YatCuisine

Worldwide cuisine and cooking from the perspective of a New Orleans native

Sometimes I have those days where I'm so hungry, or the conversation is so interesting, that I forget to take pics of the food! By the time I rembered on a recent trip to Slice on St. Charles, the pizza was gone. We did order dessert, though. I had the "hostess" cupcake on the right, and @NOLAgirl70 had the red velvet cupcake.

@GlamourStar had a popsicle!

The girl is just distracting...sigh...

Olivia Aker Brygge
Stranden 3 0250 Oslo Norway

Olivia was the first pizza place I went to in Oslo, walking around the Aker Brygge waterfront area on a Sunday in 2009. The place has moved to a new location in Aker Brygge since, but the pizza is still great.

Olivia has two dining rooms, this front one, and another back room, off to the right of this photo. I sat at a high-top for two against the back wall, with a good view of the front room activity. The place is upscale when it comes to decor, but not all that much more expensive than Peppe's and the other pizza places.

"Zuppa ai Funghi" - Cream of mushroom soup for a starter. Garlicky, and tasty, with a bit of foccacia bread on the side.

My pizza (top photo) was "Monte e Mare" - shrimp with mushrooms and sausage in a white (creme fraiche) sauce and mozzarella. Very good change of pace from tomato-sauce pizzas. I had a glass of Pinot Grigio to wash it down.

The front counter at Olivia does a brisk take-out business, servicing the many apartment buildings in the Aker Brygge area.

When some restaurants in Europe get busy, they often forget about the guy in the back. By the time my server got back to me, I wasn't really in a dessert mood, so I opted for just a Cafe' Latte, which was probably a better idea in the long run.

Overall, this was a very relaxing meal after a long day of teaching. I'll be back in a couple of weeks.

The Irish House
1432 St Charles Ave
New Orleans, LA 70130
www.theirishhouseneworleans.com

We had the pleasure of going out with friends last night, celebrating the retirement from the military of the hubby of a good friend. The ceremony was at the National World War II Museum, and we migrated over to The American Sector, the John Besh restaurant that is part of the museum, then from there to The Irish House on St. Charles Avenue for dinner.

Apologies to Chef Matt Murphy for the fact that I have no photos of his wonderful entrees, but the phone battery gave up the ghost after the starters. I was with a bunch of geeks, though, so we'll try to get other pics up later.

The shot is an "Irish Pancake" - It's Guinness topped with peppermint schnapps.

The pint (with more head than is legal in a British pub) is my first Murphy's. Murphy's on tap isn't all that common in the US, so I like that Chef Matt has it at his bar.

"Covey Rise Cucumber Salad" - from this week's special menu. Sliced cucumber over Greek yogurt topped with a smoked salmon viniagrette and topped with fried potato skins. I snitched a bite of this, and it was very tasty. The dressing really made a difference.

"Cornmeal Crusted Barbequed Oysters with firecracker coleslaw." While good, there wasn't much "firecracker" in that coleslaw. Still, those oysters were fantastic! The batter was definitely a step up from the typical Fish-Fry you get on an ersta plate or po-boy, and the sauce was tangy, almost a sweet-and-sour sauce.

"Truffled Chicken, Wild Mushroom, Smoked Gouda and Cilantro Tart drizzled with truffle oil." This sounds much more fou-fou than it is! Chef Matt does a great interpretation of a classic chicken pasty/tart, with a savory but mild seasoning. The smoked Gouda ties it all together and adds to the subtlety of the pastry. I had the oysters and Mrs. Yatpundit had the tart--she was getting annoyed that I was snitching her food!

For mains, I had "Irish Bangers and Mash with brown gravy and Crystal onion rings." This is a good interpretation of one of the ultimate Irish pub dishes found worldwide. The sausage was more Irish/British than an andouille or southern smoked sausage, meaning it was tasty but mild. The sausages broke with my fork, but the skin was crispy. The potatoes had a rich gravy. Usually this would be a real "onion gravy," but Irish House does the onions as fried onion strings topping the dish. The combination of the beer and oysters meant I ended up taking half of the main home--big plate!

Mrs. Yatpundit had "Seared Jumbo Scallops over chorizo stoneground grits with julienne vegetables and lemon beurre blanc." The scallops were seared nicely, then cooked through. Wife fussed that the chorizo itself was too spicy, but the drippings in the grits was just the right spice level for her. That worked in my favor, because I got the chorizo.

