House of the week: Victorian on Second Street

As John and I began to narrow our home choices last night, eliminating options based on things like slab foundations (a possible plumbing nightmare), asbestos roofs and shoddy restorations, we came across this house on Second Street.

Yes, I realize that it's smack dab in Central City. But it IS an area going through much revitalization and worthy of consideration. After all, when I first moved here 11 years ago, there were houses in the Marigny selling for under $100,000 and now, you'd be lucky to find a house in the same area (and Bywater for that matter) for under $300,000.

Normally, a house like this wouldn't even be a blip on my radar, because the renovation destroyed every last architectural quality that literally says "New Orleans." Features I so lovingly cherish like exposed brick, ceiling medallions and thick mouldings are nowhere to be found. Admittedly, they left a few transoms intact but, what the builders did do is an excellent job replacing the layout with an incredibly sleek and modern design that I simply could not ignore. I mean look at this place! It's gorgeous!

So, as we were trying to decide whether or not to entertain the idea of taking such a big risk and moving to Central City, we took a little virtual trip to the house on Google Earth and guess what we found? Right across the street is a dive dubbed "Teddy's Hole in the Wall."  Would you buy (and live in) this house listed for only $144,000?

More Vietnamese!? Mint Modern Bistro & Bar

You're thinking to yourself, "Another Vietnamese restaurant?" just like I am. Don't get me wrong, I love Vietnamese food, but the explosion of this particular cuisine in New Orleans is going a bit overboard. Fortunately, my experience at Mint was quite good ... it's a keeper. And I'm not only saying that because their iced coffee knocked my socks off.

A couple months ago, Lorin and I had lunch at Mint, which is not only one of the latest Vietnamese restaurants in town to pop up, it's also one of the newest eateries on Freret Street, a corridor whose growth seems to know no limit. We arrived fairly early in the lunch hour and there were only a couple of other occupied tables.

We ordered drinks from our attentive and polite server and proceeded to peruse the menu. While I greedily slurped down my cafe sua da (a.k.a. Vietnamese iced coffee) we placed our order, starting with a shared appetizer of fresh, grilled pork summer rolls. The rolls were light and tasty, but (like many other Vietnamese restaurants) I couldn't help thinking the rolls were light in the meat department. Thankfully Mint charges a modest price of only $4 for two rolls, so in this case I really shouldn't complain.

After ordering another cafe sua da (yep, I'm addicted), our entrees arrived. Lorin opted for a "Pho Mint Combo" with NY strip, brisket and meatball while I chose their Crispy Hen. I didn't try Lorin's pho, but it sure smelled delightful and she said as much when I asked her how it was. My Crispy Hen was absolutely fabulous, a half of a small hen deep fried and seasoned with a house honey-mustard-type sauce that completely blew me away.

What surprised me the most is that I rarely order chicken when I go out to eat (unless I'm going to a fried chicken or wing joint), because I always have chicken at home. All I can say is that I am glad I didn't skip the chicken dish this time, because it was wonderful and by the end of lunch, I was practically gnawing on the bones. The Crispy Chicken was served with a small, fresh salad drizzled with a simple vinaigrette and a mound of sticky rice topped with a fried, over-easy egg. There was nothing left on my plate but a few chicken bones. I can't wait to get back over there and try the pho...

My beef with Beard

I realize I am a little late to the party with this blog, like a month late, but I've been considering it for some time. So, here's my little rant about the 2014 James Beard Awards, with regards in particular to the chefs of New Orleans who won.

When the winners were announced a month ago, the first thing to come to mind was "What the f**k?" Why did I utter profanities? Why did my forehead wrinkle in confusion? Well, I'll tell you. Why did the talented, seasoned and prodigious chef Sue Zemanick have to share the Best Chef: South award with Ryan Prewitt?

Now don't get me wrong, as you all know I absolutely adore the Link Restaurant Group. My birthday lunch every year is at Herbsaint, I simply can't get enough of the BLTs at Cochon Butcher and Peche is a fabulously delicious new addition to the group and Chef Ryan Prewitt is young, talented and deserving of recognition.

