A Store of Many Names

We left the Roadfood Festival in New Orleans' French Market and continued our walk down Decatur Street.

While not planning on a bicycle ride around the Quarter, we were attracted to this sign for a bike rental shop.

However, upon closer inspection, we realized this shop was more than its sign announced.

"Do you mind if I take some photographs of the items here?" I asked of the owner, who I later learned was Greg.

"Go right ahead, but I can't allow you to take photos of the artwork inside," he replied.

Not being allowed to photograph works of art is very understandable, so I set about touring the courtyard.

So, this was a bike rental shop, an art gallery, and .... I'm not sure how to describe the metal figures aligned in groups in the open air.

There was a "squadron" of flying pigs (above), a "troop" of chickens (left), and at least one fish (below).



I was quite taken by these figures. To me, they seemed to be a "fleet" of roadrunners photo-graphed in mid-race.

It wasn't until we had returned to the street that we learned that the primary emphasis of this bike rental/art gallery/metal sculpture business was the sale of antique furniture.

So, while I was caught up with these metal objects d' art, Greg (of Greg's Antiques and Other Assorted Junk) was focused on an antique business that Gambit had rated as the "2nd Best Antique Store" in their 2009 "Best of New Orleans" Readers' Survey.

And finally, Greg's Antiques also sells a variety of New Orleans salvage pieces and architectural details like windows, doors, mantles, and iron railings...and glass
bottles--when not hungover.

While not currently interested in antiques, we would certainly like to meet Greg.

Another Weekend,

another festival.

Ah, yes. Such is life in the Crescent City.

This weekend it was the Roadfood Festival that drew us into the French Market area of the French Quarter.

We arrived about an hour before the Festival's start time, so this gave us a chance to take a short walk along Decatur Street.

This street is less traveled compared to its more famous Quarter routes, such as, Bourbon and Royal Streets, but it still reflects New Orleans.

The colors, the ironwork, and the respect paid to the preservation of the history of the buildings make the city an international city and a city unlike any other in the US, if not the world.

The festival organizers emphasize
"roadfood" as meaning
"...great regional meals along highways, in small towns and in city neighbor-hoods. The Roadfood.com website was created by Stephen Rushmore along with best-selling authors Jane and Michael Stern, whose many books have inspired the cult of celebrating great American roadside eats.

"Roadfood is non-franchised, sleeves-up food made by cooks, bakers, pitmasters, and sandwich-makers who are America’s culinary folk artists. It is almost always informal and inexpensive; and the best Roadfood restaurants are colorful places enjoyed by locals (and savvy travelers) for their character as well as their menu.

"Roadfood. com was founded in 2000. Its restaurant reviews and forums are a food-loving traveler's best friend, packed with great local color and the best regional specialties across America" (neworleansfoodfestival.com).

Specializing in beef brisket was Louie Mueller Barbecue (Taylor, TX). The wonderful aromas coming from their smokers had people salivating long before the orders were placed.

And from coolers (right) of Central BBQ (Memphis, TN) came some of the best pulled pork sandwiches we have found. We enjoyed them in Memphis and again at this festival in New Orleans.

Among the two dozen-plus vendors present, some of the other notable out-of-state representa-tives were: Lasyone's Meat Pie Restaurant (Natchitoches, LA)--Meat Pie, Crawfish Pie; LDR Char Pit (Rochester, NY)--Rochester steak sandwiches, Red and White Hots; Big Daddy's Hotwater Cornbread (El Dorado, AR)--Fried Cornbread; and Tucson Tamale Company (Tucson, AZ)--Green Corn Tamale.

Among the merchants at the French Market was one displaying this array of bottles. They were flat, appearing to have been melted into this form. We're guessing the labels were applied after a space had been created while the glass could be formed. Very interesting.

And then there was this booth, where a spokesperson introduced us to Steampunk, which he described as "Victorian science fiction, a la Jules Verne."

"The clothes are not exactly Victorian, adding in technological bits or hints of a more adventurous life than a typical Victorian citizen likely enjoyed.

"Steampunk has always been first and foremost a literary genre, or least a subgenre of science fiction and fantasy that includes social or technological aspects of the 19th century (the steam) usually with some deconstruction of, reimagining of, or rebellion against parts of it (the punk). Unfortunately, it is a poorly defined subgenre, with plenty of disagreement about what is and is not included" (steampunk.com).

Continuing our walk along Decatur Street, we returned to the more familiar scenes of the street. Here a solo banjo player is framed by a doorway.

On to more street scenes.

Out of the Ordinary

One recent morning, we awoke to a loud noise.

Soon several fellow campers had arrived at the channel shore. With cameras or coffee cups in hand, we speculated on the reason for the appearance of this huge crane and its accompanying tugboat in the channel past the campground.

