Holy Mardi Gras

Last night I was invited to join a bizarrely electric and rather large group of people at Arnaud's French 75.  With the exception of Remoulade, Arnaud's casual dining restaurant on Bourbon Street, I've never been to either the namesake restaurant of the delightfully fancy bar. Curiousity was piqued, I couldn't resist the temptation. Let me begin by saying that French 75 is much, much smaller than I had ever imagined. In this case, the small size contributed nicely to the atmosphere. Stepping into this bar is like entering another era. I kept expecting a leggy flapper to fall across my lap and offer me a cigar.  I had to remind myself several times that cigar smoke doesn't mix well with my constitution as my fingers longingly grazed the leather bound cigar menu.

As delicious as the drinks were, what impressed me most about Arnaud's was not actually in the bar. The restaurant and French 75 bar are housed in the same building. On the second floor of the building is a museum. I haven't been to many restaurants or bars that have a museum attached (although you could argue that we've all been to a museum with an adjoining restaurant). But even if I had, this museum would take the cake. The Germaine Cazenave Wells Mardi Gras Museum is a tribute to three generations of women who reigned as queens of more than 22 Mardi Gras parades between 1941 and 1968. As I made my way around the museum I kept trying to imagine the time and cost invested in these gowns. The beading on each one is incredibly elaborate. Some of the trains are lined in fur. The tiaras are breathtaking. The beauty and decadence that is exhibited in these gowns is mind blowing. I'd highly recommend a visit.

Live Mas

Please don't judge me. I just HAD to do it. Last year, I was fooling around online and stumbled across a blog post with a funny looking taco. I did a little research and found Taco Bell had a new taco with a Doritos shell. The only catch was that it was in limited locations. I did an informal Facebook poll on whether or not I should fly to New Mexico to try one. In the end, I realized I was being ridiculous.

So, imagine my delight when Taco Bell announced they were releasing the Doritos taco nationally. (Squeal!!!!) Well, at least that's was how I felt in the beginning. Then I started trying it to put it off. Was I really sure I'd like a Doritos taco? I didn't know anyone else who had tried it. Would it make me sick? Finally, I gathered my courage and found a friend to come along and hold back my hair if need be.

In true Taco Bell fashion there are two kinds of Doritos tacos, regular and taco supreme. I'm going to be honest, the regular taco wasn't bad. I haven't had a hard shell taco in years but this one tasted pretty standard. Oddly, I couldn't taste much of the Doritos flavor. Sadly, the taco supreme was a far less pleasant experience. I suspect the wetness from the sour cream and tomatoes enhanced the Doritos flavor. It was disgusting. I'm not sure what I expected, but I left there feeling very disappointed. On the upside, we took a couple of the tacos out with us later that night and they seemed to be popular with the bar folk. Why wasn't I surprised?

Why Say No, When You Can Just Say Yes?

A month ago I embarked on a low carb diet. Now, I firmly describe to the belief that if I want something I should just let myself have it. That is to say that I haven't been following the diet to the T. However, there are some things that I simply try to avoid.

Last week the only thing I wanted in the world was a cake donut with chocolate icing and sprinkles!

Nearly every one of my conversations had a mention of donuts in them. It began with bold "I really want a donut right now" statements and graduated to friends texting me with the haunting word "donut." By Friday, I'd had enough. I opened my eyes and new that within the next hour and a half I would have a donut in my hand. Now when a person is craving a donut, specifically a cake donut, there is only one option as far as I'm concerned.

"Well, hello Blue Dot Donuts! It's been a while. It's so nice to see you again." This is actually the conversation I had rolling in my head when I got there. I ordered two chocolate glazed donut holes, one cake donut with blueberry (yes that's right, I said blueberry) icing, a cake donut with chocolate icing and nut sprinkles, the pb&j donut (peanut butter icing with a berry jam filling) and two strawberry filled donuts. In my defense the strawberry filled donuts were for a friend who realized what I was up to and the others I ate over a course of five hours. It was the most satisfying part of my week. To improve on that my total was less than $5. Maybe next time I'll have the courage to try their Maple Long John with Bacon.

