Angeline's Louisiana Kitchen

I've lived in California all my life, and I like the concept of "California cuisine," which I imagine to be defined as food that's fresh, locally grown, innovative, tasty without being heavy, and plays with the flexibility of flavors given by the ethnic diversity found here. Still, there's something in me that really likes the idea of Southern comfort food. I don't think I've ever tried a dish with Southern origins that I didn't like. And while I've only ever travelled horizontally across the US and haven't yet ventured down into the southern states, it's places like Angeline's Louisiana Kitchen that gives Californians a little hint of what the South has to offer. Cause sometimes you really do just need food that sticks to your ribs!

I found Angeline's Louisiana Kitchen on Yelp, where lots of satisfied Yelpers sang its praises, one proclaiming it "better at this than anything west of the Rockies has a right to be." Sounds good to me. So I asked my friend Priya to join me, and as we walked down Shattuck and chatted we almost walked right past the restaurant. Inside, it looked like this:

Fairly small and dimly lit, with a flashy mosaic alligator hanging on the far wall. Perhaps not the most charming of decor, but the atmosphere was cool in a funky, casual kind of way. We got great service right from the start - our waiter was really nice and very attentive, and also pretty hilarious (I think he called me "my lady" the whole time), and the owner of the restaurant noticed that we were students and asked us how we found out about the restaurant. He even gave us a kind of discount coupon, if we spread the word about the restaurant to other students. So what if it may feel like cult recuitment? Free food is free food!

The menu was interesting even starting with the drink menu. I wondered what "Swamp Water" was and was informed by the waiter that it's half-lemonade, half-iced tea! I'm confused now as to this drink's origin, though, because I saw Ina Garten call the same drink "California Iced Tea" yesterday on TV, as she proclaimed that "they love this in California." Huh. Well, in any case, while I'm sure I would love it, I opted for the Sweet Tea instead. And it was sweet indeed, so much so at first sip that I squeezed the heck out of my lemon wedge to cut back on it. But as the meal went on and the ice cubes started to melt and water it down a little, it actually became quite tasty. Iced tea is probably my favorite beverage, and I love plain lemony iced tea with a simple syrup so it's sweetened throughout. I think the way sweet tea is traditionally made, however, is with the sugar mixed into the hot water so there's no need for a syrup. Anyways, it was good. I'd get it again.

Next came the hush puppies. Lots of Yelpers seemed to consider these to rival Gregoire's mighty Potato Puff, which makes me think of an animated hush puppy vs. potato puff battle, all cutesy and anime-style, with corn meal and potato spewing out from the battle arena and grease stains everywhere. Don't they just sound like they could be the names of Pokemon characters or something? Anyways. I love hush puppies. There aren't many things more satisfying than essentially a fried cornbread ball dipped in something yummy! Served with honey butter, these were awesome. Just perfect as an appetizer between two or three people.

Our entrees came out pretty speedily. I got the penne pasta with chicken in a blue cheese cream sauce. Fried oysters can be subsituted for the chicken, but because I was curious about the fried oysters (I had originally planned on getting one of their po' boys) I asked for them to be added rather than substituted. Oh, sweet gluttony! I liked my dish well enough, but the blue cheese flavor was very dominant. I should have guessed as much, but for some reason I expected a subtler flavor. Still, it was tasty, and the oysters were yummy as anticipated, and the portion was so huge I didn't even make it through half of my plate and packaged the rest.

Unfortunately, I didn't get a clear picture of Priya's Jambalaya, but she loved it. See the joy on her face? It was pretty standard Jambalaya, with I think chicken, shrimp, and andouille. Tasty!

When dessert time came around, we were really, really stuffed. But we'd come too far to turn back at the last moment, and I'd heard great things about the Bananas Foster Bread Pudding. Oh. My. Goodness! SO GOOD. The picture is terrible, but it was seriously just so delicious. I'd come back just for a piece of it and nothing else. Warm and gooey, with a sweet, sticky, burnt-sugary topping. I generally like my bread pudding a little on the dry side, because I don't like it too mushy. But somehow this bread pudding managed to be both puddingy and cakelike at the same time, moist, but dense and firm. Covered in caramel. Good grief.

I really, really liked our meal there. I'd definately say our expectations were met, and everyone was happy, even Jenn and Lindsay who couldn't make it but who I brought back extra hush puppies and bread pudding for. Nothing like fried food and dessert to get you through studying.

