Birthday dinner at Brasserie Byronz
A birthday dinner at Brasserie Byronz in Mid City was a great choice. Set in a French-bistro environment with fun cocktails, the grilled salmon was the standout. The crispy skin let the hearty fish shine, and the bed of cherry tomatoes and braised lentils with tarragon butter made for a new classic go-to for me.
A complementary creme brûlée for a birthday celebration at Brasserie Byronz with sparklers and a polaroid picture.
Margaret DeLaney
As for drinks, I opted for the Cucumber Framboise smash — a gin-based drink with smashed cucumbers, raspberries and lemon. With a birthday dinner comes dessert. The restaurant and staff were so lovely and brought out a celebratory creme brûlée as well as a Polaroid to commemorate the special moment! A fabulous touch for a wonderful meal and evening.
Brasserie Byronz, 515 Mouton St., Baton Rouge (Margaret DeLaney, health section coordinator)
Tacos, rice and beans at Veracruz
Rice and beans from Veracruz Restaurant in Baton Rouge.
BY LAUREN CHERAMIE | Staff writer
The taco variety at Veracruz is top tier. There are grilled octopus, fried oyster and sweet potato tacos, among others. On my first visit to the restaurant, I opted for the pescado (made with beer-battered fish, cabbage, salsa macha, pico de gallo and chipotle mayonnaise), asada (made with grilled skirt steak, sauteed onions, cabbage, cotija and avocado) and panza (made with fried pork belly, pickled onions, beans and guacamole). The meal was accompanied by rice and beans.
Each taco offered a totally different flavor profile, and I appreciated the individual ingredients and combinations. The pork belly taco was tender, but the crispy fish taco reigned supreme. The crunchy batter gave way to fresh fish that paired well with pico de gallo and cabbage.
The pescado taco, bottom left, asada taco, bottom right, and panza taco, top, from Veracruz Restaurant in Baton Rouge.
BY LAUREN CHERAMIE | Staff writer
Veracruz Restaurant, 3510 Drusilla Lane, Baton Rouge (Lauren Cheramie, features coordinator)
Chicken and sausage gumbo at St. John Restaurant in St. Martinville
Even though the air outside last week felt like a hairdryer set to high, I still ordered the gumbo on my first visit to St. John Restaurant in St. Martinville. Doing so proved to be the correct decision.
The chicken and sausage gumbo at St. John Restaurant in St. Martinville is worth the drive.
BY JAN RISHER | Staff writer
It may not be the most photogenic gumbo, it was the best I’ve had in any restaurant. The roux was brown, but not too brown. The chicken was tender. The sausage was cut into smaller-than-bite-sized pieces, so those bites offered more than the taste of sausage. The rice came on the side.
This was a gumbo that ticked all the right boxes.
I highly recommend making a trip to St. Martinville to try the gumbo. The rest of the meal was delicious, but the gumbo was the unquestionable star.
The St. John Restaurant, 203 N. New Market Street, St. Martinville (Jan Risher, Louisiana culture editor)
Dining and Cooking