With our guesses still unconfirmed by mid-morning, we decided to capitalize on the non-rainy day and head out for bagels and then lunch.

We've been in New Orleans for two weeks and have not made it into the French Quarter yet. All that means is that we have found gems along Magazine Street, such as Artz Bagelz.

We can be assured of finding some surprises, too. Here, along a wall, appears to be a beer-lover's dream. Unfortu-nately, the taps are not connected to kegs.

Along the way, we passed by Big Fisherman Seafood. It was here that Alton Brown stopped for an impromptu lunch. There are no tables at this market, so Alton and his motorcycle-mounted crew used a freezer top for their table.

This was one of their stops on a thousand-mile journey, following America’s first “superhighway”—the Mississippi. This and other eateries are detailed in Feasting on Asphalt: The River Run.

I was struck by the orderly display of upcoming events on this makeshift "bulletin board." Whereas in most such community news spots, the flyers are slapped on randomly, often covering other upcoming events.

I admire the attention to placement--four rows of three each, maintained by several people over a series of months. The obsessive-compulsive part of me was impressed--imagine finding that many people with a common approach to flyer-posting.

(I know that it could also be one person who is responsible for this "presentation," but what are the odds of it being one person's efforts.)

We were admiring the signs for the businesses along this section of Magazine Street. Slim Goodies Diner and

Nacho Mama's were added to our ever-expanding list of new restaurants in this foodie-favorite city.

We also paused to admire some of the homes in the area.

We could have extended our walk into the residental parts of this section of Magazine Street, but lunch was calling.

After lunch at Squeal (see yesterday's entry), we took a walk along a couple of blocks of Oak Street. One of our first stops was the Acoustioptic Gallery of "Frenchy," the artist whose work was displayed in Squeal.

As Greg Phillips writes, quoting Randy Leo Frechette: “I try to keep time with the musicians and mimic their music notes with my brush strokes. I try to translate the sound to the color. I call it acoustioptics, the relationship between sound waves and color waves and how your brain perceives it. It’s a science I’ve been working on for years” (dothaneagle.com).

And just across the street from the Acoustioptic Gallery was this vehichle--perhaps, the canvas for an "automoptic" artist.

The most interesting aspect of this artwork is that it is an advertise-ment for the restaurant--Jacques Imo's.

"Located in uptown New Orleans on a section of Oak Street, Jacques-Imo's embraces and interprets the New Orleans funky psyche in a way that is fetching to both tourists and locals alike" (jacquesimoscafe.com).

Well, if the exterior is any indication, Jacques-Imo's put the FUN in "funky." As one of the small stickers on his front door says: "Keep NOLA Funky."

We may have to stop back for a meal.

And if the sign out front is any indication of what to expect--we are in for quite an experience.

An out-of-the-ordinary day.

(By the way, we have not found the reason for the crane in the channel.)

Kitty Humbug is Feeling Overworked

The weather in New Orleans has been less than ideal—in fact it has been rotten—with rain, heavy rain, almost every day. So our primary form of entertainment has been rushing into local restaurants between deluges. There is the promise of better weather this weekend, so perhaps Humbug will have a day off. But today we visit Squeal Bar-B-Q on Oak Street in what I call the Riverbend section of New Orleans.

“…when brothers Patrick, Brendan and Eugene Young fired up the grills at Squeal Bar-B-Q…they were going to be held to a higher standard than if they did so just five or six years before…On paper, the trio would appear better suited to elevating traditional barbecue restaurant surroundings than producing the barbecue itself. Before turning their attentions to Squeal, Brendan and Patrick Young both worked on front-of-the-house staffs at John Besh restaurants…” (Brett Anderson at nola.com).

Squeal is located in a converted double shotgun house. You enter the side entrance by walking through an outdoor patio past a small front yard herb and vegetable garden. Yes, those are small tomatoes you see on these plants.

The smoker is located in the front yard, and a smoker in New Orleans appears to be a rare thing. The author of jameswestfallmusic.blogspot.com says: “It’s pathetic that what excites me today is a BBQ Restaurant in New Orleans that actually has a smoker. Shamefully, smoking meat is a very rare occurrence in the New Orleans BBQ world. Fortunately, I stumbled into Squeal BBQ that carried the smell of hickory smoke half a block away….As I walk to the front door, I see the charcoal smoker out front, I lean in to see that the thermostat is riding an even 200…not bad.”

Since the weather is so iffy, we elected to eat indoors. To reach the main dining room, you walk through a small bar and dining area which occupies the right side of the original double shotgun.

The dining room occupies the left side of the house and is decorated with paintings of Coco Robicheaux and Dr. John

and an assortment of vividly colored works by an artist known as
“Frenchy.”*

The table tops have been painted with local icons—ours with a trumpet through which Kitty Humbug tried to “hear his master’s voice.”

