Dessert with Dickie Brennan

After our tour at Hubig's and our lunch at Elizabeth's, we headed over to Palace Cafe in the Central Business District, on Canal Street, to have dessert with one of New Orleans's most successful restaurateurs.

The Brennan family is perhaps one of the most well known restaurant families in the United States, let alone the City of New Orleans.

It was at Brennan's and Commander's Palace, two of the city's most influential and legendary dining establishments, where Dickie Brennan, one of the younger members of the family learned the ropes and the restaurant business, under the tutelage of his father, Dick Brennan and renowned chef Paul Prudhomme. Today, Dickie Brennan owns and manages one of the largest and most successful restaurant organizations in New Orleans, even by post-Katrina standards. All of his restaurants, Dickie Brennan's Steakhouse, Bourbon House, Palace Cafe and Mr. B's (of which he is a part owner with his cousins) have gotten critical acclaim and quickly became New Orleans institutions after they opened.

Dickie Brennan, New Orleans Restaurateur.

The spiral staircase at Palace Cafe.

Downstairs dining area.

Wrought iron balcony in the upstairs dining area.

My favorite cocktail in New Orleans – The Bloody Bull, currently found only at Palace Cafe. It's simply a Bloody Mary with a shot of Beef Bullion added, but its more than the sum of its parts.

The mise-en-place and table setup for Bananas Foster, a Brennan family invention and New Orleans classic dessert. Right now, Palace Cafe is probably the only place you can get a properly made, table side Bananas Foster, as both Brennan's and Commander's Palace are closed for repairs having been heavily damaged by Hurricane Katrina.

First, brown sugar and butter (and a teaspoon of cinnamon) is heated and melted in a saute pan. Note the shot of dark rum on the side. Not shown is Banana Liqueur, which is also used in the dish. The Brennan Family recipe calls for equal parts dark rum and banana liqueur (1/4 cup each) when using four split bananas, so if its a half portion (as shown) use half the amount of booze.

The bananas are added and the caramelizing sugar/butter sauce is spooned over them. Then the Banana Liqueur is stirred in and heated for a few minutes

The liqueur/rum is added and flamed.

The finished dessert is spooned over ice cream.

Utter simplicity and yet still out of this world.

Palace Cafe's White Chocolate Bread Pudding, a delicious variation on the Brennan's and Commander's Palace classic.

Strawberry Shortcake, made with fresh Louisiana strawberries. Can't be beat.

Dickie Brennan, being a very down to earth guy, was quite happy to have his Hubig's Pie, freshly baked that morning.

We have quite a bit of interview/podcast material with Dickie here (click)

Podcast #6: K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen

Click Here to Download and Listen to the Podcast

Click Here to Subscribe to my Podcast Feed with Feedburner.

Click Here to Subscribe to my Podcast Feed with iTunes.

Hubig Pies / Bywater / Elizabeth’s

Hubig's Pies has now been re-opened and has been baking their in-demand deep fried turnovers for a few months now. Not without their huge share of problems getting back up to speed, of course. I got to talk to Drew Ramsey, Operations Manager, at length (he's a really passionate guy and has an awful lot to say about his company's Katrina ordeal) and he gave me a tour of the facilities. And we got to eat some Hubigs right off the line, which has been a dream of mine for some time and its now been fulfilled. I also have some videos of the production process (click!)

The old neon sign.

The dough extruder/roller machine.

Cake flour is used to make the turnover dough.

The pie filling is made in big steam kettles, where it is cooked and mixed up. Hubig's uses local ingredients when at all possible, such as real Louisiana Strawberries and Blueberries. Today they were doing a run of Apple and Lemon Pies.

A rotating die punch sandwiches the dough together and cuts it out into turnovers, just after the dough gets folded in with the pie filling.

After being filled and stamped into turnovers, they are sent down the conveyor into the deep frier.

Turnovers emerging from the deep frier conveyor.

After going thru the deep fry, the turnovers are hit with an enrobement of sugar glaze.

Drew Ramsey, in front of the cooler carousel, where the pies cool down for about two hours before hitting the wrapping and packaging machine. Sometimes you have to force this guy to smile, he and his company have been through an awful lot.

After cooling down, the turnovers fall thru a chute and a staging area where they are placed on the packaging and wrapping conveyor. The red tray you see there is the rejects/damaged pies box. We spent a lot of time there helping Hubigs do quality control. Don't want customers getting beat up pies, you know.

Placing the turnovers on the wrapping conveyor.

Boxing up the pies.

One of the new Ford delivery trucks. Hubig's old delivery fleet was wiped out by Katrina.

After eating a few pies, we decided we needed some excercise so we walked around the Bywater and looked at some of the pretty houses. Quite a number are for sale at majorly reduced prices.

This is a peek inside one of the the Mardi Gras parade storage houses. Apparently this is one of the lewder parades, as you can see.

