The Bear Growls

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Noblesse Oblige

OUT AND ABOUT
Noblesse Oblige Teahouse
316 Iris St
Lake Charles, LA
337-433-8094
Monday - Friday 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM $1-$15
With no advertising and just some discrete signs this low-key tearoom opened. I only heard about it from various sources that tell me about such things. Not much has been done to it since it was Wayne Harpers. A fresh coast of paint on the inside with some paintings seems the extent. They start you off with a complementary cup of their house tea, a basic spiced tea with orange notes.
My first visit occurred after a very stressful week. Merely going into this venue gave me a sense of calm. I started with French Onion soup, nice flavor with melted cheese on a piece of rye bread. I next ordered a Fresh Veggie Sandwich. I received sliced red onion, tomato, cucumber and lettuce on sourdough bread. It proved light, refreshing and crunchy. I ended with a teacake and a scone. Their teacakes are more of a shortbread cookie, rich and delicious. The scone was light and fluffy. I washed it all down with a delightful Cardamom flavored Chai (Milk Tea). My stress melted away
Next time in I meet my sister there. She got Potato Soup (creamy with chunks of potato) and Quiche Loraine. It turned out to be an individual one instead of a slice. A nice size and enjoyed by my sister in spite of an uneven distribution of seasoning. I went with Vegetable soup. Nicely spiced broth (black pepper) with chunks of vegetables including okra went down a treat. I then ordered a Downtown Brown. A riff on an open face hot sandwich created in the 1920’s at a Louisville Kentucky hotel called The Brown. That one consists of turkey and bacon on bread covered with a Swiss cheese sauce and broiled. This one has sliced grilled chicken breast and tomatoes on toasted bread topped with a Parmesan cheese sauce. It proved quite tasty. I also got a pot of Kesari (a deep rich Indian black tea).
For the last outing I booked a tea party for the whole group. For a change all nine of us were able to attend. I specified a traditional English Afternoon Tea and they delivered. Walking in the room, the table proved breath taking with a lace tablecloth, print runner, lovely teacups, and plates. We later learned that they were heritage pieces passed down from great grandmothers, grandmothers, mothers and aunties. Plates of finger sandwiches (smoked chicken salad, spicy pimento cheese, egg salad, and turkey-cucumber with olive butter) awaited us with scones, teacakes, and brownie bites. To finish off they brought delectable custard tarts filled with fresh berries. Unlike some places where you have to order tea just for yourself, they brought out pots of various teas (black, green, and herbal) so everyone could try what ever they wanted. This does not apply during regular service. The feeling was more like you were invited and honored quests in their home and not just customers.
The experience was wonderful and I highly recommend it for spending a civilized afternoon with your friends. They are willing to accommodate any requests within reason. Also you have to make arrangements a week in advance. I now have a calm oasis to go to in times of stress. Not only for an arranged tea party but also for weekday service.

http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/21279064

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

When the muse hits

I took off Mardi Gras. Maybe because it was in the middle of the week I was in a strange and creative mood. Using ingredients I had at the house I came up with the following items. Below is an open faced salmon sandwich. I had five cheese Texas toast which I did up. Then I sauteed some Seapack Salmon Burgers that I had in the freezer. Topping them was a glaze of grape jelly and Nuoc Cham (Vietnamese dipping sauce made with fish sauce). It suited my taste that day. A sweet and savory dish with a hint of hear.

The night before I had laid out some bread to get stale as I intended to do Pain Perdu. I had also macerated some strawberries as topping. Coming back from setting up the banks for the restaurant so my boss could concentrate on setting up for Mardi Gras I passed by the new donut shop on Broad and got breakfast. Therefore I was no longer in the mood for sweet Pain Perdu. So I did a savory version. I made a milk and egg soak without sugar but added chipotle mustard and salt. The strawberries got cooked down with black pepper and balsamic vinegar added at the end. This proved quite delicous and I will likely do this again. The bread with the mustard undernote made an interesting contrast with the sweet, spicy, and vinegary strawberries.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Chili's

Monday afternoon not wanting to fix something at the house and not wanting to do drive thru I finally wound up at Chili's on Hwy 14. I went with a new item called the Triple Dipper Dinner. They offer nine items and you choose three. I went with the Big Mouth Bites, Buffalo Chicken Crispers Bites and the Boneless Sweet Chili Glazed Wings. The Big Mouth Bites are mini burgers topped with applewood smoked bacon, American cheese, sautéed onions and Ranch dressing on sesame seed buns with Jalapeno ranch dressing. The boneless wings are tossed with sweet and spicy ginger-citrus sauce. Served with Ranch dressing. The crisper bites are fried and dipped in Buffalo sauce then topped with cheddar cheese, sauteed onions, pickle and ancho-chile ranch dressing on sesame seed buns. Served with the ancho ranch dressing. The cost here is $9.99 and I enjoyed every bite. The burgers were nice and juicy, the crispers gave that classic buffalo wing taste while still being crispy and I love sweet and spicy and the boneless wings delivered that. It was also filling.

http://www.chilis.com/menu/default.asp?Unit_ID=001%2E005%2E0471&tierID=62&menuType=Dine+In&menu=1

Below is what remains of a Sweet Shot. A mini dessert concept that is getting popular. It provides just enough sweet without being overwhelming in it size. I got the Red Velvet Cake. Layered like a parfait with cake and icing.

http://www.chilis.com/menu/default.asp?catID=12&tierID=62&Unit_ID=001%2E005%2E0471&menuType=Dine%20In

Monday, February 23, 2009

Beans and rice

South Louisiana comfort food, beans and rice. But not exactly traditional. The beans are lima beans from a can (Trappeys at least) and the sausage is a veal/pork bratwurst. The German sausage has a link to south LA. That is all the German folk that settled here in the 18th and 19th century and were the basis of all the good sausages we have now. The lima beans were treated to several shakes of a locally blended seasoning mix then slow cooked until all the liquid had evaporated they had turned creamy. Good enough for a put together meal. I enjoyed it.