I was recently in New Orleans, on a vacation, which for me is a time of focused and purposeful eating. New Orleans was a challenge- I'd never been, and the food culture of that city is solid and even a little daunting. I had ideas of what I would find there, and Cajun and Creole flavors had already made an imprint, but my expectations were built up by stories of legendary proportion, and the earnest excitement of people telling me where and what to eat and drink. Sazeracs were sampled, as was the Ramos Gin Fizz, Pimm's Cup and lots of Abita beer, and a number of nice wines as well. When traveling you never know what to expect from a wine list. Most cities have strengths and weaknesses in wine availability, and even in the biggest cities, with the best availability, wine list mediocrity is normal in restaurants and bars. New Orleans was no different. Disproving this were the restaurant Cochon and sibling Cochon Butcher, providing memorable meals of great food and awesome wine.

First, the Muffaletta. This satisfying sandwich was surprisingly perfect with a glass of Berger Zweigelt, an Austrian red with freshness and spice, a nice accomplice for the spice of the Muffuletta's cured meats. Cured foods have that secret complexity that's glorious with the right glass of wine. We currently don't carry the Berger Zweigelt (just the Gruner Veltliner) at 3CUPS, however, we've got an equally great Zweigelt from the Glatzer estate. Please, go to Neal's Deli, purchase their delicious muffuletta and enjoy it with Zweigelt, or a comparable Austrian red sooner than later. Serve the wine with a slight chill. Picnic, anyone?

Next, the holy trinity. I'm not talking about religion here. I'm referring to the foundation of a dish, often the first three things in the pot. For this example I'm referring to the classic Creole combo of celery, green pepper and onion. I'm not naming this the definitive trinity, for it is at the cook's discretion, arguably.... I also need to give a shout-out to parsley, scallion, and laurel for their supporting roles in this dish. I'm talking about an eggplant & shrimp cornbread stuffing. A savory, rich, steaming stuffing topped with a golden brown crust of bread crumbs. Lagler Gruner Veltliner was in my glass. If this name rings a little bell, maybe that's because it's been on display as my staff-pick in the shop for a few months now. The flavors of the stuffing seemed destined for this particular Austrian white wine. The Lagler has a transformative quality- on one occasion it will smell of dried lavender, another time it will give you hints of grapefruit and white peppercorn, but with this particular stuffing, and the aromatic holy trinity wafting up from the dish, the wine gave fresh green herbaceousness and celery in abundance. The wine's aroma was so savory and its flavor so perfect with the stuffing. I also generally enjoy shellfish with Gruner Veltliner, so the softshell crab at the table was another great match with the wine. The crab was heavily dredged and fried, giving it a crunchy crust, and was sitting atop a pretty green bed of favas, spring onions and arugula.

...and that was just the first day. Many other unforgettable meals followed such as raw oysters with bloody marys, boudin with budweiser, chicken cacciatore with sangiovese, turtle soup prepared with sherry, po-boys with Barq's root beer, shrimp salad on white bread with Montbourgeau Savagnin, and jambalaya with lemony iced tea (just to name a few).... But those'll have to be saved for another time.

See you soon!

Elaine

Cochon Butcher Muffuletta

Charlie T's boudin

Mahoney's shrimp remoulade fried green tomato po-boy

Guy's roast beef po-boy with a Barq's

Bourbon House oysters

Tee-Eva's strawberry snowball