So Much to Say

There has been a lot of stuff I wanted to blog about this week, but, as usual, I've had a hard time finding the time to blog. So please forgive me if I repeat anything or if I make any giant leaps.
First, I want to write an update on the Pancake situation. It seems like my neighbor is not going to be able to take him. It's a long story, but let's just call this a "no good deed goes unpunished" situation, and leave it at that. Frankly, I've wasted a lot of energy this week fretting over all things cat and neighbor related. The good news is that we are, for the time being, fostering Pancake. He is living on the porch and in my bathroom, depending on the weather, and seems to be doing well. He is all bandaged up and one pupil is markedly bigger than the other (does anyone know how long concussions last in cats?), but he doesn't seem to be in any pain. He spends a lot of time in the cat box, but I am okay with that. Dogs tend to love their crates because they make them feel safe, so I'm working on the assumption that this is also true with feral cats. Pancake has already figured out how to use a litter box, which amazes me! I wish dogs were born with an innate knowledge of where (or more importantly, where not) to use the bathroom! Pancake also continues to be a giant sweetie. When we coax him out of the box, all he wants to do is be held and petted. He is going to be a great cat, but I am still concerned that Homer won't allow us to have another cat. We're keeping them separated for now because it's not fair for injured little Pancake to have to deal with an irate, 18 lbs. cat. So if anyone would like the adopt the sweetest cat ever, please let me know!
Regarding this week- having a house guest in town when you live in New Orleans means one thing: eating out! I have had so much amazing food this week. When Ryan came into town on Saturday, we ate at both Parkway Bakery & Tavern and Cochon Butcher. At Parkway Bakery, we split a surf and turf (roast beef with plenty of gravy topped with fried shrimp) poboy. It was awesome, although I will say that if you like your shrimp crispy, this is not the poboy for you. The shrimp soaks up the gravy, but I didn't mind. I can see why everyone raves about Parkway Bakery. Their poboy bread is the best! After Parkway, we went to Cochon Butcher's swine bar for wine, Boudin, and their amazing Pimento cheese sandwich. We were also treated to a sample of pork jowl, which puts bacon to shame!
During the week we ate at Cafe Atchafalaya and Restaurant August with Ryan. I've been want to try Cafe Atchafalaya for some time now, and I was not disappointed. I split an order of fried oysters with my darling fiance, and had the shrimp and grits as my entree. It was amazing, especially because they make their grits with cream cheese.
Restaurant August, of course, was wonderful. I had the four course tasting menu, and loved every bite. The first course was a salad with frisee, fresh dill and sweetbreads. I absolutely loved how aromatic the dill was and how well it paired with the warm, crunchy sweetbreads. The second course was an acorn squash mezze luna (a half moon shaped pasta) in a brown butter sauce with satsuma slices. I loved the way the rich, savory sauce paired with the brightness of the satsuma in this dish. My third course was wild boar ragu with chanterelle mushrooms and plums, served over polenta. Again, I loved the way the brightness of the fruit paired with the rich, savory sauce. The polenta was also delicious and incredibly creamy. Finally, my dessert was a chocolate Napoleon. Chocolate mousse was layered in between a coffee flavored brittle, and topped with salted toffee ice cream. There was also a swirl of an incredibly dark, rich caramel sauce on the plate. The combination of the chocolate, coffee, caramel, toffee, and salt was so delicious. It was the perfect decadent cool weather dessert!
Of course, my week of decadent eating didn't end at Restaurant August. My darling fiance and I celebrated out 3 year anniversary at Domenica on Friday. I was especially excited to go to Domenica because it is in the Roosevelt Hotel, which is where we got engaged a few weeks ago. Domenica is the newest John Besh restaurant. I consider chef Besh to be the best chef in New Orleans (followed closely by Donald link, of Herbsaint, Cochon, Cochon Butcher, and Calcasieu), and I was thrilled to eat at two Besh Restaurants (August being the first) this week! In fact, here is review of both Restaurant August and Domenica. At Domenica, we shared everything and had the meat and cheese plate, the tagliatelle with rabbit ragu and porcini mushrooms (my favorite!), the stracci with oxtail ragu and fried chicken livers, the slow roasted goat with wild mushrooms, and the gianduja budino (hazelnut and chocolate pudding with candied hazelnuts). We also ordered the truffle service for the slow roasted goat. The chef came out and shaved a white truffle onto our dish! In retrospect, I think the truffle would have stood out more on a less flavorful dish, but I could still taste it. It was really good!
I actually did more this weekend than just eat, of course. On Saturday, we went out and walked through the Barataria Preserve. It was gorgeous and we saw two alligators! After that, we came home, got dressed and went to the LPO's performance of Tchaikovsky's Pathtique. Today I ran 12 miles, which was pretty tough on my feet. I'm actually blaming the heels I wore to the LPO last night! I'm excited to be so close to my goal of 13 miles, even though I won't get there for another two weeks because next week I taper down to 7 miles.
This evening we grilled BBQ chicken and turkey burgers with green onions and blue cheese- so yummy!
Okay, I think that's everything notable that's been going on lately. This week, we are expecting some bad weather due to the presence of Hurricane Ida in the gulf, but I am looking forward to a good rain tonight. I love sleeping when it's rainy outside!