Crescent City Cooks

The kitchen studio (there's even a toilet behind the spice racks)

All our lives we had heard so much about creole cooking that when we finally got to the beautiful city of New Orleans, what better way was there to discover the city quickly than through a bite-sized cooking lesson run by natives?

The view of the Mississippi river from the airy windows of Crescent City Cooks' cooking studio

We chose Crescent City Cooks, not because it was the most famous – there are a few others around that were far more commercial – but because we felt a nice, warm vibe just by checking out their website, and speaking to the people by email. It also helped that, in a city that can go from welcoming to dodgy in a matter of a block, Crescent City Cooks was located on the top of the Riverwalk Marketplace, which was literally a stone's throw from our hotel, the Staybridge Suites at Tchoupitoulas Street.

Riverwalk Marketplace is a lateral mall that stretches along the Mississippi River. With three levels (A, B & C) and a foodcourt, it's very much a touristy mall with shop after shop filled with the same "take home a piece of New Orleans" merchandise like creole spices, fancy candy, New Orleans fleur-de-lis wine stoppers and Café Du Monde chicory coffee and beignet mixes (regretfully, we never got to taste either of the Café Du Monde signatures, but not for lack of time. We passed by both New Orleans branches, at Riverwalk Marketplace and the original at the French Market).

The lovely kitchen, just off the Crescent City Cooks shop up front.

Scott showing the class what the contents of his bubbling caldron.

Red beans & rice, ready to be shovelled into our eager mouths.

Back at Crescent City Cooks, our very warm and genuine teacher Scott took us through the Louisiana cooking of his childhood. The menu? Red beans and rice, crawfish ettoufée, bananas foster and Queen Aileen's pralines.

Nita, one of the owners, joined in the class, chiming in with tips, personal anecdotes and jokes while a cooking assistant served us our drinks and dishes that we had just watched being cooked. With 3 or 4 rows of tables and chairs in the spacious cooking studio, we could tell that on a busy day classes might burgeon to as large as 20-ish people. But we were lucky, especially since it was the week that straddled both the Jazz Fest weekends. There were barely 8 of us there in class, which meant less crowding, more attention from the teachers and of course, less noise – another big plus of coming to this boutique establishment as opposed to a bigger school that makes its rounds on all the other touristy guidebooks and websites.

My mise-en-place: Recipes, Coke Light and chips with dip

Red beans & rice, with corn bread and andouille sausage

Crawfish ettoufée, Crescent City Cooks style and probably the best we had in New Orleans

Creole cooking is essentially home cooking. And home cooking in the old days requires more work than many of us would've bargained for.

The red bean stew to be served on top of rice, for instance, has to be cooked on the stove for two whole days before the hard beans disintegrate into a delicious, savoury slop. To get that creamy texture, Nita uses only Camellia brand red beans (www.camelliabrand.com), a secret she discovered from her mum after many failed attempts at recreating the older lady's velvety red beans and rice when she grew up.

Crawfish ettouffée

The crawfish for crawfish ettouffée requires peeling and squeezing of cottage-industry pain-stakingness. The said crawfish – one of the four food groups of New Orleans, the other 3 being oyster, crab and shrimp – is not unlike a tiny lobster, complete with hard claws and shell – need to be shelled the hell out of before a tiny morsel of juicy crawfish-like flesh emerges, barely more than the size of an escargot. They appear in the fields of Louisiana the moment there's a bit of a puddle, according to Nita.

Pralines, prepared on the side, and packed for us to take home.

Creamy, toffee-ish Bananas Foster. All gone in minutes!

For a couple of creole food virgins, the first whiff of the cooking red beans and rice, and crawfish ettoufée sent us into a tizzy. That mellow, rich combination of roux, stock, aromatics and sizzling seafood had mouths watering and tummies rumbling at 10-something in on a sunny but windy Tuesday morning. We didn't have to wait too long to dig into the first dish: red beans with smoky andouille sausage served over rice, with a wedge of homemade corn bread. If andouille sausage proves challenging to find in your part of the world, substitute with another smoky sausage.

Next, the crawfish ettouffée, the first we ever tasted in New Orleans, was an amazing party of complex Creole flavours in our mouths. For dessert, Scott flamed up some ripe bananas with banana liquer, and made Bananas Foster, served with vanilla bean ice-cream.

