Food and Art in New Orleans

Food and Art in New Orleans

We went to Manning’s Restaurant, Archie Manning’s Place, and George Rodrigues’s Art Gallery…The “Blue Dog” guy….Brittany and I witness a sale of a print that was frame. It was about the size of poster, 24x36 size.  The sale purchase was $10,000.00…..a print not original……Wow …I can only dream.  It was pretty awesome……,Café Du Monde for beignets.  We went the French Open Market and a quick stroll down the famous Bourbon Street…in the daylight with Dntake ‘s  wheelchair at full speed as we trotted close by.

That night Lyndsey chose the restaurant for us on her culinary knowledge.   It is so fun having a certified chef in the family.  She chose a place called Cochons.  Translated, this means pig in French.  Lyndsey picked this restaurant based on the menu and the story behind the chef. The chef, Donald Link, is a family man and enjoys putting his experiences with his family and food into what he prepares.  He  is an expert in  charcuterie. For those out there who are like me and need a translation…charcuterie is  curing, preparing and making your own sausages and meats. This chef owns the restaurant we were to eat and a deli behind the restaurant all encompassed in a warehouse . The name of the deli was, “Butcher.” We went inside the deli earlier the day before. A place  definitely not for a devout vegetarian.  For Lyndsey this was like entering a part of her own little heaven. Meats were hanging from the ceiling  in this restored old warehouse.  Several rows of freshly prepared sausages and meats adored the glass enclosed  cases that outlined the boundaries of the kitchen from the dining area. On the far wall were cubbies with t-shirts with printed logos and sayings reflecting the name of the deli . David had Lyndsey pick one out for her.(later in the week she was going to wear her t-shirt but couldn’t because it reeked of curing meat smells!)  We also purchased one New Orleans praline with chocolate covered BACON inside.  The idea of this did not sound appetizing to me but I had to try it. The praline the size of an average chocolate chip cookie was divided among all of us to try a taste.. We all were chewing looking at each other smiling waiting for the verdict of this strange concoction.   WOW..It was surprisingly amazing!!!

We arrived for our reservation at the more upscale restaurant (Cochon) and marveled at the interior of this old warehouse  transformation. Lyndsey advised us on the menu. We decided to all order something different and eat family style. We could all taste different flavors of New Orleans.  We had:

For appetizers:

Alligator and boudin……..best ever of both… most .amazing alligator I have ever had….so tender it melted in your mouth….The alligator was Dake’s favorite.

Dake had Tasso a Duck Gumbo. Dake eat most of this but we all got a taste…. It was very good which explains why Dake ate most of it.

For the main course:

Rabbit  Dumplings: Lyndsey’s favorite

Fresh Red Fish: Brittany’s favorite

Brisket: out of this world….

Chicken Pasta: good but was simple.

Pork Ribs:  Gracey’s and my favorite.

For sides:

Macaroni and cheese casserole: Gracey’s second favorite

And braised collard greens….they came in a close second to Lyndsey’s who has the best.

David’s favorite? … All of the above.

The trip was a full of adventure and lots of great food and art.