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Recent Questions And Comments

Non-Stick Shrimp Shells

Fred on the West Bank asks a very common question:

My barbecue shrimp are sometimes are very difficult to peel. I cook them on the stove with a black iron skillet. The shell sticks to meat, and I don't know why. They look and taste perfectly cooked. Any clues or recommendations?

Tom sez:

Shrimp meat sticks to the shells when the shells soften and begin to dissolve. The part on the inside solidifies again, and grabs hold. This also happens with boiled or grilled shrimp, The best way to prevent this is to be very conservative with temperatures and cooking times, so the shell doesn't soften. Shrimp cook faster than most of us imagine. If you have even an inkling that the shrimp might be cooked, they are--turn the heat off. In my barbecue shrimp recipe, I cook them just until I see no more gray or brown, just pink. Then I turn the heat off and start whisking in the butter. (My recipe is here.)

Boiled shrimp only take a few minutes, after which some cooks even add ice to the pot after they're done to keep them from cooking any more while they absorb more of the seasonings.

I think part of your problem may be the black iron skillet. Cast iron holds heat a long time, and keeps cooking even after you turn the heat off. Try using an aluminum skillet instead.

Sid-Mar's

Captain Norman asks:

Have you heard if Marian and kids will re-open Sid-Mar's in a new location? After Katrina all that was left was the front steps.

Tom sez:

Sid-Mar's--a classic seafood house in the old part of Bucktown--was outside the protection of the levees, and like all the restaurants at West End Park, it was blown completely away by the storm. Since then, the Corps of Engineers has taken over the location of Sid-Mar's to build a secondary pumping station with floodgates. Ultimately, they'll build an entirely new pumping station there, and it will be enormous.

The Burgess family said they would fight this, but as much as we all loved Sid-Mar's, there were no other reasonable options at that location. They said they'd like to reopen, but without the lake view a new Sid-Mar's won't have its unique selling point. There have been no plans announced, but restaurateurs have a track record now of reappearing when everyone thought they were dead. It's a long shot, but we may have Sid-Mar's again someday. I hope so.

Olive Oils: Virgin And Not

David asks:

What's the difference between extra virgin and regular olive oil? I always use regular olive oil when I pan fry or saute. Should I be using extra virgin?

Tom sez:

Extra-virgin olive oil comes from the first cold pressing of the olives. That puts a great deal of fresh olive fruit into the oil, and results in a pronounced flavor and aroma. That's great for salads and for very quick, medium-heat sauteeing (for example, making the sauce for pasta aglio olion). However, at higher temperatures the elements that make extra-virgin so flavorful can burn off. So it's better to use pure olive oil (another name for "not-so-virgin) for heavy-duty saute and pannee dishes.

A caller on the radio show asked about using olive oil instead of butter for blackened fish. I suggested he try light olive oil, which is the last pressing of the olive pomace, using heat and sometimes even chemicals to extract the oil. It has almost no flavor at all, but it's the least likely to burn. He reported back that this worked perfectly. So we finally find a good use for light olive oil. (Although I think I'd use canola oil instead .)

Strict Kosher Dining

Dina asks:

I would like to take a friend out to dinner for his birthday. He keeps a kosher diet. Do you know of any good kosher restaurants in New Orleans?

Tom sez:

The only two strictly kosher restaurants in the New Orleans area are Casablanca and the Kosher Kajun Deli.

Casablanca (3030 Severn Ave., 888-2209) is a Moroccan restaurant with a highly varied menu and deli sandwiches. It is inspected regularly by a Chabad rabbi and is certifiably kosher.

The Kosher Kajun (3519 Severn, 888-2010) is primarily a sandwich shop, although they also have soups and a few platters. They also sell a full line of kosher groceries, including glatt meats.

A handful of other restaurants--most of them in major hotels--will prepare a meal in kosher circumstances, using new dishes for the meal and food from kosher suppliers (probably Joel Brown at the Kosher Kajun). But that's usually for private parties, not a la carte service. Andrea's is the only independent restaurant I know other than the two above who will perform this service, but it requires advance notice and consulting with the chef.

What Happened To Genghis Khan And Henry Lee?

Ed asks:

We really miss the food and the music we used to enjoy at the old Genghis Khan. What happened to Henry Lee since the storm?

Tom sez:

Actually, Genghis Khan when down well before the hurricane. After moving to a beautiful new restaurant on Baronne at Common (in the old Sears Building, now a hotel), Henry Lee had a dispute with the hotel's management over the number of hours he was required to be open. He wound up losing the lease. Meanwhile, he'd leased the old space on Tulane near Carrollton to another restaurant. The Katrina flood made that facility a complete mess (it wasn't much to begin with). Henry and family left town and are now living in Houston. He still is active musically, leading the Korean Children's Choir, among other things. But last time I spoke with him he said he was not likely to reopen Genghis Khan. He's beyond retirement age, and the restaurant business is hard.

Shoe Soles

Andrea asks:

My mother is in love with shoe-sole pastry. I tried, unsuccessfully, to search the web for a recipe but, I was repeatedly referred to actual shoe soles. Is this type of pastry only found in New Orleans, or is it called another name elsewhere? Is there a recipe for this delicacy?

