A Dish of a Lifetime in New Orleans
Have you ever had a dish that changes your life? It looks good on the menu, you order it, and then once you taste it, you realize that the taste and texture of this dish will stay with you forever?
I had that experience less than two weeks ago in New Orleans, and I feel that I must share. If you are EVER in New Orleans, you have to get this dish. If you are ever even NEAR New Orleans, you have to get this dish.
The restaurant that served the beautiful concoction on the right is called Herbsaint. Herbsaint is located on St. Charles Avenue just at the tip of the Garden District (701 St. Charles Avenue to be exact). I was in town for the annual conference of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, and on my last night I cabbed over to Herbsaint to meet fellow food blogger Blake Killian for dinner. I trust his palate, and he told me Herbsaint was great, but my expectations were exceeded.
The official name of this dish is Housemade Spaghetti with Pancetta and Fried-Poached Farm Egg. Despite this fancy name, though, it’s essentially a deconstructed Carbonara. It is on the Small Plates portion of the menu, but I ordered it as my main course (following an amazing starter of Arugula and Roasted Beets with Burrata Cheese and Walnut Vinaigrette).
The spaghetti was slightly thick and perfectly al dente. The guanciale was strongly flavored and very tender. But the piece de resistance was the egg. Oh man, that egg. Perfectly poached, then breaded and deep-fried, that one egg was comprised of nearly every texture you’d ever want to experience. I broke into it with my fork and gorgeous, bright yellow yolk oozed out all over the creamy spaghetti. Pure heaven.
I really hope that all of you readers get a chance to try this dish sometime. I know that I’ll be back to try it again. And not a moment too soon.
