This Fourth of July weekend, I wanted to pass on a promotion that just kicked-off to raise funds for the USO and American troops. Former U.S. Marine and local chef John Besh has partnered with Bacardi, and we have the opportunity to help, all while discovering new recipes for the grill and bar.
Louisiana-raised Chef John Besh has been recognized nationally for his culinary achievements in shows such as Iron Chef and Top Chef Masters. Currently, he is on a mission to support two causes that are close to his heart, the USO and New Orleans, through his passion for cooking. Featured in the “60 Second Cocktail” guide are Besh’s tasty and easy to prepare recipes such as the Grilled Flank Steak with Louisiana Peach and Grey Goose Citron Glaze. Please join John Besh and Bacardi, USA in their efforts to support a great cause.
Bacardi, USA has committed to donate $75,000 to the USO at the onset of summer, with consumers (21+) able to increase the total donation amount to a maximum of $100,000 through their participation in the program via the “60 Second Cocktails” Facebook fan page. Each time a new fan of the program joins the fan page, Bacardi will increase its donation to the USO by $1. The fan page will host an online copy of the program recipe book, additional recipe information and interactive mixology videos.
It takes 60 seconds to make a cocktail, 10 minutes to pair it with a gourmet meal and ONLY 1 second to gain access to it all! Become a fan of the “60 Second Cocktail” page at Facebook.com/60SecondCocktail.
So much is going on in the world of NOLA Eats, I thought it would be best to type it all up and put it in a tidy blog post. Here’s what’s happening now with NOLA Eats:
I will be live-tweeting from the New Orleans Wine and Food Experience‘s Grand Tasting this Saturday from 2:00 – 5:00 pm. I’m taking over the @VisitNewOrleans Twitter handle, which is the account for NewOrleansOnline.com, the official tourism site of the city of New Orleans. NOWFE’s Grand Tasting is described as “a truly “Grand” experience for both foodies and wine connoisseurs, pairing extensive offerings from New Orleans’ finest chefs and selections of wines from around the world.” Please tune in to @VisitNewOrleans tomorrow afternoon to get the scoop on NOWFE from my point-of-view.
I wanted to thank everyone again for your votes for me in the Windsor Court Hotel‘s “140 Characters of New Orleans” promotion. Unfortunately, I wasn’t one of the Top 7, but I had a great time at the nominee’s party, anyway! Something you might not know is that with every mention of NOLA Eats you, my friends, put out into the world is a huge help in getting the word out about what we do. I am asking for your support once again in nominating NOLA Eats and NOLA-Eats.com in The Gambit’s BestOfNewOrleans.com Web Awards. My favorite categories? Best Local Blog and Best Use Of Social Networking Sites. NOLA Eats started off as a discussion forum on Tribe.net almost seven years ago, but thanks to social networking sites Twitter and Facebook, we’re making more real life connections than we ever have. So, if you love (or even just sort of like) what we do here at NOLA-Eats.com, please give us a vote!
On Thursday, June 3rd, I will be speaking to Café Reconcile‘s Life Skills class about New Orleans food culture and how I grew up in the service industry. For those unfamiliar, Café Reconcile is a life-skills and culinary training program that assists at-risk young adults in making positive change in their life and community. I am thrilled to be speaking with the class! I’m currently working on keeping my composure, because every time I think about what this organization does for our youth, my eyes begin to well up. In addition to our discussion, I will be demonstrating how to make a special dish that combines my love and pride for New Orleans cuisine and my Latin heritage. Want to know what it is? Dine with us in the Café for lunch, because it’s going to be Thursday’s special! Dining at Café Reconcile supports the program financially and gives the students the opportunity to gain experience in all aspects of restaurant operations. I hope to see you there!
In the year 2000, if your business had a website, people were impressed. Ten years later, it’s a necessity. When it comes down to it, if I am trying to decide between two well-recommended businesses, but only one has a website, I will most likely patronize the business with the online presence. Why? Because I’m not made of money, to put it bluntly. I want to know that I will be comfortable and that the amenities are to my liking. Being able to see a business’ website before I visit them gives me an idea of what I am in for. What about you? Just for fun, here’s a little poll I threw together.
As you might have guessed from pictures I posted here and my Twitter account, I was invited to a special “foodie Twitter event” at The Windsor Court’s Grill Room. It was an intimate group of people of the “young professionals” demographic, selected to offer their opinions on potential additions to their dinner menu. I was certainly pleased to be chosen, and would like to thank Sara, Mauricio, Chef Drew and Chef Shun for putting together such a fabulous and fun event for us.
