Eating My Way Through New Orleans: The Green Goddess and Boucherie

As my Blogger profile states, one of my life goals is to eat my way through the great restaurants of New Orleans. Here's hoping I live a reallllllyyyyy long time because this is turning out to be quite the project -- and one I relish completely.

Since starting the project, I've dined (in no particular order) at: Camellia Grill, Lola's, Cafe Degas, Elizabeth's, Emerils, Bayona, Praline Connection, the Upperline, Bacco, Ralph's on the Park, Luke, Britgsen's, Stanley's, La Petite Grocery, Lilette, Herbsaint, Mr. B's, and now The Green Goddess and Boucherie.

I have yet to eat at a bad restaurant. Yes, I like some places better than others (and sometimes it is just because I ordered the wrong dish or the restaurant was too crowded or someone obnoxious at the next table put a damper on the occasion).

Good food for me is good food. I'm not a snob about location, celebrity chefs or price point. However, I am discovering that my favorite places are a little off the beaten path (as in not necessarily in the Quarter), neighborhood gems that are somewhat upscale (but not intimidatingly so) with small, intimate dining rooms reminiscent of a bistro in Paris. Does this surprise anyone that knows me?

The Green Goddess, though in the Quarter, still earns points for being hard to find; it's located on Exchange Place, the charming alley way located between the Louisiana Supreme Court and the Monteleone Hotel. It's also extremely intimate; plan on sitting outside and waiting for a table no matter how early you get there. The list of speciality drinks is impressive as is the cheese list.

The food is inventive and pairs some unusual flavors -- a soup with a watermelon, ginger base topped with avocado and crab meat, for instance. Some pairings work more successfully than others. I was a little hampered because it was Good Friday, the one day a year when I am an observant Catholic (I know it makes no sense), so I limited my options to vegetarian/seafood, and as is always the case, the meaty dishes were what sounded, looked and smelled appealing. But still it was a fun, funky, yummy experience. The chef (and the menu) are totally different at lunch and dinner so I may have to go back at lunch sometime (and not during Lent).

It's a good thing I saved Boucherie for Saturday because the smell of their signature barbecue dishes would have driven me insane had I attempted to dine on Friday. Located in a tiny house in Riverbend, it scores for off the beaten path and intimate dining room. You HAVE to have reservations. There are only about 12 tables.

Their food, which is quite reasonably priced, is Southern with a twist. My dining companion and I decided to go with their better known dishes: boudin balls; collard greens with grit fries; ribs with fried shallots, brisket with Parmesan garlic fries and (drum roll, please) Krispy Kreme bread pudding. All were wonderful. The biggest surprise were the collards which had a tangy, yet smoky, flavor. We shared the bread pudding. Loved this place. Recommend it highly.

The issue with this project is that once I find a restaurant I really like, I want to return to it all the time, which makes it hard to make progress on my "list." And, yes, this is a self-imposed rule which I means I can un-impose it at any time. As I did this morning when I returned to Elizabeth's for brunch. This was my third visit. But I can't resist their crabby eggs. Or their praline bacon. Or their best-I've-ever-had Bloody Mary's.

So what are the other places on my list? Well, the list keeps growing. It seems as soon as I cross one place off, I hear about someplace else I just HAVE to try. Sadly, a few places (Cafe Sbisa, Christians, Cuvee, Petunia's) shut their doors before I had the opportunity to try them. But here is "the list" as it stands as of today. Tomorrow, who knows ...

Coquette's
Domenica
Cochon
Bistro at Maison de Ville
Patois
August
Le Foret
Bistro Daisy
Three Muses
Feelings Cafe
MiLa
Matt and Naddie's
Gautreau's
Dante's Kitchen
Iris
Ste. Marie
Delmonico
La Provence (technically not in New Orleans, but it's been on the list a long, long time).

Anyone else have a recommendation, a review, an observation. Pile it on. I'll get to it eventually.

"Cats Are Like Me": Cats and Autism, Part II

Today is Autism Awareness Day and the beginning of Autism Awareness Month.

Long-time readers of this blog will remember that autism awareness was the subject of the very first post on The House Where the Black Cat Lives two (!) years ago.

I remain passionate about this topic, because like cat rescue and spaying and neutering, I know something about it. My 10-year-old niece lives with autism.

Increasingly, cats (and dogs and horses) are being used as therapy animals for children with autism. Today, I stumbled across this lovely story about how cats helped the author's son learn to communicate.

The part that made my eyes well up was when he said, "Cats are like me." I feel that way myself which makes me wonder if I, too, was touched, if ever so slightly, by the brush of autism.

Now if you read the story of the House Where The Black Cat Lives over on the right side of this page, you'll figure out that cats are unlikely to be my niece "N"'s therapy animal of choice. (Actual cats that is. She still loves drawing pictures of them.)

That said "cat" was among her early words, at a time when she was almost completely non-verbal. But that was before the infamous "black cat" incident. She is, however, fascinated by all things canine. And I have witnessed her blossom in the presence of a horse, grooming, mounting and riding it with a near-religious reverence.

N is coming to visit later in the month. Perhaps she and the cats will have a breakthrough. Perhaps not.

At the very least, I'll probably get a new drawing of the cats for my refrigerator.