Cochon

Cochon was reviewed recently in the New York Times by R.W. "Johnny" Apple. It's a place I've been meaning to visit for a few weeks, and I finally got around to it the other day.

I've long been a fan of Herbsaint, chef Donald Link's other restaurant. His approach to food - direct, but without being overly simple - is something I think he shares with guys like John Besh and Bob Iacovone. His particular idiom is Southern food, and more specifically the food of Southwest Louisiana.

Other folks reviewing Cochon have called it a Cajun restaurant. I think that's true, but not entirely accurate. At least, it's not accurate in so far as the conventional wisdom paints Cajun food. Part of that is because whenever someone from out of town writes about New Orleans food, they feel compelled to point out that New Orleans is not rich with Cajun restaurants. Which is very true. New Orleans food is Creole, which is entirely distinct from the more countrified cooking of (largely) rural Southwest Louisiana.

Because Link is from Cajun-country, he's definitely been tagged with the Cajun label, but I think Apple got it right when he compared what Link is doing to what Scott Peacock is doing in Georgia. It's high-style down-home food. Link goes beyond the traditional Cajun repetoire with his menu, and he does tart the standards up a little, but appropriately.

The menu at Cochon is set up similarly to that at Herbsaint. It's divided into small plates, boucherie, soup and salad, entrees & wood burning oven, and extras. The small plates may be a nod towards the tapas culture that seems to have taken over some restaurants in the city, but it works as well as an appetizer selection.

I started with fried chicken livers on pepper jelly toast. I'm not sure I have the superlatives to adequately describe how good this was. The livers were batter fried, like oysters, and they didn't scream liver at me. The closest I can get is to say they were like perfectly fried oysters, but still distinctly chicken livers. They were sauced with a pepper jelly glaze that was sweet, spicy, and had just a little bit of little bit of acidity to avoid being cloying. The dish was garnished with pickled red onion, mint, parsley and chervil.

I also had the spicy pork ribs with watermelon pickle from the small plates menu. The watermelon pickle was fantastic; crispy and a little sweet. The ribs were tender and with a good hit of spice, as advertised.

Everything in the joint appears to be house-made, including the rolls that start you off. They were chewy, with crisp-brown tops. The table also featured a house-made pepper sauce that was full of flavor without being too spicy. It's vinegar based, opaque and brick-red - a great alternative to the ubiquitous Tabasco. I didn't taste the "sport" pepper sauce, which looked to me to be the traditional peppers in vinegar. You can see both in the background of the photos I've included.

The restaurant itself is a larger space than you'd think from looking at the facade. It's all exposed brick, blonde wood and features an exposed kitchen towards the rear. There are seats at the bar for dining, and that's where I was steered when I entered, but I chose a table instead, and I'm glad I did. Because I got to sit next to a couple of women who were as into the food as I was, and that was pretty cool. Let me put it this way, when one of my neighbors saw the expression on my face as I was eating the chicken livers, she couldn't help but start up a conversation. God damn I love this city sometimes.

For an entree I pretty much had to go with the Louisiana Cochon – fall apart tender pork shoulder/butt meat over stewed turnips and cabbage, garnished with with tart pickled turnips and onions. The tartness of the pickles set off the rich, salty meat. My only complaint was that it could have used a little more cabbage, but I’m probably one of a very few people who would complain that the meat to vegetable ratio was too high.

There is only one salad on the menu, but it's a good one. It's similar to an Herbsaint offering: Iceberg lettuce with buttermilk dressing, bacon, and radishes. There’s also a choice of “cucumbers and herbs in vinegar” on the menu, but I would clasdsify that more as a pickle, or a side than a salad. The day I had lunch, there was a special salad of cherry tomatoes with baby beets that sounded pretty damn good, but I’m a sucker for beets. I'm also a sucker for tasteful nudes, but that's got nothing to do with this review.

Other items on the menu included: spoon bread with okra and tomatoes (7) Crawfish pie (8) Grilled shrimp with chow chow (8) Cochon rillette with mustard and pickles (7) Head cheese with housemade mustard (6) Black eyed pea and pork gumbo (6) Rabbit and dumplings (16) Smoked brisket with horseradish potato salad (18) and Catfish sauce piquant (17)

Extras include lima beans, oven-roasted sweet corn, dirty rice dressing, and coleslaw (all 5)

I couldn't find room for dessert, but some of the selections were: pineapple upside down cake, lemon buttermilk pie, german chocolate cake, and banana pudding (all 6)

This was one hell of a meal. I think that to the extent Link has not been recognized as one of the best chefs in New Orleans, Cochon will be the remedy. It's that good, it's that exciting, and it's that ground-breaking for the New Orleans restaurant scene.

Also: this post brought to you by Sun Kil Moon's Ghosts of the Great Highway, a record that continues to delight me. If you check it out on iTunes, and like it, you might also do a search for Mark Kozelek. Trust me.

p.s. Yes, that's a steadily decreasing draft beer in those pictures. It's an Abita Cream Ale, which is the "speciality" at Cochon at the moment.