Monthly Archives: October 2010

Field Trip: New England Part 1

Posted on October 29, 2010 | 8 Comments

Fall foliage, Vermont

He said:

We only have two (ok maybe one and a half) seasons in NOLA, plus it had been like 60 days since we’d travelled. So, perfect time for a field trip to autumnal New England.

Neither of us had been north of NYC before, so we were both looking forward to this little getaway made possible by some cheap flights and an abundance of Hilton points.

We left the Big Easy Friday morning and flew into Boston. We had dinner and spent the evening there, rented a car the next morning and explored some points north, and returned to Bean town Sunday night. We had a final day of exploration before returning home. Well, theoretically, at least. I am composing this post as we work our way from Boston to Houston in order to hopefully get back to NOLA around midnight. Gosh, I just love flying!

Anyway, the foodie details, plus other random stuff, below:

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Posted in Breakfast, Dinner, Dinner, He Said, Lunch, Restaurant, Reviews, Travel, Wine

Tagged restaurants, travel, wine

Charlie’s Steakhouse

Posted on October 19, 2010 | Leave a comment

Chateau Cheval Blanc

He said:

Sometimes nostalgia is the best apertif.

As a rule, I’m not a big fan of steakhouses (with the notable exception of La Boca). Too many of them seem to be designed as expense account sucking temples to the male ego, aimed at a clientele unable to judge food by anything other than its price tag.

Also, steak is one of the easiest things in the world to cook yourself, so we usually go buy the best we can find a couple of times a year, open a nice Napa Cab, and have a terrific dinner at home.

But Charlie’s is a different animal, and it has a personal resonance for me.

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Posted in Dinner, He and she said, Restaurant, Reviews

Tagged Bordeaux, Charlie's Steakhouse, Cheval Blanc, restaurants, reviews, wine

With friends like these, who needs enemies?

Posted on October 12, 2010 | 1 Comment

She said:

Well, at least I got to visit a farm

So the husband and I did something completely out of character Saturday. We went across the pond. No, not London; Covington. I ran across this farm that does a fall festival of sorts and have been itching to get there since last year. So this morning we loaded up the sleeping bags, survival kit including 3 day supply of food, etc. Well, that’s not exactly the way it went.

But we really did go to the Red Bluff farm in Folsom. This was the first of three Saturdays the farm is hosting its annual pumpkin festival. I must have a good husband. I tried to get my sisters from Texas there last year but it didn’t fit squarely between nap schedules of thier kids so this year we were going. With or without kids.
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Posted in Lunch, Restaurant, She said

Tagged farms, Friends, rants, restaurants, reviews

NYC: Fat poor and stupid is no way to go through life, son!

Posted on October 9, 2010 | 7 Comments

He said:

Apologies to Dean Wormer for the paraphrase. Last year, I wrote about a great piece of marketing by New York City public health officials aimed at alerting people to the deadly perils of soda. No longer content with attempting to shape public opinion, NYC mayor Bloomberg and NY governor David Paterson are now seeking permission from the USDA to ban sugary drinks entirely.

Ok, so that’s not completely true. If Bloomberg and Paterson have their way, you can still have a Coke and smile. Unless, of course, you’re poor. New York City is seeking to ban sugary drinks from food stamp eligibility. Here are the details.

What an interesting concept.

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Posted in He Said, Rants

Tagged food, politics, rants

Fall Food: Root vegetable tagine with sweet potatoes, carrots, and turnips

Posted on October 5, 2010 | 2 Comments

He said:

So, I tossed up a little update on the Hollygrove Box Sunday, and my wife was spectacularly unimpressed by my prose. She let me know that my post was the literary equivalent of an Applebee’s chicken finger, or whatever it is they have at Applebee’s. Now this is the same love of my life who said “not your best work,” when referring to a labor day party invitation I emailed, so you see what I’m up against.

With that in mind, I’ll attempt to elevate this post. Let’s get real: I’m not shooting for an August or Stella! level post. I’d just like to be somewhere north of Catch, if you know what I mean. And if it doesn’t work out, I can always blame the oil spill and rebrand my posts as tapas posts. Literary small plates. All the cool bloggers are doing it.

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Posted in He Said, Recipes

Tagged Hollygrove, Recipes, Rhone, sweet potatoes, turnips, wine

What’s in the box: October 2, 2010

Posted on October 3, 2010 | 1 Comment

He said:

Man oh man, what a beautiful fall day in the Big Easy!

Walking outside with a cup of coffee into the crisp morning reminded me why October is absolutely my favorite month of the year in NOLA. Hollygrove felt like exactly the right place to be Saturday morning.

Cue witty, hipper than thou analogy/metaphor/simile here, but I just don’t have one. So, just the list:

BTW, anybody have good recipes for greens?

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Posted in Farmer's Markets, He Said, Lists

Tagged Hollygrove