Pralines being made, reaching the toffee stage

While all this was happening, a crackly toffee was being stirred in a pot on the left of the classroom by Nita. She was making her special pralines. While we were each given a sticky spoon to lick the toffee off during, we got to take home a large, hard praline each – we couldn't stuff anymore food down us.



Crescent City Cooks: There are many shops on the ground level of Riverwalk Marketplace that sell the very same Louisiana spices, rubs, mixes, crawfish jelly, cornbread mixes and the like. Resist the urge to step into these on the gloomier ground floor and take the escalator up to the sunny uppermost level of the mall. Here you'll see a small shop that not only sells a well-edited selection of what you saw downstairs, but also modern kitchen gadgets like garlic-shaped peelers, matryoshka-shaped measuring spoons, multi-blade herb scissors and native cookbooks. A whole side of the shop is devoted to Creole hot sauces and strange jams and jellies with flavours from the city.

Riverwalk Marketplace, 500 Port of New Orleans Place, Suite 116, New Orleans, LA 70130. Tel: 504-529-1600.
www. crescentcitycooks.com

 

The story so far...

Sitting in my terry-lined bathrobe in the luscious surrounds of the Wynn hotel in Las Vegas, favourite music lilting in the background, it's hard to believe that we're actually here. Yet it's the 15th of April 2011 - just past the middle mark on our ten-week adventure through America.

When we began our journey from Singapore, we had landed in Los Angeles, flown off the very next night to Orlando. Been through a week and a half of theme park madness, then suffered a near backlash for the next few days, from over-theme parking. Back to Los Angeles for two weeks where we were taken to places where only the locals went. Did a drive down to San Francisco, via two nights in Cambria and another two in Carmel By The Sea. Eight nights in San Francisco, then four in Napa Valley. Drove through to Los Angeles, stayed for a couple of nights, then drove five hours to Las Vegas.

So here we are.

Cycling through heaven

Clifford's personalised bicycle

Jacquie's bike, with a typo. :o)

It’s a brisk Saturday morning as we make our way up to Washington Square. Napa Valley Bike tours is a refreshing change of pace to the normal booze cruise. It’s a chance to really experience Napa, not just for its wineries, but its geography and climate. Yes, it can be done. 

Each group is assigned a tour guide, and for us, it's James, a chef who cycles in his spare time. Having grown up in Napa, James has a large presence, almost a Jeff Bridges-ness about him as his Californian drawl is pleasurable, like a loofah over calloused feet. His attention to detail is reassuring as seat heights are adjusted and safety tips are run through. 

It’s a small group of 9 people and our little half day entourage makes its way following James as we cycle through rural Napa. It's an exhilarating feeling to cover so much ground and the beautiful scenery. Periodically we stop and gather around James as he brings to our attention points of interest, and describes Napa and the environs. See that barren lump of hay there? That used to be a family-run winery. And that tree to our right? It used to sprout pink flowers till last summer...

A sun-dappled resting spot at Steltzner.

Getting off to a good start at our first tasting, at the Steltzner winery. 

After an easy ride through sunny Yountville, we arrive at the first winery, Steltzner (www.steltzner.com). For just $10 a pop, we were given a generous pours of 4 wines. 

Regusci (www.regusciwinery.com) was up next, an impressive chateau-like structure rising from the top of a short flight of stone stairs. An overweight Corgi waited for us, on her back, with all fours in the air. With postcards of her being sold in the tasting room, and a coffee table book with pictures of her prominently displayed, she's obviously the pride and joy of Regusci.

The Laird family estate, where lunch was served.

Some of the group are eager to taste, and others just to relax. The smart thing about this tour is that they’ve thought of everything – a van meets us at each stop, bringing our bags, and of course, helping us transport any wine we may see fit to purchase. They also provide lunch - we had a picnic of giant  sandwiches, salad and a gourmet garlic bean dip that had everyone asking for the source.
Lunch was on the scenic patio of the Laird family estate (www.lairdfamilyestate.com), which had a fantastic view and breeze. The pours here, though, were not too generous compared to Steltzner, who really took good care of us. 

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The gardens of Domaine Chandon

The cellar and souvenir shop at Domaine Chandon

Fourth and last stop of the day – Domaine Chandon (www.chandon.com), which, as one of the giants of sparkling wine in the world, needs no introduction. The sprawling grounds were gorgeous and modern, though not particularly personal. And how could it be? With buses constantly spewing hoards of visitors, Chandon is constantly filled with people strolling the gardens, dining at Etoile (the only winery restaurant in Napa Valley) and tasting at the Tasting Lounge, and buying wines and souvenirs. The tasting prices are steep here – at $18 for a classic tasting to $25 for a prestige cuvée tasting, it's well above the usual $10 to $15 tastings elsewhere.

