Domilise’s Poboys

Domilise's

Located near the river in Uptown New Orleans, Domilise’s has been a New Orleans poboy hotspot for many years.  The small, uninviting corner store is not an easy place to find for those unfamiliar with the location.  Directions are a must as you are more likely to be riding up and down one-way streets in search of poboy greatness.

Once you finally happen upon it, don’t be surprised to see a line outside the door.  This should not deter your attempt at chowing down on one of there many delicious sandwiches however.

Another thing: Domilise’s is small to say the least.  The kitchen is smaller than the bar and there are only about five or so tables at which to eat.  Be sure to grab a number printed on a ratty tag and then wait in line to be waited on.  When finished ordering your poboy, pull up a seat at the bar and order a cold Abita beer or a bottle of root beer.

The menu is written on a board pegged up on the wall and looks to haven’t been changed in ages.  That is always a good thing.

Domilise’s serves up a good selection of poboys but the stars are the shrimp, roast beef, and half & half shrimp and oysters.  The poboys start with the IMG 0828 300x225 Domilises Poboysbread…..and of course they use nothing but Liedenheimer bread which really does make all the difference in the world….flaky and chewy crust with a soft interior.

The shrimp are fried golden and crunch piled on the poboy bread dressed with lettuce, mustard, ketchup, hot sauce(a cocktail sauce of sorts), and pickles.  While there is definitely enough shrimp on this sandwich, being the  glutton that I am, I just wish they had some castoffs that you can munch on after devouring the sandwich.

For those who just can make up there mind between a shrimp or oyster poboy, there is a sandwich for you.  The half fried shrimp and half fried oyster poboy, and if you are like me and want variety, it is a perfect selection.  The oysters are medium in size and fried to a crunchy flavorful perfection.  The shrimp poboy, as previously stated, can easily stand alone but add in some fried oysters and now you have a doubly tasty poboy.

IMG 0829 300x225 Domilises PoboysThe roast beef is also a popular sandwich and while not the best that I have had in the city (think Parasol’s), it is definitely a good rendition of what a roast beef poboy should be.  The roast beef itself lacks a good beefy flavor but the gravy more than makes up for this as it is slathered on the sandwich in an abundant amount.  The sandwich is dressed with mayo, lettuce, pickles, and swiss cheese.

Being a bit on the messy side, the roast beef poboy was extremely satisfying.  If I could make one change that would make this already good roast beef poboy better, I would ask for a bit more roast beef.  Comparably speaking, the amount of beef on the sandwich is not on par with the some others that I have eaten.  This is not to take away from the taste of the sandwich….just me being a bit picky again.

IMG 0827 225x300 Domilises Poboys

If the above poboys are not what you are looking for, I am sure that there is something to satisfy all poboy seekers.  Domilise’s also makes a pretty good meatball poboy as well as a hot smoked sausage poboy.

From the exterior, there may be many things that deter one from entering Domilise’s: the line, the paint job, etc.  All of this is just fluff in comparison to having a sandwich from one of New Orlean’s true gems.

Domilise Sandwich Shop & Bar on Urbanspoon

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2Paul’s Radically Urban Barbeque

brisket saladInspired by a recent article in Country Roads magazine, I decided to finally pull on over at 2Paul’s in Lafayette, Louisiana.  I’m a huge fan of BBQ (got my KCBS Certified Judge certificate on the wall), and my failing to eat barbecue every day is hindered only by belt selection and the fact that the Wife is still learning to appreciate all that is enrobed in the smoke ring.

Now the Wife was not with me, but my waistline was so I decided to be somewhat healthy and go for the brisket salad.  Country Roads opined that is was worth driving for, so that helped make the decision a little easier as well.

Lo and behold, first thing I see is the mound of brisket.  Awesome.

As you can see, they also made the thing almost… beautiful. Grilled asparagus criss-crossed over the top, slivers of orange and red grilled bell peppers, red apples and shaved parmesan made it quite the sight.

As always though, I’m after the flavor and 2Paul’s certainly did not disappoint.  I have often been accused of being a condiment freak, and so my flavor profile might have been a little muddied and different than most because I cheated and added some hot barbecue sauce to the homemade horseradish based dressing.

All I can say is, it’s radical man.

2Paul's Radically Urban Barbecue on Urbanspoon

Cajun Eggnog recipe

This recipe comes from my Dad’s Aunt Louise of Larose, Louisiana. As you can see, she leaves the choice of hooch up to the drinker, but the basic recipe provides a great start to some serious holiday sipping.

