Good Morning, Darlings!

Last night, Eric and I had the most fun with our friend, Chef Matt Murphy of The Ritz-Carlton New Orleans. Chef was in town on business and arrived a bit early so he could spend some time with us.

We wanted to make sure he had the best time, so I came up with this itinerary (you know how I love a list).

7:30 Meet at Rathbun’s for drinks and apps

8:45 Dinner at Iberian Pig

After dinner – drinks at Mac Magee’s Irish pub

How was it, you ask? Oh, we had a mighty fine time.

At Rathbun’s, Matt met Chef Kirk,  with whom he will be working on Wednesday night for Restaurant Week. So, if you want to meet him, you might want to saunter on over there, when he will be in the kitchen. We met at the bar, had a drink and then some starters. We tried the pork belly tacos (yummy), pork rind funnel cake (you have got to try this!), edamame pot stickers (fabulous) and the lamb medallions (delicious). Although Chef Kevin was surrounded by admirers and we didn’t get a chance to say hi, he was definitely in the house.

Now, off to The Iberian Pig. I thought doing tapas might be the most fun way to try everything. And it was. For some reason I can’t remember quite what this first dish was, but I think it might have been a pork pate on toast. Anyhoo, it was crazy tasty!

Next, we had the Tocino con Manzana. And I could tell you what’s in all of this, but you would have so much more fun if you visited yourself. But, it starts with pork belly.

There were Croquetas de Queso, which you can guess as cheese, but what kind of cheese?

Oh, I’ll spill it – it’s goat cheese. Fried. What’s not to like?

And my favorite of the night, the Octopus Ceviche….mmmmmm….octopus!

We sampled the Braised Veal Shank Ravioli.

And we all loved the charcuterie platters. Unbelievable jamon. Seriously.

The Jamon Iberico transported us all the way to Spain.

Chef Chad came by the table to say hello and ask about the meal. Do you know he has never been to New Orleans? So, Chef Matt invited him. I would love to see what they could cook up together.

Me, I was just happy.

I thought a fun way to wrap up the evening would be by taking Matt to Mac Magee, where he could visit with some of his fellow Irishmen. And he did. And it was a good thing. They even had the Saints game on.  Everything to make an Irish chef living in New Orleans feel at home. And beer. And whiskey. Even some nice wine for me.

We met some new friends at Mac Magee!

Jeff Selig, the chef of Mac Magee, was kind enough to come out and visit, along with Ryan, who loves the pub so much he got a job there.

Eric and I loved it, too. With just a short Marta ride from our house, we could be there in no time, with no driving worries. We’ll be back.

Thanks, Chef Matt, for letting us show you our town. We had a total blast!

xoxo, Patti

Today blogging to U2 – Beautiful Day