Ernest's Orleans Restaurant

So my trip through the confederacy is over.  It was a long drive through dixie with none but Charles Dickens and Rudyard Kipling as company.  I'll try over the next few days to relate some other adventures along the way, but here is the first.

On the second day the road took me through Shreveport, LA.  Having never been to Louisiana I was eager to try some bayou food.  I exited Interstate 20 in what I figured was downtown Shreveport and my search began.  I stopped at a gas station and asked the attendant where a good restaurant was, she told me to go to a nearby casino and look around at the "Louisiana Boardwalk."  I found the board walk, which is anchored by a "Bass Pro Shops."  The food there looked like typical corporate, touristy garbage, so I took off again.  My GPS pointed me to "Ernest's Orleans Restaurant

."  I was getting hungry and I had already driven around Shreveport too much so I followed its prompts.

From the outside Earnest's looked like exactly what I wanted.  A steel building with limited parking in a dirt lot.  It looked a little run down from the outside, so I figured out that I had found a perfect local place.  After parking I noticed a white 1980s or early 90s, but well kept Cadillac limousine sitting under an awning in front of the entrance.  I was wearing my road clothes and was in need of a shave.

When I opened the door and stepped in I immediately felt like I'd come to the wrong place.  I stood in a dark hallway with gold and white wall paper, and gold and white linoleum tile.  Awards and newspaper articles adorned the walls these contributed to the baroque, gawdy tackiness that was just understated enough to be serious.  A maitre' d greeted me from a little table at the end of the hallway.  I told him that I felt underdressed and that I was just looking for some good cajun food.  He assured me that I was dressed just fine, and that they had the best cajun food in all of Shreveport.  (I realize that Shreveport is not the best place for Cajun food, but it is much better than my hometown.)  I apprehensively asked to see a menu.  The food was expensive, but I was hungry and in a hurry.   I asked for a table.

The Maitre' d, who wore a black suit with a vest but no tie, showed me to a table in the bar and begged my patience as the place wasn't quite opened.  I was the only customer there, but several staff were lounging at the bar.  As I took my seat and looked around I felt like an extra in a Wes Anderson movie.  Everything was top of the line twenty years ago.  It didn't feel like a theme bar, those places are always over the top.  It felt like they hired the most tasteful of decorators and spared no expense a long time ago, and then did nothing to update the look. One wall was adorned with mirror tiles speckled with harvest gold, just like the ones in my parent's dining room until I was in high school.  I do not mention a specific time period because the motif did not belong to a certain era.  It really did look like something out of The Royal Tenenbaums.  

When I sat down several waiters jumped up and finished putting on there uniforms, which were similar to that of the Maitre' d.  My waiter handed me a menu and served me a Dr. Pepper.   I really felt that I had missed out on the experience by not getting a cocktail, but I had a few more miles to go that day, and wanted no sleepiness.  I ordered the seafood gumbo.  While I waited for my food. the other waiters prepared the room for the evening.  I think that I might have had gumbo only one other time in my life so I really have no way of telling good gumbo from bad.

The gumbo was not all that good.  It was served in a huge bowl.  The shrimp and the crab was a little overcooked and I had to put a lot of tabasco in it to make it more tasty.  The sausage seemed a little mushy, and the rice was overcooked.  In Ernest's defense I was the very first customer of the day and was probably served Gumbo from the previous night.  The entree' came with a delicious garlic bread which I only ate a portion of.  Eventually I took up a conversation with some of the waiters, who were surprised that I wasn't Cajun.

While the main entree was a little lacking, the rest of the food was delicious, and the atmosphere was truly unique.  The service was superb and I really felt like they went out of there way to give me a very pleasurable experience in Shreveport.  If you are ever there I would highly recommend Ernest's.  Tell them that you're from out of town.

Wine Review: Poggio Vignoso 2007 Chianti

Friday night I was the recipient of some bad news regarding my weekend, so, in order to cheer myself up, I went to a wine tasting near my home. There was a distributor there from "Small Vineyards," who was showing some of their Italian wines. Number two on the list was Poggio Vignoso 2007 Chianti. I can't remember the tasters notes for the wine but I don't pay much attention to them anyway.
For me the first thing I notice about a wine is the price. I think most Americans pay way to much for table wines and am loath to pay more than $10.00 for something that is just going to complement a meal. There are exceptions, but for the most part I try to keep my wine purchases under $10.00.
Now that that's established I try to stay away from wines that have a perceivable tannic effect. When I drink a wine I don't want any burn associated with a sip. Usually this comes in the after taste, most (cheaper) wines have it and wine drinkers know what I am talking about. I think the effect is a result in the tannic acids present in grapes, good wines are able to mask the burning sensation associated with it.
This Chianti did well and only a slight hint of burn was noticed. It was a robust wine, but not one that would overpower more subtle foods. Fruity tastes were present, but not overpowering. The wine was by no means sweet, but it wasn't bitter either. I appreciated the oak aging as the wine was not overpowered by wood, but did not have a generic steel taste either.
Overall this is a nice wine that will compliment a wide range of dishes, but will not steal the show. I purchased a bottle for $8.79. Then took it home and prepared Macaroni and Four Cheeses, along with some sausage that I simmered in a splash of the wine. The wine did not hide any of the four cheeses, and it brought out the flavors in the sausage rather than diminish it. Consequently, I would be somewhat confident pairing this with something even more delicate like trout or salmon. (I don't care for white wines). I like this wine for everything from a casual dinner party, to a hum drum Friday night.