Louise’s Eggnog recipe

Ingredients:
3 qts. Half & half
6 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla
½ stick butter

Procedure:

  1. Put milk on range in large pot @ low heat, add butter
  2. Separate eggs
  3. Put egg yokes in bowl
  4. Add ½ cup cold milk and blend
  5. Add sugar, blend again
  6. Add vanilla, blend
  7. Add two cups of heated milk slowly to the egg mixture
  8. Add egg mixture to pot stirring constantly for 3-4 minutes

Meringue:

  1. Beat egg whites until stiff
  2. Add ½ cup sugar, beat till stiff
  3. Drop large spoons full into pot mixture, allow to cook for 3 minutes
  4. Add whiskey to individual cups

Always watch pot carefully from start to finish to avoid burning.

Smoky gold from Bourgeois’ Meat Market

jerky 333x500 Smoky gold from Bourgeois Meat Market Bourgeois Meat Market is an institution in south Louisiana. Serving up boudin, hogshead cheese, smoked sausage and whatever else can be wrapped in white butcher paper, the place does things simply but does it right.

Take, for instance, the beef jerky.  Long, skinny strips of beef are smoked for hours on end until they have that perfect jerky texture but retain much of the moistness.

This is not a jerky that is reminiscent of Liquid Smoke or flavored with some fancy bourbon, it is straight up salty beef with a peppery kick and REEKING (in a very good way of course) of the smokehouse from which it came.

Bite into a strip and you can tell this is the real deal; the dark center is surrounded by a perfect pink smoke ring. As Lays so famously put it, I bet you can’t eat just one!


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Oyster White Spaghetti recipe

Similar to a white clam sauce, this recipe is a perfect stand in if you ever tire of downing your oysters raw or frying them up!

White Oyster Spaghetti

1 qt oysters, drained but keep liquid

1 stick butter

½ cup olive oil

8 cloves garlic, minced

4 med onions , chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped     OR 1 pint  Guidry’s pre-chopped Trinity(garlic,

onions, pepper)

1 carton fresh mushrooms, sliced

½ cup green onion tops

½ cup fresh parsley, chopped

DO NOT ADD ANY SALT TO THIS RECIPE.

Sauté vegetables in butter and oil until golden brown.  Add oysters, green onions and parsley.  Cook 5 minutes until oysters are plump and edges curl. Can add Seafood Magic and hot sauce to taste.

Prepare angel hair pasta ( 1 pound) using the oyster liquid supplemented with  more water if needed.

Serves 4 – 6.  Serve by mixing the oysters in the pasta or just put on top of pasta. Also can serve the oysters in Pepperidge farm patty shells.

This is an easy, delicious  dish for oyster lovers!!!!!!

Sweet, sweet grill

Saw this custom grill at a recent tailgate made by the fellas over at Louisiana Cutting and even without meat on the thing, I found myself drooling.  A couple bone in cowboy cut ribeyes from Maxwells would have completed the picture…

LSU Tiger grill

Who dat say they have the best boudin?

Okay, I’m getting really excited about this upcoming boudin cookoff that will be held October 17 in Lafayette. Approximately 20 teams/boudin shops have entered and yours truly will be one of the judges getting the pleasure of downing this delicacy in the name of finding the best of the best.

Until then, I’m interested in seeing what y’all think is the best boudin out there, so vote away!

Usual rules apply, if you don’t see your top choice, comment on the post and I will add them in!

Who has the best boudin in the state?

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Check out the Voice of the Wetlands Festival this weekend!

vow festival logoCome on down to Houma, LA to enjoy down home Cajun music and indescribably delicious food for the 6th Annual Voice of the Wetlands Festival at Southdown Plantation.

For six years now, Tab Benoit has been throwing quite the party, playing music, serving food, and spreading the word about Voice of the Wetlands, his non-profit organization dedicated to bringing national and international attention to coastal erosion in south Louisiana, and the global impact the loss of the United States’ wetlands will have – culturally, economically, and environmentally.

Enjoy Southern dishes like chicken and sausage jambalaya, white beans, alligator, gumbo, and MUCH more!

Don’t miss out on 2 very special (and don’t forget – FREE) performances:

Saturday, October 10 –

Louisiana LeRoux with special guest Jimmy Hall of Wet Willie and Fergie Frederikson of Toto followed by a special ceremony inducting Louisiana LeRoux into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame

Sunday, October 11 –

The Voice of the Wetlands All-Stars performance including Dr. John for the first time at VOW Fest Tab Benoit, Dr. John, Stanton Moore of Galactic, Cyril Neville,
George Porter Jr., Anders Osborne, Jumpin’ Johnny Sansone, Waylon Thibodeaux and Big Chief Monk Boudreaux

Voice of the Wetlands is a free festival for everyone to experience.  Besides food and music every day and night of the festival, there’s also array of other events throughout the weekend:

Friday, October 9 – Traditional Boucherie, complete with a pig roast and cracklins!

Saturday, October 10 – Race for the Wetlands: VOW is kicking it up a notch this
year with a 5k/10k race through Houma.  The race will take place on Saturday, October 10th  beginning at 4pm.

