Pimanyoli's Sidewalk Cafe

14214 Airline Highway
Baton Rouge, LA 70817
225.751.7590
http://www.pimanyolis.com/

Cuisine Rouge Rating:

4 plates

As the temperatures rise outside, so does the appetite for good BBQ. While Baton Rouge isn’t known for being a big BBQ town like Memphis or Kansas City, there are a few places that serve up some good stuff. Recently I have found a new spot that is doing an excellent job on the pit.

Pimanyoli’s is definitely a unique name, and is the result of combining the nicknames of the two owners. “Piman” is Creole for pepper, and he’s the pit master, producing some excellent BBQ. “Yoli” is short for Yolanda, who has been working as a professional caterer for over 30 years. Both come from families that have been in the food industry for a long time.

Keeping with our melting pot of Louisiana culture, Pimanyoli’s combines the best of the country’s various BBQ techniques to create some great food. The brisket is cooked up San Antonio style, the pulled pork on bun topped with coleslaw is straight out of Memphis, and the sauce is Carolina style, vinegary and tasty, featuring 21 different ingredients.

My first visit was for a quick lunch. It was obvious upon entering the place that lunchtime is big here, as I lucked out to get an open table immediately. I saw quite a few things on the menu that I wanted to check out, but chose the brisket sandwich. Deemed the “Brisket Meltdown”, it features smoked brisket topped with grilled onions and Monterey Jack cheese. A couple of technical things about the sandwich stood out to me, one being that there is no sauce on it. Given the fact that sauce is available on the table, this is a good idea, providing the diner with the option of adding it. Also, the sandwich is toasted, which is nice so that when you do pile on the sauce you won’t end up with a soggy mess. Of course the real deal here is the meat, and it was tender with a great smoky flavor, the kind you don’t get from quickly churning out meat like some more commercial type establishments.

On my next visit, I did a more thorough BBQ analysis, trying the pulled pork, St. Louis style ribs, and chicken. The pork was great, tender and smoky with a good texture. Often I find that pulled pork can be kinda ‘stringy’ and dry, but this was done right. The chicken was also well done, and although not my favorite type of ribs, the St. Louis style served here are very good, extremely tender and juicy. Several of the sides were tasted, the potato salad was a little too “pickle-y” for my tastes, and the sweet potato was nothing out of the ordinary. The ones that stood out were the macaroni and cheese and the baked beans. Pimanyoli’s resists the urge to take the easy path and serve up the quick boxed mac and cheese variety, and rather makes theirs daily from scratch using an old school recipe handed down from the owner’s mother. It’s one of the best examples I’ve tasted in the area. The beans were very good, not too thick and not too soupy, with a nice amount of sweetness and the bonus addition of little pieces of brisket added in.

St. Louis Ribs


Three Meat Platter

Also sampled were the tamales. These are delta style tamales hailing from the Newellton area of North Louisiana, just south of Vicksburg. They are from an over eighty year old recipe and are quite tasty. Desserts are fairly straightforward, fudge brownie with ice cream, and bread pudding with rum sauce, but the standout is the “Cobbler of the Day”. This homemade offering features a rotating variety of fruit (blackberry, blueberry, apple or peach) and like everything else I sampled is truly authentic.

Of course there are many other options on the menu, including other sandwiches, burgers, fried seafood and what is definitely on my list for my next visit – Buffalo style frog legs. If you’re looking for some real delicious down home southern staples, this is a place you should visit.

Local Owner Interview: Scott Duffer & Robert Raach – South of Philly

By: Chad

Scott Duffer and Robert Raach are co-owners of South of Philly, an authentic, Philly cheesesteak restaurant located at 4353 S. Sherwood Forest Blvd in Baton Rouge.  Both are east coast natives who after years of dabbling in the restaurant business found themselves in Baton Rouge, bringing their beloved steaks to our city.  These guys were kind enough to sit down with me and answer a few questions for Cuisine Rouge.

1. How did you get started in the restaurant business?

Robert - “I managed several different restaurants while in my twenties, in various places around the east coast.” Scott – “I went to culinary school, and worked as a chef in many fine dining establishments in the Philadelphia and DC area.”

2. What or who were your influences?

Scott – “Al’s Steakhouse.  A landmark cheesesteak shop in Alexandria, Virginia since 1956, they serve the best steaks.  They are using only the freshest, best ingredients.  I just wanted to duplicate that quality product in my own shop, which we feel that we have done.”

3. When did you know you could make it in this business?

“We are still learning.  Watching things very closely and focusing on the food primarily.  We are doing well, growing fast, and very focused on our success.”

4. How did you decide on this location?

Robert - “It was available.  It was a good location for us because it was ready to go.  We didn’t have to build out anything, we just basically moved it and setup shop.  We did have to make some changes to the décor, which we are still in the process of doing, but it’s coming along nicely.”

