Hot Roast Beef Po-Boy, N’Awlins Style…another Mardi Gras treat

Join me with Drick Perry and his Drick’s Rambling Cafe in this Mardi Gras series while he covers Mobile, AL and CCR with New Orleans. Drick’s entry today: Mardi Gras Loot and Roast Beef Sandwiches

When in New Orleans, eat like the locals do! Moreover, one of the best ways to show your spirit for the city that has oodles of it spilling out into the streets now with both Mardi Gras gearing up and with the Saints having reached the promised land of the Super Bowl, the city is abuzz with excitement.

An interesting fact is that Drew Brees is supposed to be king of Bacchus, the huge parade that rolls on the Sunday before Mardi Gras, this year on Sunday, February 14, 2010. The same day as Super Bowl XLIV, and I am guessing that Drew will pass the baton on the “King” status while he leads his Krewe of Saints into the biggest parade for the Super Bowl in South Miami. Now that we have touched on both Mardi Gras and food, let’s give homage to one of New Orleans most respected historians of Mardi Gras lore and accounts, Mr. Arthur Hardy.

One of the New Orleans most notable Mardi Gras historians is Arthur Hardy, having written many books including his annual Mardi Gras guides since 1977, selling over two million copies. He is offering an illustrated guide to Mardi Gras in New Orleans, now in its fourth printing. His Mardi Gras Guide 2010 is the 34th annual edition and covers every parade, Krewe, route, and answers 25 of the top questions about Mardi Gras, this is the venerable program guide to the biggest free show on earth.

Now, back to food, some of the best places in town to get your freshly made hot roast beef po-boy while getting ready for the parade, especially after Katrina rebuilding. This was a major concern for many die-hard roast beef po-boy aficionados, going for over 3 months without one in late 2005 and early 2006 during the initial recovery phase was like having to abstain from breathing.  When visiting New Orleans here are some of the best local restaurants that still offer the ubiquitous sandwich. Oh….and make sure you get plenty of napkins, the messier the hot roast beef po-boy, the better!

Listed in alphabetical order we are highlighting the better places to get your roast beef po-boy in and around the New Orleans area. Many of these places are near Mardi Gras parade routes, so if you time it right you can get in, eat, and have time to go out and catch a parade on a full stomach.

Crabby Jack’s (428 Jefferson Hwy., 833-2722) located in Jefferson

Johnny’s Po-Boys (511 St. Louis, 524-8129) in the French Quarter

Liuzza’s By The Track (1518 N. Lopez, 943-8667) located in Mid-City area

Mike Serio’s Deli (133 St. Charles Ave., 523-2668) located in the CBD

Mother’s (401 Poydras, 523-9656) in the CBD near the river, and not far from the casino and Riverwalk

Parasol’s (2533 Constance, 899-2054) located Uptown, the heart of St. Patrick’s celebrations

R&O’s (216 Old Hammond Hwy., 831-1248) not far from West End area near the lakefront

Now, if you can’t seem to make it down to old New Orleans for the Mardi Gras and still have a hankering for a messy gravy filled hot roast beef po-boy, I just happen to have a recipe up my sleeve for your at home dining pleasure.

The ingredients that go into a po-boy are virtually limitless, depending on one’s imagination: hot roast beef with gravy, ham and cheese (known in New Orleans as a “combination”), fried seafood (oysters, shrimp, soft-shell crabs, catfish), hot sausage, meatballs–even a French Fry po-boy can be had at most corner grocery store deli’s around the city. In addition, the counter sandwich maker typically will ask you… “And do you want that dressed?” When the New Orleans po-boy is “dressed”, the reference has nothing to do with fashion: “dressed” in New Orleans nomenclature means that lettuce, tomatoes, and mayonnaise are added, and pickles too on some!

Yield: 4 Po-Boys

New Orleans could have the most distinctive soups in the nation…

According to Tom Fitzmorris, and he is probably New Orleans most known and famous food critic today. He wrote a great book too, “Tom Fitzmorris’s New Orleans Food”, more than 225 of the City’s Best Recipes to Cook at Home. He also has The New Orleans Menu online site with restaurant listings, recipes, eat club, and his newsletter installments. He also hosts a daily week day radio show “The Food Show” from 4-7 pm on 1350 am radio.

Here is Tom’s take on the top twenty distinctive soups in New Orleans, and I agree, these are all fabulous soups indeed. Although, I have not tried all of them myself, I have made many of these at some time or other throughout the years.

“You get a soup or a salad with the entree.”

Bring me the soup, I say, knowing full well that a guy my age and size really ought to get the salad.

But I love soup. With the advent of weather that makes my fingers cold even inside, which makes me want to drink coffee all afternoon, which causes me to catch a cold … well, it all makes soup sound even better.

New Orleans offers the most distinctive collection of soups anywhere in the nation. The vast spectrum of gumbo alone makes our soup selection utterly unique. Add turtle soup, artichoke and oyster soup, crawfish bisque and crab-and-corn soup – all indigenous dishes – and we have a lot going on in the bowl.