An old Bally pinball machine stood on end serves as a small waitress station and next to the pinball machine is

this large painting of a pig with the slogan
“Move your butt—also your soul.”

Squeal is one of two New Orleans barbeque restaurants having been featured on cable food programs. The Joint, which we haven’t visited, was on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives with Guy Fieri and Squeal was included in an episode of the Cooking Channel’s Unique Eats. What brought us to Squeal were the “unique” items featured on the menu. Items like: Smoked Pork Cakes modeled after the New Orleans-style crab cake made with seasoned pulled pork, lightly breaded, and served with chili sour cream and homemade salsa; Black-Eyed Pea Egg Rolls stuffed with black-eyed peas, bacon, and andouille sausage and served with a spicy ranch dipping sauce; BBQ Pork Tacos with pulled pork, topped with horseradish coleslaw and finished with chipotle sauce; BBQ Brisket Tacos topped with cilantro, red onions, and hot sauce; "DBLT" Tacos with chipotle-glazed duck, bacon, lettuce, and tomatoes and finished with wasabi mayo; and Jerk Chicken Tacos topped with fresh pineapple salsa.

I decided to eat light (since there was a dessert with my name written all over it) and ordered the Smoked Pork Cakes appetizer with a side of slaw. The slaw was quite good containing shredded cabbage and a small bit of grated carrot. What made it memorable was the hint of horseradish incorporated into the light creamy dressing.

The pork cakes were amazing. Smoked shredded pork had been formed into cakes, rolled in crumbs, and deep fat fried. They were crunchy on the outside and moist and flavorful on the inside. The pico style salsa and the spicy chili sour cream added an additional boost.

Chuck’s choice was the two meats with two sides plate. Let’s start with the sides since they were the best things on his plate. The potato salad was made with a generous amount of Creole mustard which “…is a variation of wholegrain mustard where the seeds are slightly crushed. They are not ground nor are they whole” (wiki. answers. com). The cornmeal hushpuppies were somewhat spicy from the inclusion of minced jalapeno peppers. And the beans were modeled after Southern barbeque and were sweet and contained small bits of smoked meat.

For one of his meats, he chose the chicken. Of the chicken, Brett Anderson at nola.com said: “To me, ordering chicken over pork or beef at a barbecue restaurant is like going to a seafood joint for a reuben. But after tearing through Squeal's smoky, succulent bird, it occurred to me I may just have had bad luck with barbecue chicken in the past.”

Oh really? First, the breast portion was covered with a dark and sweet sauce that almost tasted burned. Once you pulled the skin along with the sauce off the meat, the chicken was alright, but certainly not “succulent.”

His second meat choice was the pulled pork, over which was spread some of the same sauce. Again, our assessment didn’t agree with a food blogger who said: “I’m going to go out on a limb and say that I don’t think I can do a better pulled pork than Squeal BBQ. I’m also going to go out on another limb and say that Squeal's pulled pork might be in the Top 5 all time pulled pork! It had just enough hickory flavor to it, it was moist, great seasoning, and not drowned in sauce. When you can eat pulled pork dry and it not be overrun with fatty pieces, you’ve hit gold…and I did!” (jameswestfallmusic.blogspot.com) Guy, this comes nowhere near being good pulled pork. If you want good pulled pork get in your car and drive to 2Paul’s in Lafayette or get on a plane and go to Phil’s in San Diego.

I had saved room for dessert—the Bacon Brownie, which was described on the menu as a homemade chocolate brownie topped with bacon and served with homemade cinnamon/sour cream ice cream. Well, this was a first-rate brownie which came to the table warm. It was down hill from there. Bacon? This was no bacon. It was dry chunks of meat with no salty essence whatsoever and so dry as to be inedible.

What about the ice cream? This was no ice cream. If you watched Season Two of Bravo’s Top Chef you might remember Marcel Vigneron, a 26-year-old Las Vegas chef fond of molecular gastronomy. His shtick was to put foam over everything he made. What was supposed to be ice cream appeared to be tasteless white foam.

To be kind, I’ll say we exited Squeal less than thrilled. The only reason it gets a 2.5 Addie rating is for the fabulous smoked pork cakes and the quite good side dishes. But the two smoked meats should be avoided.

To review the role of Adler, Kitty Humbug, and the Addie rating system, read the November 14, 2011 blog.
___________

*"Frenchy" is Randy Leo Frechette, called "as' New Orleans as red beans and rice on Monday,' captivating onlookers with his artistry in motion--painting events in real-time as they unfold before him. His performance is captivating and its end-result is awe-inspiring...." (frenchylive.com). The artwork in the lower right corner of Photo #8 above shows action from a Saints game.