My friend Anne (wife of the GoH) had "Shrimp and Artichoke Risotto with wild mushrooms, aged Parmesan fennel cream and a poached farm egg." This was another winner! I'm a sucker for just about anything with an egg on top, and this was solid. This is a dish I'm going to try at home. It's going to take some work to duplicate the cream sauce though.

Desserts: Our Guest of Honor was told that his money was no good at the bar, so he and his brother started doing shots. When the manager came over and asked if they'd like another, GoH said, "surprise me." Bad thing to tell a bartender! Rick the manager comes back with a tray that had five shots of the Water of Life on it. It's a neat Irish House feature--like a wine flight, the paper under the shot glasses listed what each whiskey was. That pretty much took care of their dessert. We also got two desserts, the "Sticky Toffee Pudding" off the menu, and the "Frozen Guinness Chocolate Cake" off the special menu. The pudding was thick and rich, and topped with a sweet toffee sauce. The chocolate cake was to-die-for. Topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, the cake was chilled and firm, but not rock-solid. It was served with "digestive crumbles," a very Irish way of saying shortbread cookie crumbs. The cake really should be in Irish House's starting lineup.

All in all, this was one of the most fun meals I've had in ages. The combination of great food and even better company, along with lots of good spirits made for a wonderful way to top off a great day!

I can't remember for the life of me where I got this recipe, but it did turn out good.

A pound of lump crabmeat, two sticks of butter, 1/2 cup lemon juice, 1/2 cup white wine, 1tbsp white wine vinegar, green onions, salt, and pepper.

Melt the butter, then add the wine, lemon juice, and vinegar.

Add the crabmeat, then salt and pepper to taste.

Toss with cooked pasta. Garnish with green onion. Voila!

Faultline Brewery is one of my regular places when I teach in Santa Clara, CA. It's within walking distance of the Residence Inn where I usually stay in Silicon Valley, an important thing when the beer's this good.

In addition to a number of regular craft brews, such as a world-class Kolsch and a very tasty Stout, Faultline Brewery regularly does a cask ale. That's what I started with on this trip.

Tempura Ahi Rolls - take a tuna roll made with high quality Ahi, roll it in tempura batter and deep fry.

Lamb Shank! I had this once before when it was the evening's special. Love their veggies as well as a great demi-glace sauce.

I switched to the London Porter for the main. I rarely get dessert at @FaultlineBrew, mainly because I'd prefer to have another pint and "drink" dessert.

Note:This is an older post I did for DailyKos and never posted on my own blog!

One of the reasons I cordially refrain from eating Crawfish Monica at Jazz Fest is because I make this at home.

Crawfish and Tasso Pasta

One of the most popular dishes at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival is "Crawfish Monica," which is essentially crawfish in a cream sauce over pasta.  This is one of my favorite dishes to cook and has a lot of room for experimaasentation.

Let's make some crawfish!

One of the main rules of cooking at our house during the week is the meal has to be relatively simple. My wife doesn't mind if I experiment with sauces and elaborate prep work when she has time to clean up after me, but if the next day's a work day, it has to be simple. This dish meets the rules!

Start with chopped green onion and mushrooms. Saute in olive oil until the white part of the onion is translucent.

Slice open some boneless/skinless chicken breasts to make a pocket in the breast half. Stuff the onion/mushroom mix into the pocket.

This is where you can let your creativity run if you like. I wanted to keep this basic, but it wouldn't be much of a stretch to add more vegetables, such as eggplant or avacado, or tasso, or even crawfish or shrimp. If you make a more complex stuffing, factor that into your total cooking time.

Brown the stuffed breasts over medium to medium-high heat for a couple of minutes a side. Transfer to a baking dish, cover with swiss cheese. Deglaze the frying pan with white wine, pour the pan scrapings and wine over the chicken. Bake for 30 minutes at 350F.

For the pasta, I took the pan drippings once the chicken was cooked and returned them to the frying pan. Adding a bit more white wine, I let this thicken, then I added some heavy cream. Once this was heated, I added a couple of tablespoons of tomato paste, a splash of red wine, and salt and pepper to taste. This sauce is one of my son's favorites.

My entry for #CoffeeThursday on G+ this week is the American coffee setup at Hitachi offices. Unlike Europe, where the offices have their own cappuccino/latte/coffee machines, the US offices use the Flavia system. You pick a packet of concentrate, it's mixed with hot water, you get coffee. Or sort of coffee. Top photo is the Flavia machine. Below, the choice of packets.

