Thursday night, I was fortunate enough to have wrangled an invitation to one of the many spirited dinners going on throughout town, in which fine food and cocktails were paired on a fixed menu. Then my good fortune continued as I was able to end up at a table with Jen Colliau (sorry about the blur) of the Slanted Door, John Santer of Beretta, and Jill Santer of Laszlo. Always nice to dine amongst friends in a distant place . . .


Jen, John and Jill

This dinner was at Restaurant August, the home of renowned Louisiana chef John Besh. Besh's upscale yet homey food was paired with cocktails engineered by two brilliant mixologists: Gina Chersevani of Rasika (and other places) in Washington, DC, and Charlotte Voisey, the crack brand ambassador for Hendrick's Gin. It was a great time, featuring amazing food (crawfish agnolotti, watermelon soup) and drink (Hendrick's, Domaine de Canton, lavender syrup, lemon cucumber, lavender bitters; another with tomato water, Milagro tequila and "bacon dust") in a gorgeous old brick building just off the French Quarter.



I'm not the world's biggest fan of cocktail and food pairings, but this was a simply delightful evening. I highly recommend August if you're ever in New Orleans.