cochon butcher (new orleans, la)

 

(above - cubano)

$8 for a generic sandwich at the conference center? Psh, keep your sandwich and shove it back into your breadhole because a couple of blocks away is Cochon Butcher serving up some kick-ass sandwiches worth every penny.

Cochon Butcher was my favorite place to grab lunch in New Orleans throughout my stay. The hot sandwiches filled with Cochon's killer, house cured meats with a side of crispy chips may be one of the best foods for your buck around the city. Did I mention they play some awesome music too? Nirvana, Van Halen, Rage Against the Machine, etc. -- they had my attention even before I ate.

(above - pork belly)

One of my favorite sandwiches was the pork belly with mint and cucumber. Tender, succulent, melt-in-your-mouth pork belly with crisp cucumber and refreshing mint -- it's awesome. The Cubano (first picture of post) was delicious as well; paninied to a thin, crispy perfection with juicy roast pork, ham, and swiss cheese on the inside. 

(above - muffaletta)

(above - prime rib, gruyere, poblanos, horseradish)

The other 2 sandwiches I had were the Cochon Muffaletta and the prime rib with gruyere, poblanos and horseradish, a special of the day. This Muffaletta is great for those who are turned off by the strong olive taste in Muffalettas because the olive salad's flavor doesn't dominate the sandwich. It works in harmony with the fresh, combination of house cured meats to provide a nice compliment to the sandwich -- and man is that sandwich huge. I liked the prime rib sandwich too. A nice smokiness from the poblanos and a slight kick from the horseradish.

Lastly, I need to spot light this Cochon pretzel. Ask the pretzel to be heated and prepare to go on a carbalicious adventure. With its soft, tender crumb and a chewy crust this pretzel was real tasty. If you're not a mustard fan, try eating the pretzel with the hot sweet potato sauce on the table.

One of my regrets leaving New Orleans was the fact that I didn't get to try out more of Cochon Butcher's menu -- especially the hot dog. I will say though that it does take a little bit of time for your sandwich to come out and especially during the lunch rush but it's worth the wait folks. This place is definitely a must visit if you're in the city and a place I hope you'll come to love just like I did during my visit.

cafe du monde (new orleans, la)

We had a lot of Café Du Monde while we were in New Orleans. To the point where just the thought of café au lait was nauseating. But again and again we went to grab our daily beignets and hot drinks.

There's not much more to say about this New Orleans institution other than to recommend visiting and visiting frequently. The hot beignets are crispy, soft on the inside and delicious when dipped into your drink of choice. It's probably one of the most reasonably priced establishments in town too so not only will your stomach be happy, your bank accounts will be too. The café au lait is good but I really liked the hot chocolate at Café Du Monde. Perfect for beignet dipping!!

brennan's (new orleans, la)

One thing that I didn't do before my trip to New Orleans was food research. Fellow Atlanta food bloggers like Foodie Buddha and Eat It Atlanta map out where they're going to go eat, on what day and in what order -- real calculated and organized. But because your boy was procrastinating too busy preparing for interviews I didn't do any research. Lesson here boys and girls -- do your research like the smart men mentioned above.

I asked the bellboy where to eat Sunday afternoon brunch and he pointed us to Brennan's, famous for their Eggs Hussarde and Bananas Foster.

Now, don't panic when you see that a modified version of eggs Benedict is like $30. It'll be OK. Brennan's has a prix fixe that includes a starter, main and dessert for $41. So if you're on a budget or a college kid who didn't look at the menu before going, choose the prix fixe. We got the southern baked apple with double cream and Creole onion soup to start. The caramelized cinnamon apple by itself is too sweet for my tastes but once when eaten with the double cream it balances it out. I liked the Creole onion soup a lot more. It has a nice caramelized onion flavor and a hint of curry-esque back taste. You also get a hot, toasty French bread with a plate of butter to eat while you wait for your mains.

(Eggs Hussarde)

(Eggs Shannon)

The Brennan's original, Eggs Hussarde, is like an Eggs Benedict but with the addition of Marchand de Vin sauce. The egg and Canadian bacon sits on top of a Holland rusk which is a thick, somewhat tough biscuit that can soak up all the gooey egg yolk and other sauces on the plate. I thought the the Vin sauce got somewhat lost in the Hollandaise but overall I really enjoyed the dish. The Eggs Shannon is two servings of friend trout with poached eggs and Hollandaise sitting on top of creamed spinach. The trout was fresh and tender and the poached eggs just like the Hussarde were gooey and excellent. I didn't really like the creamed spinach because there was a strong presence of nutmeg but the other component of the dish were very yummy.

Perhaps the show stopper at Brennan's can be exemplified by their dessert. Both the Bananas Foster and the Crepes Fitzgerald are made table side with the flambe capturing everybody's attention in the room. Prepare to see several bursting flames throughout your meal. I really enjoyed the Bananas Foster because you could taste each individual component of the dish with each bite. The Crepes Fitzgerald was also pretty good. Each crepe is filled with a mixture of cream cheese and sour cream in a strawberry, Maraschino sauce.

I thought the meal at Brennan's was pretty fun and memorable with some good food. Nothing really wow-ed us food wise but we left the restaurant happy with our experience. Like I always say on this blog, the dining experience is what you make out of the meal. Good company and positive attitude goes a long way in making every meal an enjoyable one.