appetites

A Martini (rocks, Hendricks, twist) at Cuvee, New Orleans

Last night was Bob Iacavone’s last night at Restaurant Cuvee. He’s run the kitchen there for the last 9 years, after taking over for Richard “Bingo” Starr, his room-mate at the CIA. I don’t know the details, but on his facebook page, Bob said that he’s going to focus on his recently born son, and on Rambla, of which he is a co-owner.
On the one hand, I’m pleased that Bob gets to spend more time with his kid, because I know how fun that can be. On the other hand, I am a selfish, selfish little man.
There are some chefs with whose approach to cooking I just seem to click, and Bob is one of those chefs. He’s an immensely talented guy, (did you know the huge photographs that line one wall of Rambla are his work?), and I’ve always considered Cuvee one of the best restaurants in the City. Bob’s sous chef, Kristen Olsen, will apparently be taking over at Cuvee. I’ll be interested to see what she does.
Apart from the “getting to spend more time with his kid” angle, this also means that Bob can make good on his long-simmering plans to bottle his “sweet heat” sauce. That, at least, is good news, because its pretty damn good stuff.
I don’t know what Bob’s next move is, but here’s hoping he gets to cook his food in the near future somewhere in New Orleans.

To me, Labor Day has always meant grilled cheese:

Grilled Cheese
Either that, or I have more images than time to write at the moment. I will let you be the judge of which is true. That image, incidentally, is from Cuvee, whose grilled cheese special changes daily for your amusement.
I did write a bit over the weekend, and will hopefully update the site a few times over the next week. Among the planned updates: some pictures from my second meal at Domenica, and an “interview” with chef Alon Shaya I conducted some months ago; as well as some additional pictures taken at Cuvee. Try to occupy yourselves gainfully in the interim.
Happy Grilled Cheese Day!

I missed a chance to check out some of the new offerings on the menu at The Rib Room recently, when I had to turn down an opportunity to dine with the restaurant’s publicist and a few other food writers. That was disappointing, since I like what chef Anthony Spizale is doing now that he’s seemingly been give a bit more freedom to expand the offerings on the menu. You’ll always be able to get the titular cut of meat in several different sizes, and on a “sizzle plate” if you want, but it’s nice to have other options.
One day this past week, when the weather was so unseasonably nice, I took some work with me to the restaurant, and had a pretty nice, and pretty quick, lunch.

Blue Cheese Salad
I ordered a special, which I’ll get to later, and it came with a salad. There wasn’t anything particularly groundbreaking about it, but then again, sometimes one just wants a salad. It looked (and looks, in that picture, I suppose) like it had too much dressing, but for some reason it didn’t feel like too much once I started eating.

Flat Iron Steak
The special was a flat iron “Kobe” steak, served with a reduction sauce accented with thyme, and roasted baby vegetables. The flat iron steak is not as uncommon as it once was, but it’s still not something you see every day. It’s got a sharper, almost liver-like flavor that I like. The steak and salad were $14, which is quite a steal, particularly considering that’s around 14 oz. of meat on the plate.
If you haven’t been to the Rib Room for lunch in a while, you might be surprised by what’s on offer.
In addition to the Rib Room, I had a chance to eat again at Domenica last week, and also at Cuvee. I took pictures at both meals, and while you can always find them on my Flickr page, I’ll put them up here as well in the next few days. I hope.
Meanwhile, if you have a burning desire to follow me on Twitter, you can do so here.

I have had very little time, and about as much inclination to write lately. The last few times I’ve attempted to put something together here, I’ve gotten a few paragraphs in, and quit. That includes a start on the review I’m putting up now. This has nothing to do with what I’ve been eating, or cooking lately. It’s just a function of how busy I’ve been this month.
I had an excellent meal last week at Cuvee, in connection with the New Orleans Wine & Food Experience. Dozens of local restaurants hosted wine dinners, where vintners could come and discuss wines paired with the chefs’ food. The Cuvee dinner was co-hosted by John Larchet, of the Australian Premium Wine Collection.

