Red Is Life

NOLA Oyster Scene

Another heart wretching story of the BP oil spill's severe impact on New Orleans - its oysters - the people who depend on them for a living - who contribute so much to making NOLA the unique place that it is - 

Afloat - 080910 - The New Yorker - Raffi Khatchadourian - 

Perfect Wine Tasting Cheese

Grabbed a dish of Saint Felicien cheese from the cooler at Fairway last week - rounding out the cheese course at the evening's wine tasting - not only was it good - it proved perfect -

Packed in its own ceramic dish - very rich - pasteurized - cow's milk - semi soft - almost creamy - moderate aroma - from Rhone Alpes in France - complimented the evening's wide varity of reds -

Proof was in the consumption - 100% -

 

Decisions Decisions Decisions

Who can decide - ice cold Pinot Gris - or - room temp Merlot -

Jersey Shore Must - The Wine Rack -

La Caravelle

Flex Mussels - Saturday night - gorgeous wife across the table - what to drink -

Chardonnay ? - Rose ?? - Kabinett ??? - Sparkling ???? - caught La Caravelle Rose Champagne in the middle of the listing - never had it - didn't know the name - but it was real Champagne - not sparkling - and the price for a Rose Champagne was reasonable - and - my gorgeous wife was sitting across the table .....

La Caravelle was big - decisive - full bodied - no sense of ethereal floating away - this was a declarative champagne - 40% Chardonnay - 30% Pinot Noir - 30% Pinot Meunier - sensed the cherry - touch of floral - perfect balance to the meal - from app through the rich main of mussels to the cheesecake dessert - handling itself with style-

Doing research - learned the heritage - champagne La Caravelle can be traced to restaurant La Caravelle (RIP) - proud heritage - maintaining the excellence of reputation - definitely a buy -

Happy Birthday Friendly's

From Thick Shakes to Fribbles to the outrageous Burgernelt - we've all grown up with Friendly's - when our parents smuggled Shakes into camp on hot summer evenings - or as a comfortable stop along the Interstate - or reading (not yet trying) their entry into the escalating "Burger Wars" - 

75 years young this week - catch the pictured history on Boston.com - 

Man Creates & Eats All Bacon Burger

Bacon mania has returned with - The Great Bacon Odyssey:Bacon, The Other Crispy Brown Meat - 071310 - Wired - Matt Blum - in which the writer - details the his saga of making - and all bacon burger - and - eating the 1/3 pound creation - with bun - with beer -

Bottom line - it tastes good - but - you only want to eat half - worth the read -

Oyster Shucker Agony

Thomas "Uptown T" Stewart shucked oysters for me at Pascal's Manale in mid May - two days earlier - it was Mike Rogers at Casamentos - Storm'n Norman at Acme gave us a lesson in Oysters and New Orleans a few years back - along with this card as "Master Shucker" - and - the night - two years ago - when Julius was manning the Oyster bar at Pascal's - prompted memories from 30 years previous - along with a bounty of P&J Oysters that almost prompted me to pass on supper - (Pascal's Manale Oyster Redux) -

Gulf Oil Spill Puts Oyster Shuckers, Traditions On Ice - 071110 - Time-Picayune - Brett Anderson - brings the BP Spill to another personal level - these are "fisherman" or "oil rig workers" or "local residents" - these are stories of people I personally know - and - if you've ever been to NOLA - likely have been too -

A moving read -

Bang For The Buck Bordeaux

Chateau Penin - Grand Selection - Bordeaux Superieur - Rouge - 2007

Offbeat - dark fruit - lots of acid - very focused taste experience - clean - richness brought up images of a Malbec - jammy - double down on the "offbeatness" - very moderate tannins - reminded some of a mellow California Cabernet - smooth and balanced overall - drinks at $30 to $45 a bottle -

13.00 (SRP) !!!! - and no one will believe its 100% Merlot -

Purchasing Petrus Requires Retinal Scan

First - was carded at LAX when ordering a Bloody Mary on the Concourse waiting for my flight to JFK - either they didn't believe going through TSA run Airport Security was sufficient to establish my identity - or - my grey beard was a really a paste on - applied to disguise my true age - 19 1/2 - 