Nice Try

Once upon a time, there was a cute little restaurant on Magazine called Dominique's on Magazine. Last August, in what can only be called a soap opera worthy dustup, Dominique and his business partners decided to part ways. I'm not sure about everyone else, but it certainly set my tongue wagging. To top things off, Dominique announced that he was opening another restaurant with the same name just a few blocks away. Oh, Snap! A few short months later, Apolline emerged in the old Dominique's location with a new chef.

To be honest, I was torn about writing this review. The staff at Apolline are delightful. The ambiance is warm and comfortable. They have a Wednesday night special called Wine Down Wednesdays. Five dollar glass of wine? Yes, please. The issue I had with the restaurant was that I simply did not enjoy my meal.

I ordered the grilled flat iron steak. It came with white asparagus, chimichurri and a potato latke. Now I'm no fool. I am well aware of the fact that chimichurri is a very oily sauce. My complaint isn't with the food so much as the way the dish is imagined. My plate was drenched in oil. I am not exaggerating. There was so much oil that it ruined the rest of the meal. I couldn't stop thinking about it. Even when the dessert arrived, a delicious pumpkin ice cream I found myself still obsessing about the chimichurri.

I'm not by any means suggesting that Apolline is not a good restaurant. In fact, I'm sure I'll go back to visit them soon. It's the kind of place I would really want to see do well and I wish them the best of luck in that endeavour.

All I Want is a Burger

Ok. I'll admit it. I'm a carb-aholic. I'm the person who shamelessly devours slices of bread for a meal. I'm the person who spends twenty minutes circling the baked goods in a supermarket only to make my way to the checkout line overcome with guilt. I'm also the person that stares at the breadbasket praying that self control. That said, a few weeks ago I decided to revisit one of the low carb diets from my college days. I've done fairly well...up until today.

When I woke up this morning the only thing I wanted in the world was a hamburger. I brushed my teeth fantasizing about where I was going to get my burger. I sent out text messages to a few of my friends daring them to accompany me on my journey. I ended up at The Company Burger and it was a solo operation. The Company Burger is a simple but modern burger joint which opened on Freret Street less than a year ago. Since then, it was hailed as one of the go-to burger places of 2011. The only complaint I've heard about them has been some random grumblings about what they charge for an iced tea. I made my order to go, and I didn't get the tea.

Last weekend, The Company Burger took home the award for Grand Champion at Hogs for the Cause. I clearly made the grave mistake of not trying their booth at the festival so I thought I'd attempt redemption with today's lunch. Let me begin by saying, that for a carb-aholic there are few things more exciting than a piece of meat between two buns glistening with butter. When they handed me my brown paper bag, covered in grease and smelling like sin I felt positively giddy.

I ordered the turkey burger with a side of onion rings. Despite appearing to be red onions, I wasn't impressed with the onion rings. The burger was another matter. The turkey burger is a ground turkey patty layered with arugula. It is sandwiched between two buttery buns, each respectively shellacked with green goddess dressing and tomato jam. It was delicious and almost certainly called for a mid-day nap. It was exactly the kind of detour I needed in my carbless adventures.

Thanks For the Cracklin

This weekend I enjoyed six glorious hours of pork heaven. To clarify, Hogs for the Cause was a great event with an incredible turnout. There was good music and delicious food. Also, thanks to all the rain we had last week, City Park was more or less a muddy lake. Typically, I loathe muddy festivals. This time around, the wonder of the hog managed to make me love the mud. Who would have thought?! I threw on a pair of old keds and slushed through that mud with heart and determination. I'm ashamed to admit that I was way too excited and ate too much food to take much note of what I was putting in my mouth. The only things I'm sure I ate were loads of cracklin and a ton of pulled pork. Enjoy the photos below!

This one I do remember...Bacon Baklava

Much To Do

This is one of those exciting weeks where there is, quite honestly, too much to do. There are so many events around town that I challenge someone to justify staying home (even if the cursed rain isn't willing to stop). Many thanks to the folks at Gambit for shedding some light of most of these events.  For what it's worth, my best bets are Hogs for the Cause and the Street Food Festival. Hogs for the Cause is Saturday at City Park and what better reason to get down with pork than pediatric brain cancer. The Street Food Festival is being held at Whole Foods stores in Louisiana March 23rd through 25th. I'm thinking I'll be snacking on street food from around the globe while I shop for my organic produce. Proceeds from the festival go towards the Whole Plantet Foundation, a nonprofit founded by the Whole Foods Market.