Usually, I bring a 20oz travel mug from home and tank up on real-brewed coffee at the hotel, or a neat donut place in Sunnyvale.

www.thecompanyburger.com

I've been indifferent to The Company Burger because of some of the online drama involving the owner over the last few months, but when @CurlyEmmy picks a place for us to have lunch, I say yes, ma'am and I go. The Friday before Mardi Gras was such a day. Both of us were running around, and the Uptown location as well as ample parking made it a good choice. I was trusting Emmy on the quality of the food.

This is "The Company Burger" - two patties, cheese, onions, hold the pickles, add bacon. Greasy and tasty! One of my big gripes is that the quality of burger buns is often horrid. The Company Burger's bread is excellent! @CurlyEmmy had a single, since she's a much more responsible adult than I am. (menu PDF here)

We got tater tots (left) and onion rings as our sides. The onion rings were outstanding, and I'm quite picky.

While The Company Burger does sell PBR, this flag amused me. The place is almost anti-hipster in that they have an excellent list of local craft beers on both draft and by the bottle. They even had Anchor Porter the day we ate there.

Would I bypass 2-3 locations of Bud's Broiler to get a Company Burger? Probably not. Still, next time I'm Uptown, I'll give it serious consideration. The Company Burger will definitely be in the next "top ten" list.

New Orleans, Louisiana
1-April-2012
contact fouronegroup@ebranley.com
FOR IMMDIATE RELEASE

The Four-One Group, developers of such exciting restaurant concepts as Bonnie's at the Spillway, Clinton's Combat Cafe, and The Back of the Net, are proud to announce the opening of their latest New Orleans restaurant, HIP-POP. Continuing the trend of “pop-up” restaurants in the city, HIP-POP brings the “hipster” experience to people who will never be hip.

“Hipsters will ride bicycles or take the bus from Oak Street all the way down to the Upper 9 to get to 'the' place of the moment,” explains MacArthur “PBR” Tyler, HIP-POP's General Manager. “I mean, normal people go out for a burger when they're in the mood for a burger. They don't eat hamburgers every Sunday night because that's the only time the restaurant is open. This is the hallmark of the 'hipster' experience, joining a pack mentality while other people watch and say 'look at those feckin hipsters!'

“We're bringing the hipster experience to people who live in The Metrys, or on the Westbank and Northshore. These people come into town to go to a play at the Mahalia Jackson, or for a tourist-style night out in the Quarter. We show them how, if you're in the know, you can eat with all the other people in the know!”

HIP-POP is a truly unique “pop-up” experience in that it never pops up in the same place two weeks in a row. Some nights HIP-POP will take over a classic “old-line” restaurant in the French Quarter, and the next time you see it, HIP-POP is in a food truck. The menu at HIP-POP varies with each location, but always includes the Most Valuable Company Pizza, made with toppings and cheese selected at Whole Foods Market earlier that day (no substitutions allowed). The other mainstay of the HIP-POP menu is the Early Adopter Burger. The EA Burger is based on an 8-ounce prime beef patty (soy patty optional) with a gluten-free bun. Accompaniments for the EA Burger vary, depending on what hipsters are talking about on Twitter that day. Be sure to “kindle-ize” your burger with all-natural fruits and veggies from the best farmers markets in town. No matter what the evening's menu includes besides the EA Burger and the MVCP, the beverage list always includes some of the best craft beers from the metro area. All beers are served in HIP-POP's signature 24-ounce mug, which features the restaurant's logo on one side and a Pabst Blue Ribbon logo on the other side. No matter what you're drinking, you just have to hold the mug so the PBR logo is facing forward.

Since HIP-POP may pop-up anywhere from Bywater to Carrollton, there are specific gathering places in the French Quarter and the CBD, where real hipsters operating pedi-cabs will pick you up to bring you to the restaurant. Diners will receive a 10% discount on their meals if they wish to experience the thrill of being a pedi-cab driver by pedaling themselves, their party, and the driver, to the restaurant. You'll be able to identify the pick-up points by the blue-chalk PBR stencil sign on the sidewalk. Throughout the night, the HIP-POP Official Gear Truck will alternate between pick-up locations, offering diners the chance to buy authentic hipster clothing and accessories, all selected by our wait staff from various thrift shops in the area. The wait staff of HIP-POP consists exclusively of professional men and women in their 30s who hate their day jobs and dream of waiting tables for a mere fraction of their current salaries.

Don't wait too long before deciding to come out and try HIP-POP. Like everything involving hipsters, once it “goes mainstream” because too many people come over from Covington to go there, even this concept won't be “hip” any longer, and it will have to be shut down.

Rating: **********