Next - Fairway asked for ID when purchasing beer - have shopped there for 25 years - so it I started at the age of one - would now be 26 - above the drinking age - left the bottles on the check out counter - 

Now - Pennsylvania has put Wine Vending Machines into Supermarkets - 

• Swipe your driver's license - look into the camera - blow into the breath sensor and - viola - you have permission to buy a bottle of wine - 

And they claim its a success -  

What's next - retinal scans if you want to move up from Yellow Tail to Petrus - immediate incarceration if you fail to complete any step along with purchase path - we're all for progress - but something about this Wine Vending Machine program - is just wrong -        

Recents

• Chef to Priest - Ken Smith leaves the Upperline kitchen - 
• Bayona Corp v.Transocean Ltd et al - Chef Susan Spicer strikes back - 
• Debbie's Should Not Be Closing - Force to close by BP spill - 
• Smaller Than A Split - Wine By The Glass at the liquor store - 
• Rizzo's - Pizza worth traveling for - 
• Doing Unthinkable To Survive - Mussels come to Dragos - 
• OMG Burger - Friendly's burger between 2 grilled cheese sandwiches - 
• ¥380 Chuck (via Wal-Mart) - Japan's version of Two Buck Chuck - 
• This Is Not Good - P&J Oyster Closes - 

Chef To Priest

Chef Ken Smith trading his chef's toque for a priest's collar - leaving Upperline - entering a seminary - his last meal - at a restaurant that exemplifies New Orleans hospitality will be July 31 - 

Our first meal at Upperline - at the end of which - owner JoAnn Clevenger - touched my shoes - was prompted by both the restaurant's unique reputation - and - a New York Times article on Chef Smith - nothing disappointed - 

We wish Chef Smith well - 

Chef Ken Smith Sets Last Day On Job Before Entering Seminary - 061810 - Times Picayune - Brett Anderson

Bayona Corp v. Transocean Ltd et al

Susan Spicer - owner of Bayona on Dauphine in New Orleans - has filed a suit against Transocean (the driller) and BP (for whom the drilling was being done) for damages being incurred due to the loss of local seafood supplies caused by what everyone refers to as the "BP Spill" - she wants class action status - she should get it - 

Red Is Life has eaten at Bayona - it was a treat - 

• Grilled Shrimp with Black Bean Cake and Coriander Sauve - the most perfectly cooked shrimp I have ever tasted or eaten - accompanied by the bean cake - almost a second app - I have always marveled at bean cake having failed to make it at home despite innumerable attempts
• Oysters Gratin with Spinach, Bacon and Fennel - succulent oysters covered with a cheese crumb - ordered for the table - devoured - 

Top New Orleans Chef Sues BP Over Seafood Losses - 062710 - Reuters - Jonathan Stempel

Debbie's Should Not Be Closing

• Prices doubled - for imports - Debbie's Cafe closed -
• Drago's - playing the power cards - remains open - for now - 
• Zydeco's Cajun Restaurant pulls shrimp from the menu - what's next - 

No Gulf Seafood, No Po-Boys; Owner Shuts LA Cafe - 062510 - AP - Jason Bronis

BP has to get this fixed - now - politicians must stop playing politics - now - 

Smaller Than A Split

Years ago - wrote about - How Big Is THAT Bottle - detailing - a Split (375 ml) and a Maximus (173 bottles or 130 liters) - 

Now we write of a glass - that's right - wine by the glass - pre-packaged at your local liquor store - 

Investors laughed - but James Nash sold his product to Marks & Spencer - and as they say - both Nash and M&S are laughing - a l l  t h e  w a y  t o  t h e  b a n k - 

Wine In A Glass Entrepreneur Ridicules In Dragon's Den Toasts M&S Success - 061410 - Daily Mail - Sean Poulter - 