The best way to survey the soup scene is by example. Here are my 20 favorite restaurant soups. All cuisine is fair game. No soup lover would want to pass up Vietnamese pho or Mexican tortilla soup.

1. Turtle soup, Brennan’s (417 Royal St., New Orleans) Enjoy turtle soup while you can; it may not be around much longer. We’ve gone through at least three turtle species, all now endangered, just in 27 years I’ve been writing this column. They’re now snappers, coming from places like Kansas and North Carolina.

This is the best in town, made with all-turtle meat, a great texture and spice level and enough tomato to mellow the taste.

2. Gumbo ya-ya, Mr. B’s (201 Royal St., New Orleans) Mr. B’s will not reopen until January but no list of soups could exclude its incomparable chicken-Andouille gumbo, the best gumbo of any kind around.

3. Crab-and-corn soup, Vincent’s (7839 St. Charles Ave.; New Orleans, 4411 Chastant St., Metairie) A spectacular version served in a hollowed-out, toasted French bread loaf.

4. Oyster stew, Brigtsen’s (723 Dante St., New Orleans) A reduction of oyster liquor with green onions and fresh oysters. They also make a fine oyster Rockefeller soup sometimes.

5. Zarzuela, Rio Mar(800 S. Peters St., New Orleans) This Spanish variation on bouillabaisse is made with a tomatoey broth, mussels, clams, shrimp and other seafood, spiced and scented with saffron. Best dish in the house and that’s saying something.

6. Seafood gumbo, Fury’s (724 Martin Behrman Ave., Metairie) Freshly made in the old (lighter) style with lots of crab, shrimp, and okra.

7. Pho, Pho Tau Bay (113C West Bank Expressway, Gretna) The original and best location of this Vietnamese soup specialist sends out its tub-sized broth with beef, noodles, herbs and hot sauce. Don’t try to figure out the “right” way to eat it; there is no wrong way.

8. Oyster-artichoke soup, Mandina’s (4300 La. 22, Mandeville; 3800 Canal St., reopening in January) Since the demise of LeRuth’s and La Riviera, Mandina’s takes the mantle for the best version of this superb combination.

9. Hot and sour soup, Trey Yuen (600 Causeway Blvd., Mandeville) They actually make this to order, as the freshness of the mushrooms attests. Great balance.

10. Chicken-Andouille gumbo, Bozo’s (3117 21st St., Metairie) Offbeat: not just chicken and sausage, but also shrimp and okra in there. No roux. You don’t know how good this is until you’ve gone halfway through the serving.

11. Turtle soup, Commander’s Palace (1403 Washington Ave., New Orleans) Commander’s famous turtle soup involves a unique recipe that combines veal and turtle with spinach and a few other things. Different from Brennan’s.

12. Quail gumbo, La Provence (25020 U.S. 190, Lacombe). Most unusual: a dark-roux chicken gumbo, with a whole quail, stuffed with jambalaya, sitting in the center.

13. Seafood gumbo, Drago’s (3232 N. Arnoult Road, Metairie). Drago’s makes gumbo a day in advance. A great one, made with a little tomato and a lot of seafood. Also good here: spinach soup with oysters.

14. Tortellini in brodo, Mr. John’s Ristorante (2111 St. Charles Ave. New Orleans) This is a wonderful and rarely seen Northern Italian soup, little cheese-stuffed raviolis in an intense, clear, slightly peppery chicken stock.

15. Tom yum goong, La Thai Cuisine (933 Metairie Road, Metairie) One of the classic Thai soups, a clear broth with shrimp, red pepper and the ginger-like galangal. They also make a fine green curry, chicken and coconut milk soup.

16. Oyster soup with cream, Arnaud’s (813 Bienville St., New Orleans) Oysters stewed in milk or cream is an old and wonderful idea. Nobody does it better than Arnaud’s, which also does a fine shrimp bisque and turtle soup.

17. Cappuccino-style shrimp(or crabmeat) and mirliton bisque, Le Parvenu (509 Williams Blvd., Kenner) A light soup whose cream component floats in a foam on top.

18. Lentil soup, Casablanca (3030 Severn Ave., Metairie) They make many soups here, all marvelous, all starting with a great vegetable stock. This is always around, but if they have split pea soup, get it.

19. Seafood soup, Korea House (3547 18th St., Metairie). An enormous bowl of fish stock with all sorts of fish and shellfish with a spicy sauce you add to your taste, plus noodles. Wonderful on a cold day.

20. Roasted garlic soup, Bayona (430 Dauphine St., New Orleans) When garlic is cooked down a lot, it becomes nutty and wonderful.

Saints play in the Super Dome today meeting up with the Minnesota Vikings at 6:40 EST. CCR is showing their support for the team today! “This is New Orleans!”   Drew Brees pre-game chant and a great video mix!

“Mardi Gras Mambo: Down in New Orleans where the Saints call home, it takes a cool Brees to rock the Dome. On Lasalle and Poydras Street, they jack teams up to the mambo beat. The Superbowl, mambo, mambo, mambo… Superbowl, mambo, mambo, mambo… Superbowl, mambooh….. Down in New Orleans!”

