Lunch at Root in New Orleans – yesssss.
The little jar with the knife in it is has the truffle-scented duck liver parfait. Smooth, creamy, dark and luscious. Can’t go here without ordering it. Truth is, I could have two of these little jars for an entree and be perfectly happy. Av gets his own charcuterie — he likes a ballotine, always the juniper cured duck prosciutto, duck rillettes — the selections change so there’s always something new to try. And they make the most beautiful platters, with the tube of mustard, the relishes, the pickled and compressed fruits and vegetables
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Av had the sweet tea country fried wings with smoked onion buttermilk dressing, and miso buttermilk biscuits with sweet potato sorghum butter. This was fabulous but the great thing about Root is that the next time you come, something else will have taken its place on the menu and you’ll be just as happy
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I had the foie gras ‘living terrarium’ — foie gras dippin’ dots, granola, buttermilk fluid gel, terragon sabayon, smoked blueberry consumme
The idea is that — after getting over how beautiful this thing is to begin with — mix it all together so that all the flavors marry. It goes from gorgeous to a weird pink mess pretty quickly after stirring, but oooooh so interesting and just plainly delicious.
Root is always so smart and clever. We’ve been meaning to go to its sister restaurant, Root Squared where you just put yourselves in their hands with the — I think it’s a 16-course prix fixe menu. And now chef Phillip Lopez is opening ‘Part and Parcel’ in the Paramount building, which is where Willa Jean is also. It’s going to have 40 seats with the intent of doing a lot of carry out, and will have a market aspect that the chef described as ‘a grungier, more rock-and-roll Dean and Deluca.’ I’ve asked the T-P’s Todd Price about it, and it hasn’t yet opened although the original date was months ago.
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This is Toups’ Meatery — Isaac Toups was on the last season of Top Chef and voted fan favorite. We were crushed when he didn’t make it to the finals (also: Wesley True was born in Mobile, graduated from Ole Miss, and after running a couple of restaurants back home, he is working now in Atlanta at gorgeous The Optimist).
Here, the front side room at Toups’
This is the ‘meatery board’ which has a little of everything.
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In the back, the chicken liver mousse:
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This was all really good, really interesting, well-made, including the boudin balls below (though #1 still Best Stop in Scott), but as far as charcuterie, advantage goes to Root.
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I knew that Toups’ doberge is from Debbie Does Doberge, so we shared this slice, and *yum*
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The new Bakery Bar on Annunciation from Debbie Does Doberge has just opened. A bit more about it here in the Advocate.
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The Next Web just did a story about Windowsill Pies in New Orleans (only available now at Whole Foods and some other groceries) who won the local JL’s Women’s Entrepreneurship Fellowship and will be looking to open their own retail space soon.