We walked past Dr. Bob's studio, a local artist which is heavily featured in Jack Leonardi's restaurants (Jacques-Imos and Crabby Jack's).

I guess you are not supposed to walk into the studio thru that door.

After walking about 15 blocks in the heat, we were hungry and thirsty, so we stopped into Elizabeth's for lunch.

The iced tea at Elizabeth's is great, and like all iced tea in New Orleans, unlimited refills.

Rachel got a seafood soup.

We shared an order of the famous Praline Bacon.

Shrimp Salad for Rachel.

"Big Ass Hamburger" for me.

All in all, a great morning and lunch.

A Tale of Two Seafood Restaurants

Sid-Mars of Bucktown and Deanie’s Seafood — two legendary Bucktown seafood restaurants, only a few hundred yards away from each other. Both behind one side of the 17th Street Canal levee, but one one higher ground than the other. On August 31, 2005, one restaurant (and the neighborhood it was in) was destroyed by a massive rush of water from storm surge and the other was left completely unharmed.

In May of 2005 my wife Rachel and I visited Sid-Mars restaurant, which was a very large structure that stood for over 38 years. It had a wonderful view in the back of Lake Pontchartrain, where you would wait for your table and have a couple of cocktails, and maybe make a couple of new friends.

The back porch area overlooking the lake at Sid-Mars restaurant (May 2005)

Looking out onto the lake.

Sid-Mars outside dining room.

Two months after our visit, Hurricane Katrina hit the city. As a result of the storm surge and insufficient structural reinforcement and engineering problems, the levee flood wall behind Sid-Mars adjoining New Orleans broke, letting in millions of tons of water into New Orleans and flooding the surrounding neighborhoods. Sid-Mars, which was close to the other side of the levee, was wiped out by the overflow of storm surge, and didn’t even have a chance.

This is what the site of Sid Mars looks like today. Its surrounded by a wire fence, so I was unable to photograph it from an identical vantage point. But it should give you an idea.

The demolitions/construction site. Its not likely another restaurant will be built here.

The view is still phenomenal, however.

I felt Sid-Mars was a better drinking spot than a restaurant, so I was relieved that Deanie’s escaped the destruction. Deanie’s is probably one of the best seafood joints in the entire city — if you’re looking for a shrimp or crawfish boil, or some barbecued shrimp, or some jumbo fried seafood platters, Deanie’s is your place.

Shrimp Boil Appetizer at Deanie’s.

Crawfish is ordered by the pound.

Barbecue shrimp

HALF seafood platter (May 2005 — see eG Forums thread)

The very happy and lively dining crowds at Deanies.

In a Disaster Area, Barbecue Heals

While Rachel and I were driving around St. Bernard, we saw a pickup truck parked in an abandoned lot where a shuttered Po Boy shop used to be, with a barbecue rig on the flatbed cooking up some ribs and sausage. It smelled amazing, and we had to stop.

I pulled the car into the lot, and asked the man how much it cost for a plate.

"Nothing, we're just giving it out to people. You want some?".

I said to him, "Look, we're not from around here, I'm a writer from New Jersey. Why don't you give me some of those ribs, a Coke, and a Hawaiian Punch, I'll give you this ten dollar bill here, and you go buy some more ribs and sausage to cook for these folks and that will be just fine. I don't deserve to eat your ribs without paying for it."

The man thanked me and we went into the car and had our snack. The ribs were a bit chewy, but they were real smoky and tasted good. And it made me feel good to help someone who was helping others. 

St. Bernard Parish and Chalmette

Apparently, a number of you are concerned I've been spending way too much time stuffing my bulging, obese form with Creole and Cajun food from the city's best restaurants and have been callously avoiding the human tragedy of the city. I should be ashamed of myself, and well, I'm a bad person.

Well, locals (including the Mayor himself) have been telling me that they are more than happy to let me spend my hard earned dollars and my yearly vacation time in their wonderful city so it can help bring back what was once a thriving tourist and restaurant industry, and that while that everbody who comes here should see the devastation, they really don't want the affected portions of the city to be a tourist attraction. People live here and are trying to survive, and bring back some semblance of normality.

That being said, Rachel and I rented a car today and headed towards some of the worst hit parts of the area, St. Bernard Parish and the town of Chalmette. I've made an album on Flickr for those of you who really want to see this stuff, but here's some just to let you know I am quite aware of the reality of the situation.

Now if some of you holier-than-thou assholes don't mind, I'm going to get back to the food.

Jacques-Imos

Jacques-Imos is not a good place to go if you want to have a light, healthy meal in a intimately quiet or romantic atmosphere. Rather, if you want to eat amazing, over the top, super rich, incredibly fattening stuff that a condemnned gourmand on death row might want to feast on in an enviornment that could only be described as a nonstop psychadelic rowdy party, Jacques-Imos is your kind of joint.