But ... and this is a very big but ... it seemed to me that Prewitt won the award as a sort of "gimme." Meaning, that since Peche Seafood Grill won Best New Restaurant in the country, it seemed that the judges decided it wouldn't make sense that Prewitt didn't win Best Chef: South. But, it seems, they had already selected Chef Sue Zemanick of Gautreau's and Ivy for the award (she's been nominated for an award for the past 5 years now) and decided to throw up their hands and let them both win. Now tell me, how is that fair?

If it was indeed their decision to give Prewitt the award because his restaurant won, shouldn't that also work in reverse? Shouldn't Gautreau's and/or Ivy be up for an award? Wouldn't this rationale skew the whole awards system? And not to sound like a total bitch, but hasn't the Link Restaurant Group seen enough accolades? Like I said, I love them to death, but certainly not to the exclusion of every other talented chef in the city.

Also, though I hate to get all feminist on y'all, but doesn't forcing Zemanick and Prewitt to share the honor seem like a typical, "good ol' boys" solution? In an industry that is dominated by men, Zemanick is, like other women before her (Susan Spicer, Anne Kearney, Leah Chase) a bright star in the culinary universe. Doesn't she deserve recognition without having to share it with a man?

What was your first thought when you heard the announcement? Was I the only one to feel this way? Am I overreacting? All I can do is hope for a brighter 2015...

Was wrong about you, Salú!

First impressions can be a bitch. For example, the first time I walked into Salú on Magazine Street, I was pretty disappointed. I only stayed for a couple of beers and some French fries, but the whole restaurant and menu left a chain-restaurant taste in my mouth. There was this unmistakable aura of Chili's or Applebee's hanging over the place and I just couldn't shake it ... at least not enough for a return visit.

A few months ago, I was working on a fun little piece about ceviche and saw that Salú offered a bay scallop version on their menu. So, I dragged my buddy Anne with me to go and check it out. When we got there late in the lunch hour, the restaurant was mostly empty. We were seated right away and had a terrific server who was attentive from the get-go. Anne and I chose a bunch of different plates to share, perhaps a bunch too many, but no one was complaining.

The first dish to arrive was their "Ceviche de Salú" with small, bay scallops, pieces of shrimp, tomatoes and cilantro all marinating in a cool lemon/lime mixture and served with warm tortilla crisps. The ceviche looked divine, but had an overwhelming fishy taste that took us aback. We ended up sending it away, but we were still determined to go on with our meal. It was so odd that the dish I went to Salú to try turned out to be the worst item on our list, but, as they say, it can only go up from here ... and it most certainly did.

Completely counteracting the disappointment from our first dish, the second came out and wowed us right down to our bellies. We inhaled a bowl of perfectly steamed mussels draped in shaved Parmesan and resting in a pesto broth that was so addictive, we squeaked when the server tried to take the bowl, explaining that we simply had to soak our French fries in the leftover sauce. 

The next dish had us drooling before it reached the table, Broiled Gulf Oysters topped with crispy, house made bacon and swimming in herb butter. These amazing mollusks were so incredibly delicious, we had no choice but to order another round, even though we already had more plates coming out. We did indeed order that second round and no, our eyes were not too big for our stomachs ... we gobbled the whole shebang.

Our next two items came out together, a plate of Lamp Lollipops, two small, tender lamb chops that were seared to rare done-ness and drizzled with a mint chimichurri, competed with bacon-wrapped prawns. Both dishes were excellent, the lamb flavorful and juicy and the huge shrimp laden with smoky bacon ... I mean, can you go wrong with bacon? I started to feel like I could sit there and keep eating all day.

We finished off the feast with a flourless chocolate cake that was topped with freshly-whipped cream and served with a rich, chocolate sauce. Anne and I both couldn't breathe too well afterwards and I'm pretty sure the waitstaff was prepared to roll us out on dollys if need be, but we squeezed back into Anne's car and headed home. All I can say is Salú! Salú! I am sorry I misjudged you!