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Parasol’s Restaurant and Bar

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From Parasol's

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! The annual block party begins at Parasol’s on Constance & Third in the Irish Channel at 11:00 a.m.!! I wish I could be there.

Parasol’s Restaurant & Bar
2533 Constance Street
New Orleans, LA 70130

Parasol’s Restaurant & Bar, like any respectable neighborhood restaurant in New Orleans doesn’t look like a place that you would consider eating. Drinking absolutely, eating no.

From Parasol's

And let me say that this is one of the great drinking establishments in New Orleans, a wonderful hole in the wall bar, almost always packed with locals and whomever else happens to walk or stumble through the door.

From Parasol's

The kind of Irish Pub with hand written signs that say things like “A 20% gratuity will be added to any credit cards left at the bar. You Drunks!!” This one made me laugh because in my past, I have to admit…guilty as charged. It’s always good to be in a town where you’re among friends.

From Parasol's

Running parallel with the bar, on the other side of the wall is a somewhat dingy little dining room (I say that with the utmost respect and actually as a compliment), where in my humble opinion, the BEST Roast Beef Po Boy (my Parasol’s style Roast Beef Po Boy Recipe) is served. Detractors can go nuts in the comments section if you like, this is a hot debate, but Parasol’s serves the kind that I like, Roast Beef that is just obliterated from long slow cooking in a rich gravy, smothered with mayonaise, some tomatoes, pickles and lettuce; dressed that is. And that bread! Light as can be, yet chewy, with a crust that is beyond imagine!

From Parasol's

Now the fun starts. This is also the messiest sandwich I have ever eaten, hats off. From my first bite I was awash in debris, mayo, gravy, up to my elbows. I actually ran out of napkins and had to clean myself by rolling around in a small patch of grass I found on Constance. I’m exaggerating of course, but you know what I mean, good sloppy eating in one of the most colorful little Irish bars I’ve ahd the pleasure of visiting.

Speaking of which, tomorrow being St Patrick’s Day, this is the place to be in the city, they annually host a block party that begins at 11:00 a.m. and runs all day long! Wish I was there! Here are some pics of the block party on their website.

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!!!

Gaston from The New Orleans Creole and Cajun Cuisine Blog sent us this video which shows the owner of Parasol’s making their famous Roast Beef. They should have given the host a Po Boy to keep him from talking so much through the video, that clown annoys me. (**Update – Upon my second viewing of this video, I’ve concluded that this guy from the Food Network, is THE biggest stooge on TV! Larry, Moe, Curly, Shemp, and even the elusive Curly Joe, have nothing on this guy.) Thanks for the link Gaston, and keep up the great blogging! Here is the video:

Related Posts:

Parasol’s Style Roast Beef Po Boy Recipe
Roast Beef Po Boy with Debris Gravy Recipe

Be sure and check out my ever growing Index of Creole & Cajun Recipes which links to all of the recipes featured on this site!

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New Orleans Restaurants

Domilise’s Po-Boy & Bar

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Nothing gets a lover of New Orleans cuisine more misty eyed than dreaming about a good Po-Boy on real New Orleans French Bread when they’re outside of the city. The reason is that it can’t really be duplicated outside of the city because the bread makes the sandwich, and you can’t find the bread outside of New Orleans. I’ve tried to duplicate that Leidenheimer bread so many times that I’ve lost count, to hell with it. Maybe the Po-Boy is not meant to leave the city of New Orleans, and maybe that is a good thing. It leaves me something to dream about when I’m home, and is one of the many, many things that keeps me coming back to New Orleans, wide eyed as a young child, excited as hell to be there, and sad to leave.

We had lunch at Domilise’s on our most recent visit in February, our first meal of the trip. Domilise’s is a lot like every other great neighborhood restaurant in the city, rough looking on the outside, (sometimes) even rougher on the inside (and I mean this in the best way), and stuffed with locals.

Great food served in its most simple form on good old fashioned white paper plates. At Domilise’s the menu is on the wall, along with autographed photos of celebrities, friends, and locals who have visited:

You order at the sandwich counter and get your drinks and Zapp’s chips at the bar. We had Barq’s Root Beer in glass bottles and Zapp’s Hotter n’ Hot Jalapeno Chips, my personal favorite flavor. We were starving after a long morning of miserable air travel so we decided to kick back and do kind of a sampler of 3 different Po-Boys.

The Shrimp Po-Boy which is served with cocktail sauce, and a nice amount of perfectly fried Shrimp (my wife’s favorite):

From Nola Cuisine

The Hot Smoked Sausage Po-Boy served with a hot chili sauce (My favorite):

From Nola Cuisine

The Roast Beef Po-Boy was just ok, as I was longing for a Roast Beef Po-Boy, but I have other favorites in the city that this one didn’t compare to (like Parasol’s). I just thought the roast beef was lifeless, and a little skimpy. The gravy was good however, but not enough to revive the bland roast beef. The dressed Roast Beef is served without tomatoes here:

From Nola Cuisine

Domilise’s gets two deliveries of Leidenheimer Bread every day, so you know your bread will be fresh. Next time I will try a few new flavors, and take a second pass at the hot sausage Po-Boy. This is a nice neighborhood joint, run by nice people with darned good Po-Boys, they’re located at:

Domilise’s Po-Boy & Bar
5240 Annunciation Street
New Orleans, LA 70115
(504)-899-9126
MAP

Be sure and check out my ever growing Index of Creole & Cajun Recipes which has links to all of the recipes featured here at Nola Cuisine!