Rizzo's

Waiting for the - slow-as-a-snail - bus to take me down Steinway to a pizza shop - raved about by my friend Michael - began to ask - "am I crazy doing this" ... "its just a slice of pizza" ..."maybe the bus not coming is a message"..."go for it !!!" - 

The bus came - I overshot Rizzo's - walked back - into the ultra clean - surprisingly fresh - pizza shop - ordered a piece of Sicilian (per Michael's instructions) - lusted for a slice covered with BBQ chicken - (Americana - grilled chicken - sauteed onion - barbecue sauce) - instead asked - "what should I try ... besides the Sicilian" - the counter-man replied - "plain" - my head kicked back - so it was to be - "a slice of plain" - 

The square Sicilian did not disappoint - ultra thin crust - home made - slightly sweet tomato sauce topping - not overly drenched - sprinkled with cheese - topped with a slice of mozzarella - wonderfully balanced - a dramatic departure from the traditional thick crusted "slice-of-bread" we have all come to expect when ordering Sicilian - 

But then there was the simple - "plain" - slice - this was magic - ultra thin crust - crisp - same slight sweet sauce - very light on the cheese - hot from the oven - though not burn-the-roof-of-the-mouth hot - it was almost other worldly - in a pizza sort of way - immediately wanted more - 

Came back a week later - had to confirm my findings - another slice of "plain" - the magic continued - plus a slice of Margarita - (tomato - fresh mozzarella - red onion - basil - extra virgin olive oil) - just when you thought it couldn't get better -

Rizzo's is family owned - since 1959 - now being run by the second generation - there's pride - a difference that's missing in so many other tee-shirt pizza shops - even the Chef pizza restaurants - that crumble when the "star" is not on the premises -

This is a pizza institution - that stands out - and deserves to be visited - enjoyed - well worth the trip for New Yorkers who many times feel that if its not in Manhattan - its simply "not" - Rizzo's proves them wrong -

Doing Unthinkable To Survive

• Lacking Oysters - Dragos has added Char Broiled Mussels to the menu - 
• Deanie's no longer serves Oysters with the Fried Seafood Platter - 

And the list goes on - 

Where Food Is Religion, Its A Crisis On The Half Shell - 062310 - Herald-Tribune - Thomas Becnel - brings the effects of the BP Oil Spill - to a very personal level - having made the "pilgrimage" to Drago's - behind the mini mall - out in Metarie - no oysters is Peter Luger's without steak - 

Park the politics - let them fix the leak - 

OMG Burger

Friendly's - 1500 calorie - Grilled Cheese Burger Melt - Big Beef Burger between 2 (two) Grilled Cheese Sandwiches - plus lettuce - plus tomato - plus mayo - 

Click on the image - 

¥380 Chuck (via Wal-Mart)

WSJ writes - Japan's $4 Wine, Courtesy of Wal-Mart - WSJ - 06.16.10 - Mariko Sanchanta -  of inexpensive Oak Leaf - red & white - imported to Japan from California- to satisfy market demand for "cheap" - 

• Care to speculate on actual "cost" of the base product ?? -
• More or less than water ?? - 

This Is Not Good

After 134 years ...P&J Oyster Company doesn't have enough oysters to shuck ... has shut down its operations .... - 

Read the whole story - Oysters, A New Orleans Staple, Are Latest Victim - 061910 - WSJ - Perry Stein

Recents

• Oyster Update - report from NOLA - 
• Domilise - NOLA's best PoBoy - 
• Lob$ter $alad Price$ Plunge$ - Hamtons take-out - 
• Don't Let This Happen - Oyster shucking may cease - 
• Morning Subway Ride - Why we live in NYC - 
• 400 Bottles - Chicago's best bourbon bar - 
• Magazine Po-Boy - Gem in plain sight - 
• Royal Oak Charcoal - Available on the UWS - 
• Cochon Butcher - Cochon Jr. - 
• 7-11 Deprived - The cost of living in NYC - 
• Daisy Dukes - Late night NOLA rescue - 
• Doug Gets Four Stars - New York's greatest bartender - 
• Can You Eat An iPad - Not yet -