Our table at the dinner. The shots I took of the food all sucked.
We started the meal with a couple of glasses of wine: a Hill of Content Sparkling Red (mainly Shiraz), and a Primo Estate “La Biondina” Colombard. It was a very nice way to start; the Shiraz was particularly nice.
The dinner itself started with a crawfish and sweet corn cannelloni, filled with an herbed farmer’s cheese, and peppadews. A “corn butter” sauce completed the dish, which was served with a Frankland Estate “Isolation Ridge” Riesling, from Frankland River, 2007. The cannelloni started slow, and at first it seemed underseasoned to me, but it ended up being one of my favorites from the dinner. The fresh corn was still crunchy, and the peppadews gave the dish a little heat to balance both the sweetness of the corn and the richness of the cheese. The wine was another winner – Larchet described it as “bone dry,” and that turned out to be pretty apt. Dry Rieslings can be pretty characterless, but this was very nice, with enough acid to complement the hint of spiciness from the peppadews. Ordinarily that’s where the sweetness of a more traditionally styled Riesling would shine, so this was interesting.
The second course was porcini-crusted tuna, served over a piece of brioche toast that had been brushed with rendered foie gras and accompanied by a saute of mushrooms. The tuna (and that’s tuna, not pork) was cooked perfectly; the porcini crust came across to me as an earthy hint that didn’t overwhelm the flavor. The mushrooms had been sauteed at high temperature, and quickly, so that they maintained some texture. The foie gras toast was pretty subtle, there wasn’t all that much foie gras noticeable, though that likely had as much to do with the richness of the brioche which – as it happens, was great with the tuna. The dish also featured some wild asparagus,* which had a bit of the mouthfeel of okra, and a flavor that I found very different from its cultivated cousin. I really wasn’t sure what it was when I first tasted it, and even after our waiter returned from the kitchen to confirm my guess was right, I was still unsure. Internet to the rescue!
The wines served with the tuna were a Pinot Noir by Pike & Joyce, “Lenswood, from the Adelaide Hills, 2005, and also Hewitson’s “Miss Harry’s” blend of Grenache, Shiraz, and Mourvedre from the Barossa Valley, also 2005. I enjoyed both, though the Pinot Noir stood out.
The next coure was a duck confit, walnut and blue cheese risotto, with a Steen’s cane syrup cured duck breast. Bob Iacovone has always done duck really well; and this was no exception. The risotto was a little “busy” for me, but I was a minority of one at my table of 8 friends. The duck breast was medium rare, tender, and had a definite flavor of the cane syrup.
The duck was served with a Mourvedre, Old Faithful “Almond Grove” from McLaren Vale, 2005. Very nice, and with just enough body to match the duck.
Next up was serrano-wrapped lamb loin, served with a fava bean puree and marinated, grilled artichoke hearts. We’d had a lot of food by this point, but the lamb was still really popular. The fava bean puree was loose, a light green sauce that I really dug with the lamb and the artichokes. I love artichokes, and I’m frequently tempted to pick up a few and prepare them. Usually before I put them in my basket, I recall how much work is involved in preparing them, and pass. These were outstanding; every bit was tender, and the marinade didn’t mask the flavor of the artichokes. There was a bit of pesto between the lamb and the serrano, a good way to connect the two.
Larchet served two wines with the lamb too: a Coates Shiraz, McLaren Vale, 2004, and Elderton “Ode to Lorraine,” Nuriootpa, Barossa Valley, 2002. “Nuriootpa” is the kind of word is only found in Australia and the works of Dr. Seuss, but the wine was pretty awesome. The Shiraz was very nice as well, but I wanted seconds of the Cabernet-heavy “Nuriootpa.” Nuriootpa indeed.
Next up, dessert: Riesling-poached pears with a creole cream cheese butter cake and clotted cream. The dessert was decorated with spun sugar, but visually it didn’t exactly break ground. The pears were tender but not falling apart, and the cake was good. The combination of the cream, pear, and cake however, was greater than the sum of the parts. By which I mean it was really good. It came with a Mount Horrocks “Cordon Cut” Riesling, from Clare Valley, 2006. It was a pretty typical dessert wine – sweet, with a little of the aromatic spice you’d expect from a good Riesling.
As I said above, I enjoyed the meal, the company, and the wine. Also enjoyable: judging at the Friday evening “Grand Tasting.” We tasted 43 different dishes, and most of them were very good. I hope I get to do it again. In my favor on that point – I did not soil myself at the judges table. To my detriment: I’m a weenie.

*Hat tip to David Lebovitz, whose blog I came across in this instance randomly while google image-searching for “wild asparagus,” but who; coincidentally is someone I’m following on Twitter. Small world, no?

I have had very little time, and about as much inclination to write lately. The last few times I’ve attempted to put something together here, I’ve gotten a few paragraphs in, and quit. That includes a start on the review I’m putting up now. This has nothing to do with what I’ve been eating, or cooking lately. It’s just a function of how busy I’ve been this month.
I had an excellent meal last week at Cuvee, in connection with the New Orleans Wine & Food Experience. Dozens of local restaurants hosted wine dinners, where vintners could come and discuss wines paired with the chefs’ food. The Cuvee dinner was co-hosted by John Larchet, of the Australian Premium Wine Collection.

