NOLA Eats - Exploring New Orleans Food, Dining and Restaurants » windsor court hotel

What’s Happening Now With NOLA Eats | NOWFE, Gambit Web Awards and Café Reconcile

Leslie — Fri, 28 May 2010 22:11:37 +0000

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!

Show Me Your Tidbits | Windsor Court Miniature King Cakes

Leslie — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 22:00:19 +0000

I think it’s obvious that king cake is A Pretty Big Deal in the New Orleans area. I’ve seen them loaded with babies, shoes and other trinkets, but never keys, let alone “Keys To The Court” — the Windsor Court, that is. I received this press release last week, but there is still time to snag these perfectly giftable cakes. To make things more interesting, there is now more than one winning king cake that could be delivered to a lucky recipient.

In honor of Mardi Gras 2010, the Windsor Court Hotel in downtown New Orleans is offering a limited supply of 100 Windsor Court Miniature King Cakes. Prepared by the pastry chef of the hotel’s award-winning Grill Room Restaurant, Shun Li, these delicious, four-inch cakes will feature traditional colors and a cream-cheese filling, accompanied by a set of special Windsor Court Mardi Gras beads. Several of the 100 cakes will contain a set of “Keys to the Court” that will allow the recipients to enjoy a complimentary two-night, weekend stay at the Windsor Court and dinner for two in The Grill Room.

The 2010 Windsor Court Miniature King Cakes can be ordered by calling The Grill Room at 504-522-1994. Cakes are $20 apiece, including shipping and handling. Orders will begin shipping this week.

Social Media Meets Fine Dining At The Windsor Court’s Grill Room

Leslie — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 14:55:34 +0000

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.