5. What do you love about your job?

Scott - “I love it when people stop by the counter on their way out and let us know how good their experience was.  Putting a smile on people’s face when they eat our food.”

6. What do you hate about your job?

Robert - “The constant building maintenance that goes with owning a restaurant.  Things breaking and disrupting our flow of business.”

7. When you aren’t cooking, what do you like to do?

Robert - “We are both avid frisbee golfers, so we do that when we can.  I’ve got three kids at home, so family time is also pretty busy.”  Scott – “I’m a gamer, so you can often find me on the X-Box.”

8. What would you be doing if you weren’t doing this?

Robert – “I have a contract with a local telecom company, and my guys do lots of work for them, so I would be going back to doing that full-time.”

9. What is your favorite dish on the menu?

Robert - “The Smokehouse Philly – the classic Philly steak topped with bacon, green peppers, bbq sauce, onion rings, and cheese on the Amoroso bread.”  Scott – “The Tiger Steak – fresh sliced ribeye with jalapenos, and our Blackened Bayou Beer sauce.  It’s got a bite to it.  It’s an homage to the love folks have down here for spicy foods.”

10. What would your last meal be?

Scott - “Country fried steak, smothered in gravy.  I’m a big fan of anything with gravy.”

11. What is your best moment as a restaurant owner?

Scott - “My best moment was the day the guy finished the work painting our building.  Seeing our real sign hung up outside, and no longer having our restaurant look like the set of Sponge Bob (it was formerly a seafood restaurant).”

12. What is your worst moment as a restaurant owner?

Robert - “When we came in to find that there was a Freon leak and our cooler was at 55 degrees.  We had to throw out everything.  We lost the entire cooler, which was fully stocked with all our meats, produce, etc.  Not a good day.”

13. Anything new for the future?

Robert - “We are looking at getting a mobile concession stand to be able to serve our same products out at different places, like sporting events, fairs, stuff like that.  We are also looking for possible future locations in other surrounding areas.”

14. Other than what you make, what other foods do you enjoy?

“We both love trying new foods, and we love seafood.  Seafood down here is whole different animal than it is up north.  We love crabs, crawfish, oysters, all of it.”

15. If a person is only visiting your place once, what dish should they get?

Scott - “The classic Philly steak, prepared the classic way, with the provolone or the Cheese Whiz.  Some folks kinda worry about having the Whiz on there, but I promise you, you can’t go wrong with it.”

Cuisine Rouge would like to thank Scott and Robert for taking the time to answer our questions.  Best of luck to these guys and South of Philly in the future!

Doe's Eat Place

By: Wesley

3723 Government Street
Baton Rouge, LA 70806
(225) 387-5331

http://www.doeseatplace.com/

This review must be prefaced with this warning: CuisineRouge makes a point of avoiding “chain” restaurants for good reason - most chains are devoid of soul, creativity, and real talent in the kitchen. There, I said it. I’m not trying to hate on them, but a locally owned, original restaurant symbolizes someone's ambitions and life savings, not the clever franchising decisions of a real-estate investment consortium. We do what we can do to shine the light on these places, as they often are overlooked.

Doe’s is an interesting compromise for us. It started out fairly close to home, over in Greenville, Mississippi, and over the years, Doe’s has grown to have two family-owned locations, and twelve franchise locations. Since the family-owned locations are not within a 30-minute drive of Baton Rouge, we visited the franchised location on Government Street.

So enough bull, where’s the beef? My two amigos and I were craving some steak, and Doe’s Eat Place sounded like a fun place to pig out. This is what I learned: Doe’s is probably the most honest and least pretentious steak restaurant that I’ve ever dined at. There is no tacky theme, vegan waif offerings, or chicken served at this establishment (although I hear the menus do vary location to location).

I am hesitant to call this restaurant “manly,” as I don’t want to give any woman hesitation to eating at Doe’s - perhaps “simple,” “elemental,” or “pure” are better adjectives to use. The menu is the very essence of “less is more” as there are only three main items: steak, tamales, and shrimp. Now hold on - there is a bit more to it, as there are 4 types of steak to choose from: sirloin, ribeye, filet mignon, and t-bone/porterhouse.

We each ordered a glass of tea, and in addition one of my fellow diners ordered a glass of Russian Standard vodka, which I hear is hard to find in most restaurants. Kudos to Doe’s for having fancy liquor! Per him, this vodka is the cleanest, best tasting vodka on the market, made by the people that invented the stuff. A must try for those who are hung up on the trendy goose named French offering, ordered blindly by those looking to be cool. Drinking French vodka is kinda like eating Chinese food in downtown Tijuana, but I digress.

