Aquitaine French Bistro

Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum!!!

I met my husband there for lunch on a lovely sunny Friday afternoon in mid-August.  The atmosphere was cozy and warm with dark wood and French signs everywhere.  Despite the darkness of the interior wood, the sun came in through the windows and lit the place up perfectly.  There were patrons, but it wasn't busy or crowded so we were seated immediately.

They have a $12.95 lunch special that, in addition to being a great deal, includes some of their best menu items.  It consists of a choice of soup, a choice of sandwich and a soft drink or coffee.

I went for the lunch special and chose:

Roasted Tomato Bisque en Croute with Herbed Chevre and EVOO
Duck Confit & Gruyere Sandwich with Tarragon Mustard, Watercress and Pommes Frites
Club Soda

I don't know if I was just in the mood for it, but the bisque was absolutely perfect.  It was creamy and tangy, warm and satisfying.  And the big crouton with herbed chevre was like a cherry on the top of a hot fudge sundae.  Delicious!

I had never tried duck confit before and I was pleasantly surprised.  It was salty and very tender and was a nice contrast to the melted gruyere and the grilled, buttery toast.  It was quite satisfying although I only had room for half of it.The pommes frites were crispy and tasty.  They must have fried them in either really clean oil or a special kind of oil and/or at the exactly perfect temperature.  They were great!

My husband loved his meal, the Aquitaine Burger, which was cooked to a perfect medium and covered with smoked bacon and Boursin cheese and served on a soft brioche bun.  And he said his coffee was excellent.

Rocky and Carlo's, Chalmette LA

We were told that this place is a landmark in Chalmette and not to be missed.  The mac and cheese, they said, is the best.  "You have to go to Rocky & Carlo's," they said.  Even when I walked into the restaurant and saw the long line, a woman sitting at a table looked up at me and said:  "It's worth the wait."

We waited in line for about 50 minutes all in all.  I ordered the fried shrimp with the baked mac and cheese.  I have to say that I was underwhelmed by the shrimp.  I had had delicious fresh Gulf shrimp on the previous two nights, but  this tasted like previously frozen shrimp with a weird aftertaste.  Cafeteria food.

 I will give it to them on the baked macaroni and cheese, though.  While we were standing in line, I saw one of the cooks put a big pan of the stuff into the oven.  It was piled so high with shredded cheddar cheese that you couldn't see the noodles under it.  And there were two monster-sized slabs of butter on top of it all.

What I got was a mountain of baked buccatoni (long like spaghetti, but with a hole through the middle like macaroni).  It was oozing with butter and cheese and really was delicious.

This place is an icon of the community and, we found out later, it's mostly the older generation that speaks so reverently of it.  It combines Italian with Creole and Southern cuisines and includes such offerings as the Muffaletta, the Po' Boy and Veal Parmesan.

They've had their share of hard times first with Katrina and most recently with a fire in February that forced them to close for three and a half months.  They first opened in 1965 and from the line I stood in on a hot summer Thursday night, they'll easily be open for another 47 years.

Rock-N-Sake, New Orleans LA

My sisters wanted some really good sushi while we were in New Orleans.  Sushi in New Orleans?  Really?  Yes, really.

So, based on a recommendation, we found a place called Rock-N-Sake and it turned out to be less than a block from our hotel in the Warehouse District of downtown New Orlean.  We tried to call the order in, but they didn't answer their phone.  Strike One.  We walked to the restaurant with our order and the bartender who took our order was a snotty bitch.  Strike Two.

We had been told that this place was worth it so we placed our order and went outside to wait.  It was a beautiful evening and I always enjoy the company of my sisters so we didn't mind waiting too much.

We finally got our order and went back to the hotel where four hungry teenagers were eagerly awaiting their dinner.  It was late again.

Well, it was worth it.  I had the shrimp wontons.  They were shrimp and cream cheese stuff pouches served crispy and with a shrimp and garlic sauce.  They were the crispiest wontons I'd ever eaten.  The shrimp and cream cheese stuffing was heavenly and there were fresh, sweet shrimp in the shrimp and garlic sauce.  SO GOOD!!   The others ordered sushi and everyone raved about it.  We also got two orders of edamame which I usually love, but these were undersalted so they were just okay.

Overall, it was very, very delicious, chic Japanese food and I highly recommend it.

Rock-n-Sake, New Orleans LA

Cowbell NOLA

Some of my family recently spent a week in New Orleans helping rebuild a Katrina house.  I was amazed that houses still need work after seven years, but they definitely do.

Anyway, around our work schedule, we wanted to try some good local food.  One of the first places we tried was Cowbell in the Carrollton section of New Orleans.  It's definitely off the beaten path and we wouldn't have found it without the recommendation of one of my sister's friends, but I'm glad we did.

We sat outside as the sunset on a very hot, humid summer night.  Our table was an old wooden door which was very cute.  I would have preferred seating inside, but they didn't have a table for our party of seven.  It was almost eight o'clock at night so we decided not to wait. We started with a couple of appetizers:  their "famous" mac and cheese and an order of cheese fries.  They were both excellent.  The pasta was cellentani which are pasta tubes shaped like corkscrews.  They're one of my favorite pastas.  The waitress told us that the cheese sauce for the mac has Gruyere, parmesan, American and cheddar cheeses.  It was tangy and creamy and soft and just really, really great.