Our table at the dinner. The shots I took of the food all sucked.
We started the meal with a couple of glasses of wine: a Hill of Content Sparkling Red (mainly Shiraz), and a Primo Estate “La Biondina” Colombard. It was a very nice way to start; the Shiraz was particularly nice.
The dinner itself started with a crawfish and sweet corn cannelloni, filled with an herbed farmer’s cheese, and peppadews. A “corn butter” sauce completed the dish, which was served with a Frankland Estate “Isolation Ridge” Riesling, from Frankland River, 2007. The cannelloni started slow, and at first it seemed underseasoned to me, but it ended up being one of my favorites from the dinner. The fresh corn was still crunchy, and the peppadews gave the dish a little heat to balance both the sweetness of the corn and the richness of the cheese. The wine was another winner – Larchet described it as “bone dry,” and that turned out to be pretty apt. Dry Rieslings can be pretty characterless, but this was very nice, with enough acid to complement the hint of spiciness from the peppadews. Ordinarily that’s where the sweetness of a more traditionally styled Riesling would shine, so this was interesting.
The second course was porcini-crusted tuna, served over a piece of brioche toast that had been brushed with rendered foie gras and accompanied by a saute of mushrooms. The tuna (and that’s tuna, not pork) was cooked perfectly; the porcini crust came across to me as an earthy hint that didn’t overwhelm the flavor. The mushrooms had been sauteed at high temperature, and quickly, so that they maintained some texture. The foie gras toast was pretty subtle, there wasn’t all that much foie gras noticeable, though that likely had as much to do with the richness of the brioche which – as it happens, was great with the tuna. The dish also featured some wild asparagus,* which had a bit of the mouthfeel of okra, and a flavor that I found very different from its cultivated cousin. I really wasn’t sure what it was when I first tasted it, and even after our waiter returned from the kitchen to confirm my guess was right, I was still unsure. Internet to the rescue!
The wines served with the tuna were a Pinot Noir by Pike & Joyce, “Lenswood, from the Adelaide Hills, 2005, and also Hewitson’s “Miss Harry’s” blend of Grenache, Shiraz, and Mourvedre from the Barossa Valley, also 2005. I enjoyed both, though the Pinot Noir stood out.
The next coure was a duck confit, walnut and blue cheese risotto, with a Steen’s cane syrup cured duck breast. Bob Iacovone has always done duck really well; and this was no exception. The risotto was a little “busy” for me, but I was a minority of one at my table of 8 friends. The duck breast was medium rare, tender, and had a definite flavor of the cane syrup.
The duck was served with a Mourvedre, Old Faithful “Almond Grove” from McLaren Vale, 2005. Very nice, and with just enough body to match the duck.
Next up was serrano-wrapped lamb loin, served with a fava bean puree and marinated, grilled artichoke hearts. We’d had a lot of food by this point, but the lamb was still really popular. The fava bean puree was loose, a light green sauce that I really dug with the lamb and the artichokes. I love artichokes, and I’m frequently tempted to pick up a few and prepare them. Usually before I put them in my basket, I recall how much work is involved in preparing them, and pass. These were outstanding; every bit was tender, and the marinade didn’t mask the flavor of the artichokes. There was a bit of pesto between the lamb and the serrano, a good way to connect the two.
Larchet served two wines with the lamb too: a Coates Shiraz, McLaren Vale, 2004, and Elderton “Ode to Lorraine,” Nuriootpa, Barossa Valley, 2002. “Nuriootpa” is the kind of word is only found in Australia and the works of Dr. Seuss, but the wine was pretty awesome. The Shiraz was very nice as well, but I wanted seconds of the Cabernet-heavy “Nuriootpa.” Nuriootpa indeed.
Next up, dessert: Riesling-poached pears with a creole cream cheese butter cake and clotted cream. The dessert was decorated with spun sugar, but visually it didn’t exactly break ground. The pears were tender but not falling apart, and the cake was good. The combination of the cream, pear, and cake however, was greater than the sum of the parts. By which I mean it was really good. It came with a Mount Horrocks “Cordon Cut” Riesling, from Clare Valley, 2006. It was a pretty typical dessert wine – sweet, with a little of the aromatic spice you’d expect from a good Riesling.
As I said above, I enjoyed the meal, the company, and the wine. Also enjoyable: judging at the Friday evening “Grand Tasting.” We tasted 43 different dishes, and most of them were very good. I hope I get to do it again. In my favor on that point – I did not soil myself at the judges table. To my detriment: I’m a weenie.

*Hat tip to David Lebovitz, whose blog I came across in this instance randomly while google image-searching for “wild asparagus,” but who; coincidentally is someone I’m following on Twitter. Small world, no?