Magnums of liquid gold at unbelievable prices, especially by Singaporean standards.

Definitely the smaller vineyards were more welcoming, personable and easier on the pocket. The large wine estates were grand in their architecture and pomp, and equally grand on the wallet. Conversely, their pours were droplets – though as we looked around us, the impersonality of the big vineyards didn't seem to deter the droves of tourists and wine lovers. We cycle past, content and looking forward to resting our weary but happy bones.

Domaine Chandon's back garden makes for a scenic stroll, flute of bubbly in hand.

San Francisco

If it's one thing that I root for, it's always the underdog. My perverse nature understandably got its dander up every time I heard from fellow travelers and people from abroad proclaiming that out of all the cities in America, San Francisco was their favourite. This would be one city that I would be scrutinizing especially. My like-o-meter would be set at dislike from the outset. Imagine my disappointment when I realized that those people were right. 

826 Valencia

San Francisco is like an old antique shop that is filled to the brim with bric-a-brac and crowded crooked aisles. Each neighbourhood is ornate and wrought with so much history and design, litte enclaves of retail shops that have put in a lot of heart and thought into their stock – well curated and well loved. The geography is varied and of course, contrasting. There are oddities to stop and wonder, then wander on and pause and wander some more up and up the hilly streets and inclines and districts that are so varied in nature and character.

Clarion Alley is street art at its best.

The graffiti murals of Clarion Alley, and the restaurants of Mission District, the oddity shops of Haight-Ashbury. Of course, the more touristy harbor and the Golden gate bridge and the cycle friendly veins that line the neighbourhoods. You have that feeling that you can explore for days – San Francisco is many cities within a city. It crooks and beckons for you to explore. So go ahead.

 

San Francisco's Chinatown, just a few blocks from our hotel, The Chancellor

 

The Road To Cambria

The drive from LA

Early morning Sunday the 27th of March, at about 9am LA time, we set out from Griffith Park on our coastal road trip. The ultimate destination was to be San Francisco, but we weren't gonna by-pass those wonderful stops along the amazing Californian coast on the way there. Besides, we wanted to see Hearst Castle and the Monterey Bay Aquarium pretty badly, so it was sorted that we would drive the four hours to Cambria, stay for a couple of nights, then set off for Carmel-By-The-Sea for a couple more nights before making our way to San Francisco. The full drive between Los Angeles to San Francisco would otherwise have been a whopping 9 hours!

Trader Joe's is our default pit-stop for roadtrips, and groceries while we're in LA – we love them for their in-house branded everything, from chocolate bars to frozen dinners to cinnamon raisin bread.
There's one at Los Feliz and we stock up on their pink lemonade, their version of the Arnold Palmer (green tea and lemonade. For the uninitiated, an Arnold Palmer is an iced tea-lemonade half and half), their wonderfully creamy body lotion and citrusy shower gel. Their ready-made wraps are also divine a

Trader Joe's pink lemonade, with elderberry juice

On our way to Camarillo Premium Outlets

Camarillo Premium Outlets (www.premiumoutlets.com/outlets/outlet.asp?id=20) were on our way, and if it's one thing that we've not passed up on during the Grand Plan so far, it's a nose-dive into any good premium outlet that comes our way. Clifford practically goes ape shit when he sees that famous swoosh looming in the distance.

My new trusty jacket

But this time, it was me who was getting my credit card swiped – at The North Face, for an awesome tri-weather jacket. It was colder than we had thought it would be in LA, and we were pretty sure that things could only get worse as we drove up north. It's a pretty cool jacket and it's so-called "tri-weather" because it's made of two layers, securely zipped and buttoned together. Wear them both and honestly it could keep out any amount of cold wind and rain in the most freezy temperatures; or just the outer trench layer for not-too-cold rainy days and the puffy thermal inner layer on dry windy days. My only regret is that I didn't come across it any earlier on the trip – this jacket became the most important item in my suitcase after my jeans.