My entree, which was listed as an appetizer, was the Gulf Shrimp Quesadilla, with Black Beans, White Cheddar, and Chayote Slaw.  It came piping hot, the shrimp were sweet and tender, the cheese sauce was really good with just the right amount of heat for me.  I got full pretty quickly, but one of my travel companions  who had ordered the same thing, finished mine because she went through hers so quickly.  At $8.95, it was a great deal, too.

Cowbell is known for their burgers and those at my table who had them were very pleased as well.

My sister ordered a sangria and it was divine.  They did not skimp on the alcohol and it was the perfect mix of wine, fruit, brandy and triple sec.

I highly recommend this place to any and all, but I would suggest waiting for indoor seating to avoid the gnats and mosquitoes.
Cowbell, New Orleans LA

McCormick Café Bistro, Richmond, Quebec, Canada

This small cafe opened about a month and a half ago on May 22nd.  My husband and I stopped here for lunch before crossing back into Vermont after being in Canada for a couple of days.  It was off the beaten path and we wouldn't have found it without help from the Information Desk at a local rest stop.

Located about a mile from the rest stop at the intersection of Highway 55 and Rte. 243 in Richmond, Quebec, this is a small, homey, unassuming place.

It was light, airy and open inside with lovely simple decor.  The menu offered four different choices.  I almost went for the spaghetti with meat sauce, but then I saw the Quiche Lorraine with Salad and decided on that.

For $12.50 (Canadian) I got a big yummy piece of quiche loaded with creamy melted Swiss cheese and a few bits of bacon.  It was more like a tart than a quiche in that it came in a very shallow shell.   It was accompanied by a cold pasta salad.  The salad had fresh crisp cucumbers and peppers and chunks of feta cheese.  I loved that the vegetables were so fresh, but I didn't eat the pasta because I was pretty full after eating the quiche.

The meal included soup and dessert.  We tried the soup which was a warm, earthy tomato-based soup and we also tried the dessert which our waitress told us was called Poor Man's Cake.  It was a simple homemade cake with a melted apple layer...kind of like pineapple upside down cake with apples instead.  The cake was moist, dense and simple, but satisfying.

The waitress who I think may also be one of the owners, was friendly, helpful without being intrusive and fluent in both English and French.  I wish this cafe much success.  Bravo!

McCormick Cafe Bistro

Pub St-Alexandre in Québec City

On the advice of the information center in Old Quebec, we opted for Pub St-Alexandre in old Quebec City for our anniversary dinner.  This restaurant advertises itself as an authentic English pub.  It certainly has a huge selection of beer and the typical dark wood walls and the English pub feel.

To start, I ordered a sangria.  This sangria had the touch of sweetness that I like without it being overpoweringly strong.  It needed ice, but I took care of that by asking for some.

For dinner, I chose the chicken nachos.  This was a huge plate of nicely crisped tortilla chips loaded with olives, bacon, cheddar cheese, green onions and tender chicken.  It also came with sour cream, guacamole and salsa on the side.  I ate about 1/3 of it and my husband helped eat some more.  It was delicious and filling and exactly what I wanted although I should have stopped eating about 15 minutes earlier than I did.

My husband ordered a filet mignon with scalloped potatoes and mixed vegetables.  He loved the scalloped potatoes, but the filet was disappointing.  The first time it came out well done instead of medium.  The waiter was very apologetic.  The second time it came out partly medium and partly medium well so my husband kept it.  But the bigger problem is that the second time, it wasn't really a filet.  It was tough and chewy and flavorless....more like a flank steak.   It was a big disappointment.  My husband thinks the first piece of meat was a filet, but the second piece was definitely not.  The sauce that came with the steak, however, was really good.

We skipped dessert this evening.  Despite the filet incident, we would go back, but we would definitely not order a steak.

We're still searching for an anniversary dinner restaurant.

Pub St. Alexandra, Quebec City, Canada

Conti Caffe in Québec City

My husband and I found the Conti Caffe while walking down rue St. Louis in Old Quebec.  Although most of the restaurant had been reserved for lunch, they did find us a nice table.  The first notable thing about this restaurant is that the windows were wide open, the breeze blowing through the restaurant was really refreshing and we had a wonderful view of the people walking up and down the street.

We started with an appetizer of jumbo shrimp rolled in prosciutto and served with a spicy mango salsa.  The shrimp were a little bit overcooked, but not inedibly so, and the salt from the prosciutto added a lovely taste to the shrimp.

My entree was a simple club sandwich.  It was a boring sandwich with white bread, bacon, lettuce, tomato and turkey.  I do want to say that the slices of turkey were thick and tender which was a treat.  This meal came with a side of steak frites which were crispy and delicious.  My husband the had fettuccine alfredo lunch special with mushrooms and green onions.  It was a perfect lunch portion with a lot of good flavor.

We thought we were skipping dessert, but it turns out that either soup or dessert were included.  Since we didn't have any soup, the waitress automatically brought us each a thick brownie with chocolate chips.  It was dusted with confectioner's sugar and drizzled with chocolate sauce.  It was a very good brownie although it was a tiny bit too dry for me.

The atmosphere was light and happy.  The waitstaff, especially the head waitress, was organized, efficient and friendly.  We would go back.

Visit them at:  http://conticaffe.com/