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February 22, 2006

2. Herbsaint & Apertifs

A great example of “New Orleans is back.” Fine dining, but not overly so. A killer menu – if a bit skimpy (read: nearly non-existent) for the vegetarians among us. Luckily la famille Gaughran-Perez eats fish in our veggie diet. Check out the menu at their site. But true to form I stuck with the special – in this case it was skate wing. Yum.

But the piece de resistance showed itself when we opened the menu – a listing of apertifs. Of course drinking is de rigeur in New Orleans – but I’ve always been a quality over quantity guy. My years as a bartender led me to see plenty of quantity and led me to appreciate the craft of drinks from a killer martini to the Perfect Manhattan. Here I went with some French fortified wine – and while I’m usually a wine guy (somehow grew out of that) nor a sweet guy – this one was just right to get my eating off on the right foot.

A short stay and a toddler meant I didn’t get to investigate the depth of fine drinking New Orleans has to offer. Next time around I’ll search out the city’s best Sazerac (rye, absinthe, bitters, sugar) and then Tyler’s Ultimate-style perfect my own recipe – that will obviously substitute bourbon for rye – as God no doubt intended.

Other food highlights included
Beignets (duh)
Dick & Jenny’s (on Tchoupitoulas)

Posted by Rock Heals at February 22, 2006 12:00 AM