From Eating Out
Posted by Blake Killian, January 10, 2008 at 12:45 PM
If you haven't heard of Joel Dondis, just wait, you will. Dondis is quietly (and successfully) building a restaurant empire in New Orleans by creating his own culinary traditions, not to mention opening places like his out-of-the-blue sweet shop on Magazine Street that's becoming a big hit.
I first heard of Dondis when my wife and I were planning our wedding. Being serious eaters, we wanted the best caterer in town, and to us, Joel's Fine Catering was it. That was a few years ago, but I distinctly remember the lamb-chop lollipops on their menu. I'll always wonder how those lollipops would have tasted.
The wedding experienced a little hiccup when Hurricane Katrina blew through and we moved the celebration to our hometown (about 200 miles north in Alexandria, Louisiana). I later learned that immediately following the storm, Dondis temporarily transformed his catering company into sort of a meals-on-wheels to cater food for thousands of evacuees and emergency personnel.
Now, it's back to being one of the best catering companies in the region, and he's since added Joel at the Hampton, a hotel catering service inside the Hampton Inn near the Convention Center downtown. But back to the empire.
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From Eating Out
Posted by Blake Killian, December 11, 2007 at 10:00 AM
I was raised in a small town in a rural part of North Louisiana. My mother and grandmother were both exceptional cooks, and my dad always said they could make boot leather taste good—that was high praise indeed.
I'm only in my twenties, but it seems like such a long time ago that I tasted their wonderful, soulful food. To be honest, I wasn't sure I'd ever taste food like that again, but a recent meal at Mila brought it all back to me—and then some.
Mila opened about a month ago in the Renaissance Pere Marquette Hotel in downtown New Orleans in the same space that formerly housed the now defunct Rene Bistro. Bridget was eager to visit Mila, as she had always wanted to eat at Longbranch, the chefs' former restaurant that had opened in the months following Hurricane Katrina.
Although the chefs, Allison Vines-Rushing, a 2004 James Beard Foundation's "Rising Star Chef of the Year" award winner, and her husband Slade Rushing, were young, talented, and devotees of using local, organic fare, we could never make the forty mile trek out to rural Abita Springs. Needless to say, we were excited they had opened a new restaurant closer to home.
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From Eating Out
Posted by Blake Killian, November 29, 2007 at 12:00 PM
Editor's note: This post marks the debut of our new New Orleans bureau chief, Blake Killian. When he's not out and about eating around New Orleans, he's blogging about what he's cooking up in his kitchen at Blake Makes. We're excited to welcome Blake aboard and eager to read all about what's going on in the Big Easy. He'll be along periodically to give us all the lowdown on what's going down in one of America's truly great food cities. —Adam
Unfortunately the idea of a po' boy festival never materialized in food-crazy New Orleans until a couple of weeks ago, so my wife and I were thrilled to attend the first annual Po' Boy Preservation Festival on November 18. The fest to "save our sandwich" was held on Oak Street, a funky lane in the Carrollton neighborhood near Tulane. When I say the street is funky, what I'm really saying is that it's small, narrow and just a little dirty (but isn't everything in New Orleans).
Because this was the festival's first year and I hadn't seen that much publicity for it, I assumed the Po' Boy Festival was going to be an uncrowded, low-key affair with maybe a few hundred people wandering in and out throughout the day. The lack of some of the city's best-known po' boy joints (Domilise's: Where were you and your amazing oyster po' boy?) from the festival guide also led me to believe turn-out might be low. I should have known, however, that where there are po' boys, any po' boys, hungry bellies are never far away. Add live music, free admission and 60 degree weather, and it's a wonder the fire marshal wasn't called in to clear us all out.
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Website: http://www.blakemakes.com
Location: New Orleans, Louisiana
About: I live in New Orleans with my wife, Bridget, and my dog, Chopper the poodle. On the weekends, you can find us in Whole Foods, in our kitchen and/or dining out. There are 3 loves in my life: my wife, my dog, my blog (www.blakemakes.com).
Favorite foods: Living in New Orleans, I have a fondness for creole-soul food. Food comforts me, and creole-soul takes me back to my childhood in North Louisiana where my mama and grandmama made lots of fried, smothered, butter-filled dishes.
Last bite on earth: I actually tell my friends this on a regular basis. My last bite on earth would hopefully come in a two-course menu form. First course, my wife's chicken kiev. Second course, my mama's peach cobbler.