Jacques-Imos also has the distinction of being one of the most challenging environments to shoot food photos in because of the multicolored, low lighted craziness. So please excuse the fact that these shots are blurry. I've also ressurected some of my Jacques-Imos photos from previous New Orleans trips because I couldn't get the damn camera to focus in there.

The famous pickup truck outside that hasn't moved in years. The pickup bed is now used as a dining area, where couples have been known to propose marriage to each other. Possibly even consummate.

Owner/Chef Jack Leonardi with Austin Leslie, photo circa November of 2003. Austin was Jacques-Imo's fried chicken genius who later went on to become head chef at Pampy's restuarant. Pampy's was destroyed by flooding in 2005 and Austin died in Atlanta during the evacuation only a few weeks later. He was given the first jazz funeral when the city was re-opened. 

One of the friendly bartenders.

A view of the main dining room.

Be Nice or Leave. One of the many art peices in the restaurant by Dr. Bob, a local artist/personality that's a good friend of Jack's.

 

A Cajun-style Boudin rice sausage with a French mustard sauce.

A Creole-style Jambalaya with sweet tomatoes. 

Fried oyster over spinach salad.

Jacques-Imos Fried Chicken Plate, continuing in Austin Leslie's tradition.

Fried Oysters over Stuffed Merliton with Tasso Hollandaise.

Eggplant Pirogue with mixed Seafood and Lemon Cheese Sauce

Bon Ton Cafe

Bon Ton is a really old school place near the big Hale Boggs federal building. It looks like it has been there for eons and it serves very traditional, simple New Orleans food. Its a perfect place to get lunch downtown when you want to just sit down, have some big 'ol iced teas, some etouffee, and maybe some fried catfish and some gumbo. You'll also run into the local federal judge, no doubt.

Bon Ton is old school New Orleans. Very old school.

The Menu is as old school as its wonderfully attentive service is.

A cup of their very excellent gumbo.

A wider view of the main dining room.

Fried catfish.

Crawfish Etouffee, and an excellent rendition at that.

Onion rings, with the lightest and and crispiest coating. Not at all greasy.

New Orleans Dining: Herbsaint

Herbsaint, in the New Orleans central business/downtown district on St. Charles Avenue, was one of the first fine dining restaurants to re-open after Katrina. Chef/Owner Donald Link is preparing some of the finest cuisine in the city, blending traditional French and Italian influences with modern Louisiana ingredients. We had dinner at Herbsaint with a local friend last night, and it has been one of our best experinces in the city so far.

The outdoor lighting of the restaurant and the large windows reveal a very modern and inviting space inside.

A view at the pass.

Main Dining Room

Herbsaint’s menu.

The Herbsaint Champagne Cocktail.

Amuse Bouche of Green Beans and Quail Egg.

Fresh French bread hot from the oven.

Shrimp and Tomato Bisque

Shrimp and Okra Gumbo

Housemade Spaghetti with Pancetta and Fried-Poached Farm Egg. Everyone loved this one.

Shrimp and Green Chile Grits Cakes with Tasso Cream Sauce. I thought this was stylistically similar to Upperline’s Cane River Shrimp appetizer, but in an even richer and creamier sauce. Not necessarily better, but certainly a great dish.

Gnocchi with Wild Mushrooms and Basil. Of the three pasta appetizers we sampled, this one was the least interesting, but it was still very good.

This was a special off-menu appetizer, a beet ravioli with julienne green apple slaw that was by far considered the best of the pasta dishes.

Fish of the day, sauteed Redfish with mashed potatoes, butter beans and turnips. I liked this one a lot, the butter beans were a great compliment to the dish.

Duck Confit with Dirty Rice. Rachel really liked this one.

Herbed Hangar Steak with Pomme Frites and Pimenton Sauce, which was kind of like a red pepper aioli. I enjoyed this a lot.

Caramel Ice Cream with Chocolate Chips

Louisiana Strawberry Sorbet. This was a knockout.

Chocolate Beignet with brandied cherries.

Inside of Chocolate Beignet.

Fresh Louisiana Strawberries.

After eating so much food we needed the walk back to our hotel. We passed by Gallier Hall at 545 St. Charles, a massive three story high Greek Revival structure which served as the City Hall for over a hundred years. You can book it for weddings too. This building is so big I had to go to the other side of the street over a hundred feet away just to get it in frame. The doors are probably close to 20 feet high.

Podcast #5: The Upperline

Chef Kenny Smith and JoAnn Clevenger of Upperline Restaurant, New Orleans.

Click Here to view related post, “The Very Fine Upperline”

Click Here to Download and Listen to the Podcast

Click Here to Subscribe to my Podcast Feed with Feedburner.

Click Here to Subscribe to my Podcast Feed with iTunes.