Related Posts:

Parasol’s Restaurant and Bar
Roast Beef Po Boy with Debris Gravy Recipe
Shrimp Po Boy Recipe

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Recipes

Roast Beef Po’ Boy with Debris Gravy Recipe

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There is nothing quite as soul satisfying (or messy) than a good old Roast Beef Po’ Boy in New Orleans. The best way to judge a good one is by the number of napkins you used to keep your chin semi-dry (Seriously, make sure you are stocked up on napkins.) My favorite place in New Orleans for a Roast Beef Po’ Boy is Parasol’s in the Irish Channel.

Like all other Po’ Boys, the most important ingredient isn’t the filling (although that is important as well, don’t get me wrong), but the bread. New Orleans Po’ Boy Bread, or Long Bread is light in the center with a wonderful flaky crust. It is almost impossible to find outside of New Orleans, which is why I’m working on a recipe for it, the one in the photo is my 3rd draft, it turned out very, very good, it just needs to be tweaked.

For my Creole Roast Beef I use an inexpensive, well marbled Chuck Roast, which is from the shoulder. Very tough, but extremely flavorful. I’ve found that braising works best for this cut, nice and slow. I did 4 hours, the object is for the meat to just fall apart…not by breathing on it, that would still be too tough, but by just looking at it. About a 10 second stare should do the trick.

I’ve found that I like a mixture of Beef Stock, Chicken Stock, and water for my braising liquid. The reason I don’t use straight Beef Stock is that I make an extremely rich one, and I reduce my gravy instead of using a thickening agent. When all is said and done, the gravy was just too much of a good thing, too intense. This way comes out just right. Extremely Beefy and delicious!
Here is the recipe:

Roast Beef Po’ Boy with Debris Gravy Recipe

For the Roast:
1 Beef Chuck Roast (this one was 2 ½ pounds)
2 Garlic Cloves thinly sliced
Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt & Black Pepper
Cayenne
3 Tbsp Lard or Vegetable Oil
1 Small Onion, Diced
1 Small Carrot, Diced
1 Cup Beef Stock
1 Cup Chicken Stock
Water if necessary
2 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 Tbsp Hot Sauce
2 Sprigs Fresh Thyme
1 Fresh Bay Leaf
Kosher Salt and Black Pepper to taste

Cut small slits into the roast, about every 3 inches, try not to pierce all the way to the bottom. Stuff the sliced garlic into the slits.
Season the Roast very liberally on all sides with the Salt & Black Pepper, season with Cayenne to your taste, I don’t use much.
Heat the fat in a heavy bottomed Dutch Oven over high heat, when the oil starts to smoke, wait a few more seconds, then carefully add the Roast cut side down. Brown very well on all sides, without burning it. Remove to a plate.
Drain off all but 1 Tbsp of the fat in the pan, add the onions and carrots, cook until the onions just start to brown, place the roast back in the pan, then add the stocks. Finish, if necessary, with enough water to bring the cooking liquid 3/4 of the way up the roast. Add the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, then back down to a simmer. Simmer covered for 3-4 hours or until the meat falls apart by staring at it.

For the Debris Gravy:
Carve the meat into very thin slices, it will be hard to do and will fall apart, that is good. All of the bits and pieces, that fall off are your Debris (pronounced DAY-bree.) Add all of the bits and chunks to you cooking liquid after skimming off the fat from the surface, keep the carved meat with a little liquid on a warm plate, covered tightly with plastic wrap. Bring the gravy to a full boil and reduce until it coats the back of a spoon. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

For the Po’ Boy:
New Orleans Style French Bread (Po’ Boys are generally about 9-10 inches long per sandwich. As you can see I made mine a bit smaller, shame on me.) Cut the bread 3/4 of the way through leaving a hinge (as seen in the background of the pic.) I find the hinge makes for slightly, easier eating.
Shredded Lettuce (or Cabbage a la Mothers)
Mayonnaise
Roast Beef (see above)
Debris Gravy

Slather the bread with a very generous portion of Mayonnaise on the inside of the upper and lower halves. Place about a cup of Shredded Lettuce on the bottom half. Cover the lettuce with a generous portion of the “sliced” Beef. Drown the beef with Debris Gravy.

Grab a stack of napkins, a cold beer and enjoy!

**Note – To make this a Ferdi Special a la Mother’s, add Good quality sliced ham underneath the Beef!

This Roast will make about 4 very generous Po’ Boys.

Other New Orleans Sandwich Recipes:

Muffuletta Olive Salad Recipe
Muffuletta Bread Recipe
Muffuletta Sandwich Recipe

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