-Jenny

Angeline's Louisiana Kitchen

2261 Shattuck Ave (between Bancroft & Kitteridge)

Berkeley, CA 94704

Hello to our few but loyal fellow foodies -

Apologies for the lack of gusto on our part in updating this here blog, but Blogspot is doing strange, strange things to our posts and it makes us sad and angry. Double-spacing and changing font and size unnecessarily, etc. We end up tweaking a post forever to make it semi-presentable, then realizing we've forgotten to include something and having the whole thing ruined again when we add it.

Is the blog appearing okay for you? Are there tinytiny blurry lines of print after some photos, are things randomly double-spaced? I'm interested in seeing whether it's my laptop that has something to do with the madness. So comments would be helpful!

Until we have Blogspot figured out, we'll still be posting, but forgive us if it comes out a little oddly.

-Jenny

Breadbar-hopping in New Jersey

Okay, so the title may be a tad misleading because there was only one breadbar that was hopped...but oh how my belly wished there were more! After an afternoon with the kiddies, Uncle N picked me up and upon the recommendations of a teacher at their school, came to Piquant, an Indian Breadbar.
I must admit that generally I don't go for Indian food. There is one reason: I typically leave the restaurant feeling like I've aged 30 years and lots my ability to control bodily functions. That's right people, we're talking gas and indigestion. Nonetheless, I was more than willing to go through that when I heard that "bread" was in the title. I may die of gassiness, but at least I would die the way my forefathers wanted me to: happy and with a belly full of bread.
Uncle N was a brave soul and decided to try out a Masala Lassi. I've had Chicken masala and mango lassi, but never a masala lassi so I was curious to see what it tasted like. It was...well...how do I put this? It wasn't like my taste buds were assaulted. Rather, just slapped on the cheek. It was extremely thick and buttery. I couldn't exactly taste the masala because the butteriness of it all just overwhelmed all my senses. It reminded me of the butter tea that I had at Cafe Tibet in berkeley. Methinks Uncle N was a little weirded out too. We ended up asking the waiter what was in it and he emphasized that was no butter in the drink. I was skeptical at first but after checking the Internet, it turns out that a lassi is a "traditional South Asian beverage...made by blending yourt with water, salt, and spices until frothy." I think it was the blending of the yogurt and salt that did it.

We started off with Aloo Papri which were wheat crispies, potatoes and chickpeas smothered with yogurt and mango sauce. The sweet, slightly buttery sauce on the light crisps was delicious. Slightly unique and just big enough to pique my appetite for more yummies on the way, it was the perfect appetizer.
Realizing that this lunch was quickly going to become a feast, I became more and more excited. Next up we had an order of wheat crisps that came wth apple, tamarind, and mint chutneys. This appetizer turned out to be a skinnier sister of the first appetizer we had. Though it was delicious and I would eat ANYTHING with tamarind chutney slathered on it, I found that I liked the first appetizer a little more. It just had a little more oomph-which is always nice.
Saucy!

The first little piece of food porn for this entry was a salad that had oranges, pomegranate seeds, shaved fennel, and a lime-y dressing. It was literally the most beautiful salad that I have ever eaten and being that it was slightly sour, sweet, and very fresh, it tasted as good as it looked. I think the unique plate that came with it really helped the presentation.

For the entree we shared, we had the choice of various types of stuffed naans to accompany the daal or chana pindi, the chef's pick of seasonal vegetable, rice, yogurt and bean salad. Uncle N and I didn't know exactly what daal or chini pindi was so if anyone out there does, let us know! Nonetheless, we took a leap of faith and ordered the daal. Its the brown, soupy stuff in the bowl. Sure it wasn't cute, but it was extremely satisfying (Oh how I wish I could say that about many things). The starchy-sides were amazing as well. The potatoes were slightly spicy and the yogurt covered rice was the perfect cooling antidote the strong flavors of its neighbors. For our type of naan, there were so many choices ranging from cauliflower (with pomegranate seeds and cilantro) to roasted portabella mushroom (and monterey jack cheese). We chose potatoes with grounded pomegranate seeds and with the exception of choosing to go to Cal, that, I believe was one of the best choices I ever made. The combination of warm, fluffy bread surrounding a steaming hot, gushy potato mixture was the perfect thing on a rainy day. It was unfortunate that I was already stuffed from the salad and two appetizers or I would have plowed my way through the basket.

It's restaurants like Piquant that make me wish I were a hobbit and had an excuse for having a second and third lunch.
-Jenn