“The Lords Prayer this weekend: Our Brees, Who art in New Orleans, Hallowed be thy name. Thy bowl will come, it will be won in Miami as it is in the dome. Give us this Sunday, our weekly win, Give us touchdown passes, But do not let …others pass against us. Lead us not into frustration, but deliver us to the Super Bowl.”

Football watching food suggestions!

Layered Taco Dip

Jalapeno Poppers

Salsa and a Contest

Cajun En Croute

Broccoli Bites

Shrimp Imperial

It is so nice to win awards especially when you least expect them and today I was given a blogger award known as the “Honest Scrap” award. I am not sure how or when this award got started, however, Doc from What’s Cookin’ with Doc’s Blog named me and nine others for the coveted moniker this morning (Friday, January 22, 2010). Please check out Doc’s blog when you get a chance, always good eating, and writing found on his pages. Thank you so much Doc for “nominating” me for the award today.

I have always wondered where these “awards” originate, and have seen some blogger’s create their own, and this great too! However, where did the “Honest Scrap” award originate? After some short Internet research it seems to go as far back as December 2008, however confirmation is not available, and the originator is unknown as far as I can tell. However, “Honest Scrap” was a brand of chewing tobacco or snuff, and somehow became the icon for this award. I also found that originally the award was passed on to seven blogger’s, so somewhere along the line it was moved up to ten bestowed awards.

I have to admit that several foodie blogger writers in the past year and a half have bestowed awards on my site and I have not given them the attention they deserved. Honestly, I can say that it is very hard for me to choose from the next iteration of blog’s and authors who I must bestow the next round of awards to, but now I feel it is time to take a stab at this awarding process. Having matured in my blogging since CCR was born in May 2008, almost two years old now, I feel ready to accept the challenge and make the selection. I will have to search my archives for the past awards and possibly create a new page for “Awards” and back track to make up for lost time. My heartfelt apologies go out for all of you who have given me awards in the past and I have not participated, however, I will make it up to you in the future.

“Honest Scrap” Award Rules

The Honest Scrap award rules are simple:

1. Thank the person who “nominated” you and link back to that blog post.
2. Tell 10 honest things about yourself—and make them interesting, even if you have to dig deep!
3. Pass the award on to ten blogger’s who you feel embody the spirit of the Honest Scrap, and whose blog’s you find brilliant in design and/or content.

My “Honest Scrap”

Ten honest things about me, and in no particular order:

1. I was born in Lafayette, Louisiana, in the heart of Cajun Country, and lived in New Orleans, LA most of my life.
2. In 1987, I worked on the research vessel J. W. Powell while operating under the auspices of the National Undersea Research Program (NURP) as a Chief Steward while at sea in the North Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea, and prepared three meals a day for a boat crew of 5 and up to 10 scientists. Learned how to scuba dive in between meals, and by the way, sharks can swim very fast….honest…they do!
3. Hurricane Katrina was not the work of the devil, but my family and I survived riding out the storm and the aftermath. If you click the hyperlink to the interactive map, our old house was located in Algiers, we hunkered down to ride out the storm in the F. Q., or French Quarter at my father in-laws business the Biscuit Palace.
4. I love to cook and have been doing so since I was 13 years old; I especially enjoy cooking with my dear wife, and love to write about it here on the CCR blog.
5. I met and worked with Julia Child on several occasions and she is one of my top culinary idols.
6. I worked for Emeril Lagasse at his home office known as Emeril’s Homebase in New Orleans, LA as an IT technician in support of his 13 restaurants for 3 years before Katrina hit. Became laid off after the storm, and was asked to return 8 months later, but already found new work.
7. I was kidnapped in 1989 and survived 45 minutes of terror at gunpoint, and lived to tell about it.
8. I love my family, adoring my dear wife and in awe of my amazing son.
9. Obtained an associate degree in Culinary of Arts in 1986 as part of and American Culinary Federation (ACF) accredited apprenticeship program, and obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Information Systems in 2000, from over two years of night schooling at University of Phoenix (UOP).
10. Love to travel and hope to see the world someday, especially Europe, South America, and the South Pacific.

My “Honest Scrap” Nominations

Now on to the hardest part of selecting, the ten blog’s to “nominate” this award, as I just wish the rules did not limit it to ten recipients (used to be only seven you know), as there must be a few hundred that I would want to add to this list, however, and in no particular order:

1. Drick’s Rambling Cafe
2. Simply Scrumptious
3. What’s Cookin’ Italian Style Cuisine
4. Vegan Thyme
5. Hugging the Coast
6. 5 Star Foodie Culinary Adventures
7. Sweets Foods Blog
8. Cocina Savant
9. Jeroxie (Addictive & Consuming)
10. The Hungry Mouse

Again, my congratulations to all the blog’s that I have “nominated” with the “Honest Scrap” award upon, and my apologies to those who I wanted to nominate but could not choose.