The Cajun Foodie

I am a natural born procrastinator. Recently, I decided I would try to change that because I knew the little lady had a lot on her plate with the wedding planning and all.   I wanted to try to do everything I could to get my stuff done on time so that she would have less to worry about and I figured my wedding  suit would be a good place to start… if had known that my tasks on the wedding planning list included stops at The Bulldog in Uptown New Orleans, I’d have started a long time ago!

I decided a long time ago that I don’t do ties; or tuxedoes at all for that matter.  She is ok with that, especially since we are doing an outside wedding and it would just be more comfortable. I have always liked linen (I blame those long car rides as a child with my dad blaring Jimmy Buffet’s Songs You Know by Heart), and we wanted to make it as close to a beach wedding as we could without the beach.  So one Saturday in January, a buddy, the little lady, and myself decided to go to the city and try to find a linen suit. The first place we stopped was on Magazine at Perlis (the place with the crawfish shirts). We walked in and told them exactly what we were looking for. Well, as any of you fashion people know, linen is a summertime material and in Louisiana (especially New Orleans), apparently it is an accepted practice to wear “summertime clothes” after Mardi Gras and not before.  This especially makes sense for suits because of all the Mardi Gras balls and such. Anyway, they didn’t have any in stock but they assured me that it only takes a week or so to get measured and get one in. Plenty of time considering the big date is in April. Though we did not have a suit in hand, we considered this a successful trip and that was enough shopping for one day.

At that point, it was lunchtime. Now, there are plenty of great places to eat on Magazine St., but being the beer guy that I am and the fact that I had never been there before and heard good things, I suggested The Bulldog. We scoped out the menu at the door, found something that the little lady could eat (doesn’t eat meat or chicken, only seafood. I know, horrible, but at least she likes beer, and me!!) and walked in.

Now this is my kind of place. I’d say there are 50 or so beers on tap and I’d say at least another 100 in the bottle. Their beer menu is broken down by country of origin and indicates the style, ABV (alcohol by volume), size (for bottles) and price. I walk up and order a Rogue Chocolate Stout (mine of course), a Barney (check my first post or Abita Brewery’s website for explanation) for her, and a Woodchuck for the buddy. We sit as our food cooks in the little hole of a kitchen and enjoy our selections. The Chocolate Stout is everything you could want in a dark heavy beer. The chocolate is light, more in smell than taste. The beer is malty, not overly heavy, but definitely a stout. I read the beer menu with the sheer giddiness of a child on Christmas morning. What do I get? I must have said that a hundred times. Being a wheat beer lover (though I would never admit that to the brew club), I order the Spaten Franziskaner, which I have since learned to lovingly refer to as the “drunken monk.” It’s a typical Belgian style (though its brewed in Germany) wheat. Light colored, sweet and malty, a bit heavy on the tongue, but easy to drink with hints of orange peel and coriander. Its great with an orange slice just like Blue Moon. Wonderful summertime brew and efinitely a winner!!

At this point, our food comes and we eat. The burgers are greasy as hell and well seasoned. I definitely recommend the home made cheddar jalapeno bun…fantastic!! The little lady got the grilled mahi mahi sandwich. It was great too!! We finished up and it was back to the beer menu.

I wanted something dark and sweet for dessert (yes, that’s right, I have a newfound affection toward drinking my desserts: beers, ports, brandies, reislings…). I’m a big Porter fan, and I have to say that my only complaint about the place is that there are no porters on draft. I decide to get an Abita Oatmeal Stout (their winter select beer this year and its fantastic!!) I walk up and order it and the keg is floated!! What am I going to do? I walk back to the table. I decided to leave it up to chance and let the little lady pick one. “Oh, this one looks good, Rogue Hazelnut Brown Ale.” I’m not quite convinced.

I mean, I love brown ales, but I’m not big on strange flavors. Besides my love for the Belgian Wit, I’m a bit of a traditionalist (according to German law, beer should only be made with 4 ingredients, barley, hops, yeast, and water. At one time, not that long ago, it was illegal to do otherwise). At the same time, I like hazelnut, I’m always willing to try something different, and I’ve had 5 different beers made by Rogue (not all that day of course) and each one has been better than the rest. This one was no exception. I walk up and order it and the first sip is amazing! Cool and crisp. Pretty light bodied for a Brown, but great malty sweetness. The Hazelnut is faint, and mixes really well. Hopped perfectly, well balanced! This is a really great beer!!! (still my favorite to this day)

I don’t know what the place is like at night (I’m sure its very fun), but if you are on or around Magazine St. uptown and want to have a drinking lunch, The Bulldog is a great place to do just that. On top of that, if you go somewhere with a decent beer selection and aren’t afraid to try something new, just ask for whatever they have by Rogue. In the bottle or on tap, you will not be disappointed. (Ones I’ve tried: Dead Guy Ale, Double Dead Guy Ale, Hazelnut Brown Nectar, Shakespeare Stout, Mocha Porter, Chocolate Stout)

JB Recommends:

Burger- Again, get it how you like it, but get the homemade bun.

Beer- Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar (Brown Ale)

For the “I-don’t-like-dark-beer” people, the Spaten Franziskaner (if you like Blue Moon, you’ll like it)