Dick & Jenny's
Dick & Jenny’s
As a treat, last night Jason took me out to Dick & Jenny’s, which is a very lovely understated little place on Tchopatoulis [CHOP-uh-too-lis], not too far from his house. Jason had went their a few weeks ago with friends and they held their own “Eat Club” dinner. If you don’t know Tom Fitzmorris, he’s the local food radio personality I mentioned in one of my last posts, and he holds dinners at restaurants around town where people get together to enjoy food and stuff. Well, they don’t ever have a completely vegetarian Eat Club dinner, so Jason’s foodie friends decided to have their own.
Back to last night: I got quasi-dressed up, although the place is so low-key and not pretentious at all, and we headed out pretty early, at like 5:45 or so, because Dick & Jenny’s fill up fast. So we got a table quickly and then I took a gander at the fabulous wine list while Jason parked. Great stuff. I was impressed. But we weren’t getting wine. We were going to have a couple of Sazeracs. What’s a Sazerac, you ask? It’s great. I mean, it’s a New Orleans drink if I ever had one. As one website says: “Tourists have hurricanes [the drink, not Katrina], and locals have Sazeracs.” And here’s how you make one:
Sazerac:
1 teaspoon of simple syrup (or 1 sugar cube or 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar)
3 - 4 dashes Peychaud's bitters
2 ounces rye whiskey (most New Orleans bars use Old Overholt)
1/4 teaspoon Herbsaint, a New Orleans brand of anise liqueur
(You may use Pernod, or some other pastis or absinthe substitute)
Strip of lemon peel
The traditional method: Pack a 3-1/2 ounce old fashioned glass with ice. In a cocktail shaker, moisten the sugar cube with just enough water to saturate it, then crush. Blend with the whiskey and bitters. Add a few cubes of ice and stir to chill. Discard the ice from the first glass and pour in the Herbsaint. Coat the inside of the entire glass, pouring out the excess. Strain the whiskey into the Herbsaint coated glass. Twist the lemon peel over the glass so that the lemon oil cascades into the drink, then rub the peel over the rim of the glass; do not put the twist in the drink. Or, as Stanley Clisby Arthur says, "Do not commit the sacrilege of dropping the peel into the drink.
And they are delicious! Not too sweet, they pack a punch, are complex and intriguing, just like the City. So I was more than happy with my drink (Although we weren’t expecting the price: egads!) In addition to the drinks, we had amazing corn-friend oysters on top of some creole slaw. The creamiest most tender and delicious oysters I’ve ever had. In New Orleans, oysters are heavenly. I love ‘em fried. Oi! For the main course, Jason had Scallops and Shrimp and a Crawfish & Brie filled Beggar’s Purse (crepe), africkinmazing. I had a pan-bronzed gulf fish on top of a okra, corn, crawfish sautée thing. Mouthwatering, perfectly cooked. We had to abstain from dessert, although I could have filled myself a little fuller. So great. Best of all was the company and the environment. It wasn’t at all stuffy and could’ve been given the quality of the food. Oh, this City will never stop amazing me. Later today: Wine Shops. (If the rain stays away.)
As a treat, last night Jason took me out to Dick & Jenny’s, which is a very lovely understated little place on Tchopatoulis [CHOP-uh-too-lis], not too far from his house. Jason had went their a few weeks ago with friends and they held their own “Eat Club” dinner. If you don’t know Tom Fitzmorris, he’s the local food radio personality I mentioned in one of my last posts, and he holds dinners at restaurants around town where people get together to enjoy food and stuff. Well, they don’t ever have a completely vegetarian Eat Club dinner, so Jason’s foodie friends decided to have their own.
Back to last night: I got quasi-dressed up, although the place is so low-key and not pretentious at all, and we headed out pretty early, at like 5:45 or so, because Dick & Jenny’s fill up fast. So we got a table quickly and then I took a gander at the fabulous wine list while Jason parked. Great stuff. I was impressed. But we weren’t getting wine. We were going to have a couple of Sazeracs. What’s a Sazerac, you ask? It’s great. I mean, it’s a New Orleans drink if I ever had one. As one website says: “Tourists have hurricanes [the drink, not Katrina], and locals have Sazeracs.” And here’s how you make one:
Sazerac:
1 teaspoon of simple syrup (or 1 sugar cube or 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar)
3 - 4 dashes Peychaud's bitters
2 ounces rye whiskey (most New Orleans bars use Old Overholt)
1/4 teaspoon Herbsaint, a New Orleans brand of anise liqueur
(You may use Pernod, or some other pastis or absinthe substitute)
Strip of lemon peel
The traditional method: Pack a 3-1/2 ounce old fashioned glass with ice. In a cocktail shaker, moisten the sugar cube with just enough water to saturate it, then crush. Blend with the whiskey and bitters. Add a few cubes of ice and stir to chill. Discard the ice from the first glass and pour in the Herbsaint. Coat the inside of the entire glass, pouring out the excess. Strain the whiskey into the Herbsaint coated glass. Twist the lemon peel over the glass so that the lemon oil cascades into the drink, then rub the peel over the rim of the glass; do not put the twist in the drink. Or, as Stanley Clisby Arthur says, "Do not commit the sacrilege of dropping the peel into the drink.
And they are delicious! Not too sweet, they pack a punch, are complex and intriguing, just like the City. So I was more than happy with my drink (Although we weren’t expecting the price: egads!) In addition to the drinks, we had amazing corn-friend oysters on top of some creole slaw. The creamiest most tender and delicious oysters I’ve ever had. In New Orleans, oysters are heavenly. I love ‘em fried. Oi! For the main course, Jason had Scallops and Shrimp and a Crawfish & Brie filled Beggar’s Purse (crepe), africkinmazing. I had a pan-bronzed gulf fish on top of a okra, corn, crawfish sautée thing. Mouthwatering, perfectly cooked. We had to abstain from dessert, although I could have filled myself a little fuller. So great. Best of all was the company and the environment. It wasn’t at all stuffy and could’ve been given the quality of the food. Oh, this City will never stop amazing me. Later today: Wine Shops. (If the rain stays away.)
posted by Marty at 8:26 AM
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