Tom sez:

Look for a recipe for palmiers, the French name for the same thing. The classic French version is supposed to resemble a hand, but if you roll up the dough instead of folding it, you get the shoe-sole effect. Click here for a very good, illustrated recipe from the Pastry Chef Central website.

Why Aren't Oysters Salty Right Now?

A number of people reported and wondered about this on the radio show yesterday:

The oysters right now are large and meaty, but they almost seem bland because they're as unsalty as any oysters we have in awhile. What's going on?

Tom sez:

I was about to answer this when I got an e-mail from Frank Brigtsen, who nailed the situation. So I'll let him tell you:

The salinity of our oysters is totally determined by the rise and fall of the Mississippi River. It is extremely high right now and pushing a lot of fresh water into the oyster-growing areas.

The freshwater diversions are contributing to this reduction in salinity as well. February and March are probably the best months to eat Louisiana oysters, but I know the Caernarvon diversion near Delacroix usually opens in February, which messes up the oysters and saltwater fishing in general. The Caernarvon diversion on the east side of the river, and the Davis Pond diversion on the West Bank, are pushing the oystermen out of traditional growing areas.

The pros and cons of the freshwater diversions could be debated forever, but they are here and helping us slow coastal erosion, though not everyone is sold on that idea. Coastal erosion may be the biggest problem we face in Louisiana. Hurricane protection is one issue we are all aware of now, but our fisheries are also suffering. As we lose marsh, the band of brackish water that nutures our seafood gets more narrow every year. The oyster-growing areas are shrinking at an alarming rate. Oystermen have been preaching this for years and it is all too true.

For all of our sakes, we must save what marsh and coast we have to protect ourselves, our homes, our cuisine, and our culture. Ask Drago Cvtanovich about Empire. The marsh there is gone. From Hwy. 23 to the Gulf, it's now all open water.

Seafood is probably the only wild food most people eat anymore, so we must take what nature gives us, when it is given. One can't blame the restaurants if something is not available or not at its best.--Frank Brigtsen.

Post-Storm New Restaurants

People ask every couple of weeks:

How many completely new restaurants have opened since the hurricane?

Tom sez:

According to my restaurant database, which I update daily, 168 new restaurant have appeared post-K. At least if you count them according to the same criteria I use for The New Orleans Menu Restaurant Index. (Not included: fast-food restaurants, most national chains, bars and coffeehouses.) Also excluded: restaurants that opened after the hurricane, closed, and had their former premises taken over by another new restaurant.

I count as a new restaurant any establishment whose name and concept did not exist in August, 2005. A few of these were reopenings or relocations of restaurants that once operated well before the storm, but not at the time of it.

The list of all 168 new post-K restaurants is here.

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Restaurants That Haven't
Reopened Since The Hurricane

Hurricane Katrina closed every single restaurant in the New Orleans area for at least a week. Some of those restaurants have not reopened. These are the ones that I'm asked about most, in alphabetical order. If you don't find the restaurant you're interested in here, it's probably back open; see the Restaurant Index to check this. If it's not there, ask me at tom@nomenu.com.

Bella Luna. Horst Pfiefer, chef and owner of Bella Luna, has decided that he will not reopen Bella Luna. Although he didn't say so, I think the problem is with the landlord: the City of New Orleans, which owns the French Market, including the building where Bella Luna was. They dragged their feet on repairing the roof. Horst and his wife Karen continue to operate their catering facility, The Foundry, in the Warehouse District, and they just bought Middendorf's in Manchac.

Bruning's. Everything in West End Park was completely obliterated by Hurricane Katrina; all that's left is pilings. Sam Urrate, fourth-generation owner of Bruning's, says that he would like to reopen at West End or somewhere else. However, my feeling is that the kind of building that would have to be constructed in order to get insurance at West End would be so expensive that a casual seafood restaurant like Bruning's would probably not be viable. I do hope this old classic makes it back to life, though. Who knows?

Charlie's Steak House. Dottye Bennett, whose late brother owned Charlie's (and who is the best waitress there) told me that the restaurant has finally been sold to a neighbor and former employee. He is renovating the place now, and will keep it Charlie's Steak House, complete with the menu and recipes as they were before. They're saying the target date is March, but delays have occurred on almost every reopening.

Chateaubriand Steak House. The Croziers have thrown in the towel and have moved to Knoxville, Tennessee. They are not running a restaurant there. The former Chateaubriand space is now a branch of Little Tokyo.

Christian's. The building had at least a foot of water inside and major damage to its utilities. In August I spoke with Joey Bergeron, son of owner Henry Bergeron. He said they've treated the place for mold and have reinstalled the electrical system, but that there is no set date for reopening.

Dunbar's. This great soul food restaurant on Freret Street was in a very deep flood zone, but Celestine Dunbar is planning on fixing her restaurant and reopening there. In the meantime, she's moved her great food to the Loyola University’s Broadway Activities Center, at 501 Pine. (That's a long block river side of St. Charles Avenue, on the former campus of Dominican College.) It serves breakfast, lunch and early dinner Mondays through Saturdays.

