Friday, November 18, 2011

I WANT TO LIKE HARRY'S FOOD, BUT I AM MOSTLY DISAPPOINTED DURING EACH VISIT. MAYBE THEY SHOULD RE-NAME THE RESTAURANT," HARRY'S SALT LICK"

I keep wanting to like Harry's food because I am a student of Louisiana cooking. The genre is varied, robust, and ranges from the proletarian/rural to the more urban, high cuisine of France. Harry's is not even on the same planet with much of Louisiana cuisine. As I say, I want to like their food, but one fine meal out of five poor ones is not enough to keep me coming back.

I ordered the special this week which was a collection of their featured seafood dishes. The seafood all tasted basically the same and was way over-salted so that the essential flavors were totally obscured. The accompanying grits cake was soggy and under-cooked. It should arrive at the table crisp on the outside and hot and moist on the inside. Mine tasted more like a sponge. The fried green tomatoes appetizer was very good, however, as was the salad.

My recommendation is to ask the chef not to directly salt each dish. Do it yourself. Harry's chefs season with heavy hands and Harry's is now more of a salt lick than a restaurant. Be forewarned and take the seasoning with salt into your own hands. Bring your own sea salt and and add salt to your own tastes.

If you find that the choice of the restaurant is not your own and your dinner companions are hell-bent to go there, you may want to consider an appetizer and a salad with a few glasses of wine. You will come out with more of your money in your own pocket and probably better satisfied with the taste of the food.

I wish Harry's would kick it up a notch and really become a fine Louisiana-style restaurant. Right now, it is a very poor facsimile of what it claims/aspires to be.

Saturday, November 05, 2011

ABUNDANT EDIBLE LANDSCAPES FALL PLANT SALE AT INDIGO GREEN STORE: NOVEMBER 12, 10-1

 Abundant Edible Landscapes will be hosting their annual fall plant sale on Saturday, November 12th from 10 am to 1 pm at Indigo Green Store, 322 SW 4th Ave. The sale will include fruit trees, berry bushes, perennial vegetables and herbs. There will also be 5 gallon buckets of soil amendments- worm castings, green sand and organic chicken manure for sale. Oliver Moore will demonstrate tree grafting techniques hstarting at noon.

Tuesday, November 01, 2011

Recipe from Cookbookblog: Cheerwine Barbecue Chicken

http://www.thecookbookblog.com/2011/10/31/the-recipe-cheerwine-barbecue-chicken/

The Southern Foodways Alliance cookbook is excellent and this recipe is drawing "wows" all over. Check it out.