It’s no secret that social media sites like Twitter and Facebook empower businesses to connect with their customers. I love that so many of our area restaurants, especially those in fine dining, are utilizing these tools to showcase their chef’s skills and perhaps make themselves more approachable to those who are new to the more elegant side of dining. The minds behind The Windsor Court and The Grill Room realize this and uses Twitter to reach out to their audience, who, while it might be a common misconception, are not all baby boomers and empty nesters. The staff is young, exciting and excited, and they want you to be excited, as well. While I at least entertain myself with such details, let’s get back to what you’re here for, shall we?
Now, it wouldn’t be a Grill Room event without wine, and there was wine aplenty on the night in question. I do have notes on the selections we enjoyed, and honestly, I think “enjoyed” is an understatement. I definitely have some new favorites. Unfortunately, I started writing this entry last night at home, and I forgot to bring my notes with me today, so I am going to have to get back to you on those wines. Now, if you want to join me for a few glasses at The Grill Room so we can have more of a hands-on discussion, I certainly will not decline.
Service for this event was family-style and more relaxed than any diner would receive in the main dining areas, but it wasn’t a sloppy affair by any means. Sara, the Director of the hotel’s restaurant and lounge, was knowledgeable of her wine and happy to share her enthusiasm with us. I was smitten with most of her selections, and even the bottles that weren’t my absolute favorites were still stellar choices. As for the food, our savory tastings, ranging from succulent and crispy pork belly to foie gras accented “pho”, then nearly petite filet-sized scallops, and finally a cut of seared venison, were rich with the natural flavors and juices of the ingredients, yet none were heavy and all were cooked to perfection. My mouth was in taste bud heaven.
I will leave you with a few pictures I snapped at the event. Unfortunately, I must have changed the settings on accident, because most did not come out as sharp or focused as they should have. Which is okay, really, because my attention was on the food and wine, not photography.
Do you like us? Do you really like us? The gals here at NOLA-Eats.com think you’re pretty spiffy, too. If you’re so inclined, please give us a nod for Mashable’s 3rd Annual Open Web Awards in the category for Best Local Blog.
You can vote once a day, every day in all 50 categories. So, if you not only love us, but ADORE us, then feel free to nominate NOLA-Eats.com for other categories, like Best Facebook Fan Page or Most Interesting Twitter User To Follow. We don’t expect to actually win any of these, but every click helps promote NOLA-Eats.com, a project that’s just gotten better in the almost six years of bringing people together. Go ahead. Vote. We’ll just be waiting here. Patiently.
A new app for BlackBerry mobile devices was released this month that could make a Twitter fanatic’s mouth water. The app is tweservation, and its goal is to allow users to make a reservation to their favorite restaurants by utilizing the Twitter platform directly from their mobile device.
I first discovered tweservation when browsing the BlackBerry App World on my Storm (yes, I’m a BlackBerry grrrl). Needless to say that I was pretty excited by the concept. Unfortunately, there are hardly any businesses signed up and exactly zero New Orleans-area restaurants are listed. Sign-up is painless for both the user and the business, but users must have a Twitter account, naturally, and a mobile device to send and receive text updates from their selected restaurants. If you aren’t already receiving that business’ Twitter updates, you must go here and type in the restaurant you are looking for. Tweservation suggests all establishments utilize the same format (up to 21 characters for your name, 2 characters for your city location, and 2 characters for your state. Example: businessnameandstreetnola), so that Jane Diner can easily find the restaurant she’s looking for. As an added bonus, if Jane synchs her Google Calendar with tweservation, she can make reservations directly from her calendar. How cool is that?
It seems that tweservation’s system wouldn’t be limited to restaurants, but hey, we’re talking food here, not dental appointments. While I have been able to download the app, it doesn’t seem like the full system will go live until November 8, according to the BlackBerry App World site. You better believe I will be waiting for it, BlackBerry in hand.
What Is NOLA EATS?
Social Dining in New Orleans.
Combine new media & social networking with food & libations and you get NOLA Eats, a New Orleans-based social dining group and blog. Founder, Event Coordinator and habitual socializer Leslie J. Almeida writes about her favorites in New Orleans restaurants and nightlife while promoting a "live local" lifestyle.
You can follow more of Leslie's NOLA adventures by connecting with her on Twitter, Facebook and Flickr.