Gabrielle. While Greg and Mary Sonnier's restaurant did not flood, a falling tree pulled down an exhaust hood unit and left a gaping hole in the roof that let a lot of water in, creating much damage. They have abandoned that location. They were planning to move to the corner of Henry Clay and Laurel, but it seems that the neighborhood organization has shot that down. So Greg is now at the Windsor Court Hotel as Executive Chef of the Grill Room--a very good gig for him (and for us).

Katie's. Like everything else in Mid-City, Katie's was flooded very deeply. But the building seems to have been repaired, and the word is that its reopening is on the way. No date known, however.

La Riviera. Valentino Rovere, the owner, says that he will not reopen La Riviera. The restaurant is now a spa. He adds that he may open another restaurant sometime in the future.

Mandich. Restaurant Mandich, on St. Claude at Louisa, is gone for good unless someone else buys and opens it. Long-time owner Lloyd English says that he and his wife (who was the chef) have decided after almost fifty years there to retire.

Ruth's Chris On Broad Street. It will not reopen. Ruth's Chris has donated the building to the City of New Orleans. They will shortly reopen in Orleans Parish in the Harrah's Hotel, where Riche used to be.

Revised 3/10/08

Miscellaneous Matters

United Bakery. The best bakery for muffuletta bread, the United Bakery, was drowned by flood waters. The equipment is ruined and it was all uninsured. The United also made those great Italian twist breads you see in the better Italian places. I spoke with them a few weeks ago, and at that time they had not decided what their plan would be, although they did seem reasonably determined to reopen. I don't think anybody makes muff bread as well as United, and with them out of the game, you will see much variation in quality.

My Outdoor Grill. It's called The Big Green Egg. That really is the name of it. It's made of inch-thick ceramic, weighs a ton, and will without doubt last me the rest of my life. It works as a grill, a roaster, or a smoker, and admits of many fine adjustments in temperature. I will say that it took me awhile to get the hang of it, because it works much differently from most grills. It burns onlt charcoal, but does so very sparingly, getting the most heat out of every burning ember. I love it! I got mine at Bassil's Ace Hardware, which specializes in outdoor grilling gear. It's on Transcontinental near West Esplanade in Metairie.

Where Can I Get A Schedule Of Eat Club Dinners? All the Eat Club events are posted on the Eat Club web page as soon as I have the plans confirmed. I don't plan them more than a few weeks in advance.

Why Don't I Get The Newsletter Anymore? In January 2007, I resigned from NewOrleans.Com, where I wrote a free newsletter for many years. That newsletter is now available through this website, but I was unable to transport the mailing list from there to here. To sign up again for the weekly Red Beat Edition, click here. It's still free.

If you are a paid subscriber to the New Orleans Menu Daily Five-Star Edition, you should be getting the e-mail version every day. However, e-mail is very unreliable. Your e-mail system (or something else) may be blocking those messages. Often this can be solved by adding news@nomenu.com to your list of accepted e-mail addresses.

But remember: the full newsletter is updated several times every day, with at least five new articles daily. It is always available on the web at this location:

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Click on that line above, and set it in your browser as a Favorite (bookmark) so you can get back to it easily with the updated edition. You will need your user name and password.

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About The Radio Show

Why Is 1350 AM Hard To Hear At Night? The Federal Communications Commission requires the radio station (on which my show appears from 3-6 p.m. every afternoon) to broadcast with a directional pattern to the south after sunset. It has been that way since the 1930s for 1350 (the former WSMB, now WWWL), and nothing that can be done about it. All AM radio stations have this problem except the very few lucky stations on a clear channel (WWL is the only one here). I wish it could be otherwise, but the problem is an artifact of the low-tech, 100-year-old technology of AM broadcasting. The good news is that as sunset gets later, the daytime signal stays on later. After Daylight Savings Time comes into effect, the whole show gets in even to the North Shore.

Why Doesn't The Food Show Stream On The Web? Like most commercial stations in America, 1350 had to stop streaming because some of the announcers on national commercials successfully sued to get extra compensation for having their work on the web. Complicating matters further is a new claim from a company that says it invented the concept of pulling commercials out of a radio show and filling the gaps with something else. And they want royalties. Meanwhile, there is zero money--and I do mean ZERO--to be made from streaming radio shows. So streaming winds up being a low priority-- especially for a station like 1350. Someday it will come.

However, my Saturday show on WWL--along with everything else on that powerhouse station--is streamed on their website. I'm usually on from noon till three in the afternoon Saturdays, but the show is often truncated or even pre-empted completely by sports.

What Happened To Richard? Long-time radio listeners know the deep voice of Richard Dominique, who produced The Food Show for many years, and was as much a personality as I was. (He was to me what Roz was to Frasier.) His home was ruined in the storm. He left town permenently, and is living in Houston. A great old pro, Richard has been in radio for decades. I miss his great work on the show tremendously.

When Are You On The Air? How Can I Call In? For the schedule and all the numbers, click here.

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