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Showing posts with label Brunch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brunch. Show all posts
Thursday, June 26, 2014
In Louisiana, meals are meant to share. We enjoy the dining experience from the shaken specialty cocktails, to the fresh vegetable sides, and most importantly, the company that gathers at the dinner table. Memories are made at the dinner table.
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| The Cable Car from Ember |
As we adapt our meals at home to the seasonal vegetables and
warmer weather, restaurants do as well.
I was able to get recipes of a few of my favorite summer selections from
the Isle of Capri Casino Hotel’s Otis & Henry’s and L’Auberge Casino Resort’s Ember Grille and Wine Bar.
Ember Grille &Wine Bar
Recently, I shared a memorable dinner at Ember listening to the soulful John Guidroz singing with Kevin Lambert playing piano while I sipped on the old Ember classic Cable Car.
Recently, I shared a memorable dinner at Ember listening to the soulful John Guidroz singing with Kevin Lambert playing piano while I sipped on the old Ember classic Cable Car.
I’ve attempted to make the Cable Car at home many times – even for my Pokeno group – but since I don’t have a little blow torch, it just isn’t the same.
John T. Edge, an esteemed Southern food writer and founder
of the Southern Foodways Alliance, once said, “What intrigues me is how food in
public is everyday theatre.”
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| The Ember Prime Tamahawk |
As the mixologist dramatically melted sugar with fire for my
Cable Car, the servers at Ember were definitely in the midst of a performance
when they brought the main dish to the table.
The Ember Prime Tamahawk, a 40 ounce rib eye for two, was carved
tableside and was as high quality as it gets.
Although it comes with your choice of two sauces, my dad always told me
that you never want to cover the taste of good piece of meat with sauce. The quality of the meat, simply prepared with
salt and pepper, spoke for itself.
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| Ember's New Banana Nut Honey Churro |
As a side dish, we shared the Truffled Mac n’ Cheese, an
adult version of the childhood staple.
Cheesy, rich and delicious, this nostalgic Southern dish brought me back
to my mom’s kitchen in the house where I grew up. (They also offer Crawfish Mac n’ Cheese that
is packed with flavor!)
For dessert, award winning Pastry Chef Bill Foltz prepared
a banana nut honey churro.
For an affordable lunch date, my husband and I love going to Otis & Henry’s
at the Isle of Capri – especially on Saturdays and Sundays when they have live
music. (Check out the Events Calendar to see who's playing.) The bartenders are always
crafting their specialty martinis that are fun to try. It’s like being at an island oasis!
Otis & Henry’s Shrimp Cocktail is making a splash on
their summer menu and is an outstanding appetizer choice. It just doesn’t get any better than flavorful,
Louisiana seafood!
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| Otis & Henry's Shrimp Cocktail |
I enjoy the Cajun Rib Eye (medium plus please!) that is
always seasoned just right and expertly prepared. We always split the Bourbon Pecan Pie for
dessert. It’s made from scratch and tastes
pretty close to my great grandmother’s recipe.
On Sundays, the Otis & Henry’s has their Blues Brunch
that is an option for live blues music and delicious food.
Check out a few of these recipes to try at home this summer.
Thursday, April 24, 2014
Adapted from Austin Price's April 2014 THRIVE Magazine article
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| Luna Bar & Grill's Omelet Mamou by Michelle Higginbotham |
When the English writer Guy Berringer coined the term “brunch” in 1895
and proposed that England make it a staple of their weekends, his reasons were
as social as they were gustatory. In fact, he wasn’t particularly interested in
what kinds of meals might make up a brunch, suggesting only that the cook
provide “everything good, plenty of it, (and) a variety of selection.” His
concern was more with the human element, how it should be “sociable and
inciting…” so that it would in turn “put you in a good temper… with yourself
and your fellow people,” confident that if it was doing its job right a
healthy, post-church brunch would “sweep away the worries and the cobwebs of
the week.” Maybe that’s why he chose the word “brunch” to represent this
proposed meal. Sure, it’s linguistically appropriate, but it’s always a fun
word, the kind you might expect children in the back of a car ride to come up
with just to keep themselves amused, a word light and inviting and playful,
just as a good “brunch” should be.
It’s nice to see,
then, that his proposal didn’t go ignored. Flash forward to the present and you’ll see that Sunday
brunch isn’t simply acceptable or even merely liked: people love their brunches. From New Orleans,
where Sunday mornings find roughly half of the city’s population sitting on
street corners just waiting to get inside for a nip to New York, which boasts
many of the most avant-garde cooks in the brunch business (where else can you
pick up a dish that couples oysters-on-the-half-shell, scrambled eggs and
steel-cut oatmeal?), everyone can find a perfect excuse to stay in a little
later Sunday mornings and delay their breakfast just a little. Whether you’re
hung over and looking to recover with heartier fare or part of a church group
that’s eager to continue socializing well beyond the service, there’s no reason
to skip out on the many brunch options available in your own backyard. Lake
Charles may not rival New Orleans, New York or Seattle for diverse morning
fair, but it’s not without its attractions. Just consider the following:
BRUNCH OPTIONS IN LAKE CHARLES:
- Luna Bar & Grill (11 AM – 2 PM)
"I love sitting on the patio to watch the jazz band. You must try the Eggs Calcasieu, which are topped with boudin and Hollandaise sauce over French bread. I substitute the fried oysters for shrimp." Megan Monsour Hartman
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| Luna Bar & Grill's Eggs Calcasieu by Michelle Higginbotham |
- Pujo Street Café (10 AM – 2 PM)
"I like getting to Pujo Street Cafe early around 10:15 a.m. to start my lazy Sunday with the fried chicken and waffles! I mean, how can you get any better than a fried chicken breast, topped with bacon, and sandwiched between waffles?" Chris Berryhill
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| Pujo Street Cafe's Chicken & Waffles |
"Pujo Street Cafe's brunch is actually reasonably priced and the mimosas and bellinis are BOGO." Leigh Ward
- KD’s Diner (all day)
- Le Peep Café (all day)
- Pitt Grill (all day; Eggs
Benedict breakfast meal served exclusively on Saturdays and Sundays)
- IHOP (all day)
- Waffle House (all day)
- Le Café at L'Auberge Casino Resort (all day)
- Stellar Beans Coffee House and Edibles (all day)
- O'Charley's (10 AM - 3 PM)
"O'Charley's serves a brunch menu as well as their regular menu. I take my four-year-old granddaughter after church when we are together. She loves the popcorn shrimp and fruit and I always get the Cajun Chicken Pasta." Martha Damian
- The Buffet at Isle of Capri (7 AM - 3:30PM; Bloody Mary Brunch Bar)
"The build-your-own Bloody Mary Bar at the Isle of Capri is a nice bonus. They have a spread of garnishes that you would never expect, but it's really impressive." Christie Guidry
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| Isle of Capri's Bloody Mary Brunch Bar |
- Otis & Henry's at Isle of Capri (11 AM - 3 PM on Saturdays and Sundays; Blues Brunch)
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