New Orleans Weekend
Celebrating New Orleans & Chef John Besh!
Cathy Kuhlman, Austin
The French Quarter is back! The restaurants and streetcars are back! The Austin Branch visited New Orleans in mid-April, 2008, and can attest to the fact that the City is back and again with true Southern hospitality welcoming tourists from around the world.
Our trip focused on the culinary delights of Chef John Besh who in 2006 won the James Beard Award for Best Chef of the Southeast. Our weekend started with Friday dinner at Chef Besh’s flagship, Restaurant August. Highlights were the Smoked Wild Salmon, Red Fish & Spiny Lobster “Crunchy Roll” with Buttermilk & Caviar, paired with Viognier/Marsanne, Mer Soleil Vineyard “Treana”, Central Coast, 2004, and Moroccan Spiced Breast of Duck with Louisiana Strawberries, Seared Foie Gras & Creamy Anson Mills Grits, served with a Gevrey-Chambertin, Joseph Drouhin, 2005. From the Reception to the Dessert, Warm Chocolate Torte with Preserved Cherries & Warm Spiced Wine, it was perfection.
On Saturday, we took the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, which at 24 miles is the longest bridge in the world, to the “North Shore.” With its piney woods, rolling hills, lower humidity, and cooler temperatures at night, the area has been a favorite where New Orleanians have second homes. In the 1800’s and well into the 20th century, residents were wise to leave the swampy City in the summer to escape the dangers of malaria and yellow fever.
Today the North Shore is home to Louisiana’s premier winery, Pontchartrain Vineyards located in pastoral horse country. Vintner John Seago is one of the most enthusiastic oenophiles most of us had ever encountered. His goal has been to provide distinctive regional wines to complement the distinct cuisines of Louisiana. The main varietals are Blanc Du Bois and Cynthiana/Norton. Chef Besh recommends the 2006 Le Trolley, Blanc Du Bois—a dry, crisp white likened to the wines of Alsace and the Loire which pairs well with oysters and fresh fish and shellfish.
Our next stop on the North Shore was for dinner at La Provence, a French country restaurant founded in the 1960s by Chef Chris Kerageorgiou, of Greek extraction but a native of Marsailles and as colorful a character as his history would suggest. Chef Chris was to become an early mentor of Chef Besh. So elderly and ill, Chef Chris entrusted his restaurant to his young protégé. Now La Provence is overseen by Chef Besh’s partner, Executive Chef René Bajeux, a native of Lorraine who aptly grew up on a farm in France. Besides the emphasis on French country cuisine, Chef René’s background is perfect for their goal of achieving 90 per cent self-sustainability within the near future. The Berkshire hogs and smokehouse are on the restaurant’s grounds, as is the herb garden. Other produce is either raised elsewhere or purchased from local farmers.
Our superb five-course dinner appropriately featured House Smoked Wild Boar Ham, Fingerling Raclette and Fennel Confit served with Domaine de Fontsainte, gris de gris 2007, and Navarin of Lamb, Garlic Truffle Frites, Asparagus Flan, with Jade Mountain, “La Provençale” North Coast 2005. And to top it off, Chef René spent most of the evening sitting at table and chatting with us!
Our gourmet weekend had to end but not without Sunday Brunch at Chef Besh’s Lüke, an Alsatian restaurant with a Creole flare. After a round of Brandy Milk Punches, we enjoyed a towering “Le Grande Plateau de Fruits de Mer” of oysters, clams, crabs, spiny lobster, and other shellfish with a Sancerre, “Chêne Marchand,” Jean-Marc Crochet, 2005. Our meat course of veal grillades and grits with poached yard eggs, a New Orleanstradition for such occasions, was nicely paired with a Chinon, Rive Gauche 2005.
So pack up your bags and head to New Orleans, be it for Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest, dinner at one of Chef Besh’s restaurants or at one of your old favorites, Galatoire’s, Antoine’s, Commander’s Palace, Bayona. All are open and at the top of their game.
Austin members were especially pleased that several members of the New Orleans Branch were able to join us for these culinary delights. And the credit for organizing our celebratory weekend must go to Bill Kuhlman of the Austin Branch.