The tamales....these aren’t what you get at the Mexican joint down the street. These are “Delta style,” which essentially means they aren’t bland and wrapped in a corn husk. “Delta style” comes in a paper wrapper, and instead of canned chili, you get the scraps from the beef the steaks are cut from ground up coarsely and prepared into a delicious and tangy stew. You simply unwrap the tamale, spoon on some chili, and then enjoy. The beef, corn, and chili come together in a most satisfying way. The three of us split a half-dozen as an appetizer, but if the possibility of steak wasn’t looming, I’d gladly settle for a dozen as my meal, and not feel slighted in the least.

Now about the beef. One thing that is positively refreshing is the amount of respect that Doe’s pays to the Bos Primigenius (That’s what scientists calls cows). Doe’s refuses to ruin the beef by burning it (also known as “well done,” the greatest culinary oxymoron). Since we all were shooting for a light meal, we each ordered the smallest steak on the menu, the pound and a half porterhouse. That might blow your mind, and that’s okay. The steaks are offered in roughly one pound increments, with the intention that you order a big one to share with your partner, with some of the cuts even offering two different temperatures per order.

Ordering the steak was easy: pick your cut, your poundage, and your doneness. After that, another tantalizing choice: fries or boiled potatoes. One amigo picked fries, two picked the boiled potatoes. The waiter warned us the potatoes were bland, prepared only by placing them into unsalted boiling water with butter, and the fries were the better pick.

Every steak dinner is preceded with a marinated salad, consisting of iceberg lettuce and cherry tomatoes soaked in a lemon juice, garlic, and olive oil infusion. The salad tasted good, a little sour/spicy, but the wilted lettuce was a bit of a turn off and I wish it had been colder. The wooden bowls were a rustic touch, and there is an interesting story about the salad, invented by Aunt Florence, that you can find on Doe’s website. True carnivores may not care about the salad, but it is a Doe’s institution.

On to the steaks - yes, the whole point of going to a steak restaurant is the big slab of sizzling beef, untainted by ketchup, A1, Heinz 57, pineapple glaze, or peppercorn mushroom congealed disappointment. Sauces like these are the refuge of weaker cuts of beef, and Doe’s doesn’t offer them because they don’t need them. The ketchup on the tables is only for the fries! Our porterhouses arrived at the table, cooked perfectly. Along with the sizzling spread came a basket of curious brown biscuits. These “drop biscuits” consist of dough, deep fried, and served with butter and honey. Think country-style beignets and you are close enough.

The next part is little hazy. Once we started eating the steaks, the witty banter gave way to the tinkling sounds of cutlery, and other less delicate sounds. Watching two other men eat steak isn’t pretty, so it’s best to focus on what’s on your plate. I had ordered the boiled potatoes to accompany my steak, against the recommendation of the waiter, and they were just that - boiled potatoes, bland and unremarkable. Thankfully, there were enough French fries to go around, and they were cut and seasoned perfectly.

Our waiter, who was something of a likeable smart-ass, encouraged us to pick up the bone and get the good parts if we couldn’t manage with fork and knife alone. We happily obliged. I don’t know how else to tell you - the steak was perfect, tender, well seasoned (with salt and pepper alone, as far as I can tell). We were offered dessert, but passed due to a complete lack of room to hold it.

So what else is there to say about Doe’s Eat Place? Well, it’s a great place to get a perfect steak, it’s got a fun and casual atmosphere, and it’s the absolute worst place to bring your Hindu and vegetarian friends. My bill, which included two tamales (1/3 of the half dozen), iced tea, and the one and a half pound porterhouse was $44. Not bad at all! I’m really looking forward to eating here again. Go Eat at Doe’s!

Freaky Foods of Baton Rouge - Menudo Rojo with Beef Tongue Tacos

By: Mark

Taco and Burrito Express on Sherwood Forest may not look like much from the outside, but it serves excellent Mexican food and our first Freaky Food Focus. On the weekend, menudo rojo is a specialty of the restaurant. When the dish was ordered, the waitress gave me a peculiar look; a look of “you sure about this gringo?” A large bowl of deep crimson broth was presented, carrying with it the smell of tomatoes and chilies. The meat in the soup is tripe, or the stomach lining of a cow. Two types of tripe are used: the book and the honeycomb. The book tripe has a chewy, meaty texture and the honeycomb has a sponge like texture. A faint muddy smell is also detected, one of the characteristics of cooking with tripe. Served with fresh limes, cilantro, and onions; this soup is a traditional favorite. Corn tortillas are also provided to dip in the broth while eating.

If the soup isn’t enough, order a side of beef tongue tacos. The tongue is cooked long and slow in Mexican spices till tender. The result is a meat that is richer and tastier than the best pot roast. Get them crispy and loaded with toppings, or my favorite with lime juice, onion, and cilantro.

Menudo Rojo

Beef Tongue Tacos