St. James Cheese Company

This saturday, like most weekends here in the big easy, was bursting with festivity. The monthly Freret Street Festival was going on as well as la Fête Française. I was interested in going to both, but after parking and then walking to Magazine and General Taylor for the French celebration I quickly lost my steam. It was a beautiful day, but quite hot and sunny. Food and beverage had to be purchased with tickets instead of straight up cash, which is annoying, and there was no shaded area to hang out. Of course, I burn rather easily, so we opted to eat lunch somewhere instead of going the festival route.
The final decision was St. James Cheese Company. This cute little joint is on Prytania and is a restaurant I had been meaning to check out for awhile. I lived in Wisconsin for 7 years. I love cheese.

I bounced back and forth between wanting a couple different sandwiches before finally deciding to try a special: Jalapeno Mac N Cheese (I have already forgotten the key cheese ingredient, like an amateur food blogger.)



The mac n cheese was delicious. Probably on par with my favorite mac n cheese of all time--Noodles & Company. It had a zap's potato chip crumble on the top and was creamy with a natural tasting spiciness. It was a nice size, though still a tad heavy for summer.



Cory got the Smokey Blue sandwich, with a smokey blue cheese (duh), roast beef, lettuce, tomato, and Worcestershire mayo on a multi grain bread. I sampled a few bites despite my fear of mayo and it was very flavorful.


Everyone was drinking wine and eating cheese; it was great. I also loved the little paintings of cheese that adorned the walls. Mm, just writing this post has made me hungry for another visit.

St. James Cheese Company
5004 Prytania St
New Orleans, LA

Cowbell

I first heard word of Cowbell through my co-worker, Gay. The restaurant is in an old gas station where Oak Street meets River Road, so nice and close to me. It was also mentioned that something called an "adult grilled cheese" was on the menu, which right away sparked my curiosity. Let's not forget that this place is organic and locally sourced, from what I understand. I decided to finally check the place out for a Friday lunch.



Right away I fell in love with the decor. The inside is light and airy, tables made of distressed wood, flowers in glass bottles, and various sculptures including an awesome egret. Look how they post their specials with a little magnet.


Although I really wanted to try their naturally raised beef burger, I opted for a cheaper course since it was lunch and got that much anticipated Adult-style grilled cheese with a mug of the daily soup. Cory copied and got the same thing. We also split an order of fries as an "appetizer".


The grilled cheese consisted of goat cheese, grilled asparagus slices, tomatoes, and something sweet. Fig? The soup of the day was a delicious white bean and vegetable.
I was very happy with my meal. The service was a tad sub-par. Our fries came at the same time as the grilled cheese and it was hard to get a hold of any of the 3 different people that waited on us. Since Cory was on a lunch break for work ('twas my day off!) I think he felt the stress of the wait more than me. I'm not really holding the service against them just yet because I'm anxious to get back there and try more food! The burger and also their brunch.


Cowbell
8801 Oak St
NOLA 70118

My first Chicken Salad Experience

Ever.
Chicken Salad always grossed me out because of the ingredient of mayonnaise. Sorry, but mayonnaise disgusts me. When I saw a chicken salad recipe on We Are Not Martha that didn't use mayonnaise, I knew I had to try it.

What you'll need:

1 medium onion, chopped (1 cup)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon red chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 medium tomatoes, chopped (1 cup)
1 cup plain yogurt
2 tablespoons cilantro
1 rotisserie chicken, meat coarsely shredded (3-4 cups)
1 cup red grapes, halved




Cook onion and garlic in oil in a skillet over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened--about 5 minutes. Add chili powder, cumin, and 1 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Cook for 2 more minutes.
Add tomatoes and cook on medium-high heat until sauce is just thickened, about 5 minutes.
Transfer to a bowl and stir in yogurt, cilantro, and chicken.



Cool to room temperature and enjoy!