Chimichurri

A few weeks ago we went to a bring-your-own-meat barbecue at a very nice house with a spectacular outdoor kitchen and backyard.  I love bring-your-own-meat because everyone brings something different.  I always try to "crank it up a notch," thanks Emeril, at these things, so that everyone is jealous of my food.  For this Barbecue I made Chimichurri skirt steak.  Chimichurri is a latin meat sauce that I learned about in Steve Raichlen's book, How to Grill.  The following recipe is featured in the back yards of Argentina.  It came from Raichlen's book but I've modified it a bit.  Again, I can't recommend the book enough.  It's perfect for people like me, who are more interested in technique than recipes.

Chimichurri Sauce

1 bunch (the packet you get at the grocery store) Flat leaf parsley.

1 bunch cilantro

1 small plastic box mint leaves.

3 clove garlic or more depending on taste and how strong the garlic is.

Salt (to taste)

Pepper (to taste)

Red pepper flakes (the kind you put on Pizza)

A dash of Cayenne Pepper gives it a nice bite and I'd like to try putting a little fresh horse radish in but haven't yet.

1/2 Cup Olive Oil

1/3 (Or more) Cup White Whine Vinager

1/2 Cup water

Preparing the meat

Chop everything and process or use a blender (like me) to puree.  

Skirt steak works very well but you can use any thin, marbleized cut.  I'd also like to try the sauce with Chicken.

Butterfly the meat so that it is as thin as possible, then work it over with a meat tenderizer mallet.  (I don't have one so I use a cheese grader.)

Pour a thin layer of sauce in a glass pan, then put a layer of meat down.  

Cover the meat with sauce and put down the rest of your meat.  Cover this with more sauce.  Save 1/2 to 1/3 of your sauce to pour on the meat at serving.

Let the meat (refrigerated) sit in the sauce all day (the longer the better) until it's grilling time.

Grill the meat with the sauce on it to your liking.  (I recommend as rare as you can stand it.)

Serve the meat smothered in the reserved sauce (remember to get it out of the refrigerator when you start grilling.

Side dishes can be anything, try black beans and rice.  A hardy Wine, like Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon goes well with the dish.   There are some delicious wines from Argentina.  Impress your guests with a wine from the same region as your cuisine.  Which you can get in most any decent wine vendor including some grocery stores.   Of course good beer goes with anything. Enjoy, and let me know how your barbecue adventures go.

Tacos Tacos Tacos Tacos

This week is Tacos Tacos Tacos Tacos week.  We choose a different Taco place to eat at every day for lunch.  It's amazing how exciting this can make an otherwise dull work week.  I always wake up excited to go to work during food theme weeks.  We will be doing two taco weeks this month.  This is the first, next week is "Under the Sea," and the following week will be "Tacos Tacos Tacos Tacos."  I am having to keep my taco consumption moderate this week, but for next taco week I will have (hopefully) reached my goals and will be allowed to go all out.  I warn you now:  I am going to go off in two weeks, no taco will be safe.  This is the menu for this week:

Monday: Six for Six at Guerro Canelo.  That's six carne' asada tacos for six dollars.  These carne' asada tacos are awesome, and the special on Mondays.  If you can pry yourself away from the hot dogs, you've gotta have the tacos.  Or do what one Taco eater did, and have a hot dog for desert, after your six for six.

Tuesday:  Fish Tacos from Del Taco.  That may surprise some of you connoisseurs, but I would put the fish tacos from Del Taco against any fish taco in South Tucson.  I rocked three of em.

Wednesday:  Old Style Patty Tacos from Rigo's.  The proper way to make ground beef tacos is to cook the meat within the shell in a frying pan.  Rigo's has some of the best old style patty tacos in town.  They come in an order of three.  It's best to get the tacos and a side of rice or beans.  While this is plenty of food, some more hearty tacomen have been know to rock six.

Thursday:  Luck of the draw at Pico de Gallo.  I settled on the shrimp tacos, which were of fried shrimp.  I am used to grilled shrimp tacos, but these were very good none the less.  I was tempted to try the cabeza tacos (made from cow brains) but chickened out.  Now I wish that I had tried them.  Pico de Gallo is most known for their cup of fruit.  You really should try this.  It's a cup of fruit, with lemon juice and chili powder all over it.  Tasty!

Friday:  Normally we finish things off with the grand finale' Mi Nidito, but since we are doing two Tacos Tacos Tacos Tacos this month we are saving El Presidente' for week two.  El Dorado serves very good carne' asada tacos, but I am craving patty tacos and will go with that.

After the first Tacos Tacos Tacos Tacos I discovered that my favorite food is Tacos.  One can see why.  There are just so many different options.  In the future I will post some of my favorite recipe's for tacos.

I will report on both "Under the Sea." and "Tacos Tacos Tacos Tacos Two" soon.  In the mean time, celebrate Taco week and eat some tacos!