Sunday, October 11 – VOW Benefit Poker Run beginning at Cycle World (5509 West Park Avenue in Houma), ending at the festival.

Visit www.voiceofthewetlands.org for the complete event schedule and music line-up.

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Enjoying the lake at Landry’s Seafood House

Fall is in the air and this is the perfect time of year to enjoy Louisiana outdoors.  You can find a spot to dine in a famous New Orleans courtyard in the French Quarter or you can head to the lake.    Last week we ate lunch on a beautiful, cool, blue bird day at Landry’s Seafood House  at 8000 Lakeshore Drive  in New Orleans.

If anyone saw the devastation to this area after Katrina you will be amazed at the progress that has been made in reviving the area.   This restaurant sits in a picture perfect spot overlooking the lake and the marina.  You are almost on top of the water; definitely close enough to hear the waves lapping on shore and have the gulls flying over head.   We wanted a lunch spot where we could talk in a relaxing, peaceful setting without loud noise and this place fit the bill.

The Landry family began it’s tradition in the seafood business with the first Landry restaurant in Lafayette, Louisiana in 1947.  There are now 24 restaurants, two of which are in New Orleans: one at the lake address and one in the French Quarter.

We did not expect a whole lot of the food as we really chose it for the ambiance.   This place has not received many accolades and in a city where everyone is a foodie and stellar restaurants abound we were not expecting much but we were pleasantly surprised and had an enjoyable afternoon on the deck.   Our meals were delicious!!!

The menu has fresh seafood in every way imaginable with a variety of toppings to suite your taste.  Also on the menu is certified Angus beef steaks which you get with a choice of sides two of which are the signature Landry’s sweet potato and creole green beans or go for the chicken BLT or a 10 ounce sirloin burger.  Oyster season is here so look for other seafood favorites such as oysters on the half shell, fried, grilled, and baked oysters.

All entrees come with Landry’s Salad Bowl which is presented in a very large bowl,  tossed table side and served family style.   A Bloody Mary set the mood for the lunch for me.  Served in a huge glass rimmed with Old Bay spices, it came with enough garnishes to meet my minimum daily requirements for vegetables.

The specialty of the day was a fried soft shell crab dish.  It was a winning dish with two very fresh crabs served crispy with an “Acadian” topping of crawfish tails, corn pico de gallo and andouille cream sauce.

As we had to try a dessert to share, we went for a bananas foster recommended by the waitress.  The rich vanilla bean ice cream was served in a crepe and topped with the banana, rum and brown sugar cane topping and whipped cream.  A beautifully presented twist on a New Orleans tradition this dessert literally fed our table of four.

This is the place to go for a walk by the lake and a meal with a view or just a drink on the open deck.  Try it!

Landry's Seafood House on Urbanspoon

Grillades: Cajun vs. Creole

Grillades started as method of cooking otherwise tough cuts of meat so as to get them tender and moist.  However, as with many of the other dishes of South Louisiana, there are way too many recipes to count and the Cajuns (at least the ones I know from down the bayou) have a somewhat different take on it than if you took the Creole route.

When I think of Cajun style grillades, I think of the small community fairs of my childhood that went on in places like Raceland and Larose.  There, grillades consist of thinly sliced pieces of Boston butt, marinated or seasoned, then thrown on a grill or flat top and occasionally accompanied by grilled peppers and/or onions and pressed between some crusty pieces of french bread. 

This was my first introduction to “grillades,” and it largely took the place of what some think of as the Philly cheesesteak.  A quick replication of this would involve dusting some pork with Cajun Land Cajun Seasoning with Green Onion (one of my absolute favorites for all things porcine and a key to an award winning pork tenderloin in my past) and throwing them into a hot skillet only to later nestle in fresh bread.

However, it is the Creole version of grillades that most people have come to know and has spread across America, usually accompanied by a nice pile of grits. Covered in a brown gravy (the more tomatoes in it the more it is a Creole dish than a Cajun one), it is really a roast and gravy at its most basic level.

While beef seems to be what’s for dinner on most menus, I hold true to the pig and my favorite grillades are always pork. Here’s an adaptation of Chef John Besh’s recipe for your to give a try:

1 4-pound Boston Butt, cubed
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Creole seasoning mix, to taste
3 cups all-purpose flour plus more for dusting pork
2 cups canola oil
1 large container Guidry’s chopped trinity (2 onions, 2 bell peppers, 1 stalk celery)
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
2 tomatoes, crushed (or 2 cups canned)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
4 quarts pork or chicken stock

Season your flour then dust the cubed pork. Brown the pork in the canola oil, then discard all but one cup of the oil. Make a roux by whisking in the flour and get it to a dark brown, then throw in the veggies. Pour in the stock and toss the meat back in and wait as long as you can for some killer grillades!

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