A quick touristy stop to take the pre-requisite "we're on a road trip" picture

Funny how pretty even wild grass can be when you're on the Grand Plan

Claudia and Morgan had recommended we have lunch at Bayside Café at Morro Bay, on our way to Cambria. After a slight misdirection, we stopped wrongly at a hotel. That Garmin of ours can't always be trusted. It was a nice little stroll, though, and since it was absolutely deserted, I got to take pictures of the plants and flowers like an old male Japanese tourist. 

This is NOT where we were meant to be, but we saw some lovely flowers anyway

The singing pansy from Disney's Alice In Wonderland – almost!

The bay that learnt the name to Bayside Café

Marcus doppleganger

Bayside Café

California Chowder, a mixture of clam chowder and spicy green chile soup

Scrumptiously fresh fish & chips

Crabcake sandwich with coleslaw

Well, we DID finally find Bayside Café (www.baysidecafe.com) and were sure glad we didn't give up and pike out for something more convenient and pedestrian for lunch. Bayside Café is a charming little shack set right across from the water, which we presume was Morro Bay, with a great view of the docked boats bobbing on the calm water. Now, it really felt like we were on vacation – a good, proper grown-up vacation like two adults instead of kids. A glass of chilled white wine in a sun-drenched seaside seafood hut in the middle of the day will impart that feeling, no doubt. Cliff had the fresh fish of the day, served lightly battered and with fries, and a big mug of beer. I had the crabcake sandwich ($12.25), made from rock crab,  which came with some salady veggies and a nice, mild vinegary coleslaw. Cliff also had the California Chowder, which is essentially a gorgeously thick (but not too rich) clam chowder with a bit of spicy green chile soup dolloped in the middle. It kinda reminded me of the black-and-white contrast of that almond cream with black sesame paste dessert we get back home.

Our upgraded ride for the month

Our

Cambria Pines Inn

Two beds are better than none

Filled with a seafood lunch, we drove on reached our destination for the next two nights – Cambria Pines Inn, room 212. We had booked it just a few days before online and were stuck with two single beds because we opted for the lower-priced option. Still, it was fine – we used one bed to sleep in at night, and the other as tv/surfing/reading central. The room was spotlessly clean, like many affordable accommodations in the States, but well-worn and thread bare in some places. We had a neat little wood-burning fireplace which swallows up packaged mini logs, but only the first log was free, and subsequent logs had to be purchased for about $4 a piece from the housekeeping or reception. And at the rate of about a log per couple of hours, it was expensive, and not to mention tedious, to keep warm the whole night. So we shivered under the sheets. The fluffy filling in the pillows kept falling out too, so by the end of an afternoon/evening of lazing around in bed, it was like a frosty the snowman Christmas centrepiece had been murdered by the side of our bed.

The gado gado-like Tofu Satay

Vietnamese BBQ Pork

Stirfried Noodles with Veggies and Beef

Cambria is a tiny seaside town with basically just one main street, called...you guessed it, Main Street, with a few other commercial roads leading from it . While flicking through the little map left in our room, and on Tripadvisor, we were convinced that the restaurants that most visitors fallback on were the stalwarts like The Sow's Ear Café, Black Cat Bistro, Linn's Fruit Bin Restaurant and Moonstone Beach Bar & Grill. After a month of travelling, the Asian in me felt like a good soy fix, and we made a reservation at Wild Ginger (2380 Main Street, www.wildgingercambria.com), the one and only Asian restaurant in Cambria. Apparently, the chef owner Deborah Mok was from Singapore, and we were curious what Singaporean food in the middle of Cambria would be like, though their tiny ad in the Cambria tourist map said "Asian, Pacific Rim and Global Cuisine".

It turned out to be a tiny place, with not more than 5 tables indoors, and perhaps a few alfresco ones, and we took a high table right by the cash register. I had the Stirfried Noodles with fresh Veggies and Beef – something from the chalkboard that night. Cliff had the Vietnamese BBQ Pork ($16), which was served on rice noodles and came with the requisite Vietnamese veggies, and we shared the Tofu Satay ($8), a dish reminiscent of gado gado, made up of primarily fried tofu cubes, sauteed spinach and a peanut sauce. Essentially Westernised Asian food, but hey, I'm not complaining. I love Asian takeouts in America, and this was a fresh, healthy version of the msg-laden chow from those places. Plus, the meal really hit the spot when it came to an Asian meal in the middle of Caucasian land. And on a brisk, Spring night, that's really all you need before retiring in front of a not-so-functional (it didn't warm the room very much), but very inspiring fire. 

The fireplace at room 212