it has lunch here a lot.

Shake shack squirrel

As my dinner reservation with SP was for 11pm I indulged in afternoon tea.  The Whole Foods Market in Union Square.  This place is so busy they have 34 (maybe 35?) cash registers – and they were all operating to capacity.  In addition to  having lots of ingredients they have heaps of prepared food which you can take away or eat upstairs.  I chose an almond croissant, cannoli and New York cheesecake with an egg nog latte.  The croissant was beautiful – the pastry was perfect and the filling tasted really marzipany.  The cannoli was not that good – the fillling was fine but the pastry was oily and had a nasty aftertaste. Nowhere near as good as that at the Terminal Reading Market in Philadelphia.  The cheesecake was ok.  Unfortunately it had been slathered in that gelatinous stuff they put on fruit tarts and it was a bit hard to taste the actual cheese cake.  The egg nog latte was ok – only really good for novelty value.

Almond croissant, cannoli, cheesecake and egg nog latte

SP and I were unable to make our dinner reservation at Spice Market much to our disappointment.  We headed to some local places recommended by the hotel staff and ended up at New Venus Diner.  We both ordered Monte Cristo’s (challah french toast with turkey, ham and cheese).  The actual french toast bit was fine, but the turkey did not taste right with it and the ham was actually luncheon.

Monte cristo