Critics’ choice: Three angles on New Orleans style

Cochon

In a city that loves to eat, chef Donald Link has capitalized on his local roots to create a home-style New Orleans standout, said Tom Sietsema in The Washington Post. Growing up, Link was lucky enough to live within a short bike ride of two sets of grandparents—the Cajun ones who “fed him gumbo, jambalaya, and smothered pork,” and the Alabama natives who “set out plates of rabbit and dumplings.” Those fondly remembered meals were the inspiration when he and co-owner Stephen Stryjewski opened Cochon five years ago. “You don’t want to dine solo here,” not with all the intriguing offerings on the menu. Link calls his fried alligator nuggets, which come slathered in a chile aioli, a “good conversation piece for tourists.” But he also serves a pleasingly complex gumbo and the not-to-be-missed namesake dish: Link’s cochon “begins with shoulder and belly meat from whole pigs that are butchered on-site.” The meat is cooked in an oven until it collapses, then picked, simmered in stock, and molded into a patty that’s “sautéed to a fine crisp.” Give the moonshine a chance too: “It’s electric.” 930 Tchoupitoulas St., (504) 588-2123

Cochon

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Don’t let the modest setting mislead you, said Brett Anderson in the New Orleans Times-Picayune. Chef Ray Gruezke might be practicing his craft in a narrow little converted Mid-City cottage, but his food is so good you walk out feeling as if you’ve just experienced an “off-Broadway approximation of the Ritz-Carlton.” Gruezke opened Rue 127 a year ago, after becoming an accomplished technician at downtown’s Le Foret. Left to his own devices, and surrounded by a gracious young staff, he still fashions some notably “photogenic” dishes but leans more toward bistro fare—including a roast chicken that “achieves everything a person could want: juicy meat, crackly skin the color of stained maple.” I even appreciated dishes that didn’t entirely succeed. Pairing whipped potatoes with scallops makes no sense, for example: That’s “a whole lot of white and not enough to sink your teeth into.” But such missteps can be fixed. The scallops themselves, served over roasted fennel and oyster mushrooms, were seared to perfection. 127 N. Carrollton Ave., (504) 483-1571

Que Crawl

The sidewalk food vendors of 2011 New Orleans are a far holler from “your father’s Lucky Dogs,” said Jay Forman in New Orleans Magazine. Que Crawl is widely known as the “Big Purple Truck” that started the city’s curbside culinary revolution, and it now spends its idle hours parked near Boucherie, the “contemporary Southern” restaurant that chef Nathanial Zimet spun out of the truck’s success. The truck’s focus remains simple Southern fare with an artisanal touch—collard greens made with the kitchen’s own bacon, an acclaimed pulled pork sandwich, and fries dusted with Zimet’s special barbecue rub. The website NOLAFoodTrucks.com is a good way to keep up with news about the city’s best street vendors. This week, it carried the news that Zimet was shot and wounded near his home in a May 22 robbery attempt. Boucherie and Que Crawl, in true New Orleans spirit, are carrying on, and will anchor benefits for their leader.