T-Fitz' Chow Chow Time; McNulty's Trip to Holy Cross

Tom Fitzmorris gets hog wild at Cochon Butcher this week, doling out a safe (and dare we say blasphemous) three stars to Donald Link's cured meats emporium. Taunted by dangling salamis and "haunches of meat waiting to be carved," Tommy Boy throws hissy-Fitz over the long line in front of him, and complains that "I think most customers wish the premises were bigger." He gives three Hipster bonus points to the 'bare bones sandwich specialist," for what reason we may never know. Perhaps because the menu is on a blackboard? Of this menu, T-Fitz says:

You can get a great Cuban sandwich, hot dog or muffuletta here. Almost everything is cured, smoked and dry-aged on premises. Yet the prices are in the same range as a po' boy, and its servings are filling without being belly-busting. Also, the breads used for the sandwiches are unusually good.

His top pick at the Butcher? Not a sandwich, but the head cheese with chow-chow and mustard. [City Business, sub req]

Ian McNulty visits the busy lunch and brunch destination Cafe Dauphine in Holy Cross this week, and deems the menu "as having enough distinctive specialties to pin this restaurant to one's mental map of good food." Opened by husband/wife combo Tia Moore-Henry and Fred Henry, and sister Keisha Henry, the family actually had no restaurant experience prior Cafe Dauphine, other than catering church functions and parties. Though the fries and dressings come off as somewhat 'prefabricated', McNulty points out many stand-out dishes like the Lizardi Rolls and stuffed bell peppers:

The polar opposite of light, fresh spring rolls, Lizardi rolls are plump, fried shells encasing shellfish and cabbage and drizzled with a sticky-sweet sauce... The star of this menu, however, is the fried stuffed bell peppers, another twist on an old standby. Crammed with a creamy mix of crab, shrimp and just a little dressing to bind them, they are like oversized versions of jalapeno poppers, minus the spicy bite.

Cafe Dauphine is a little hard to find, tucked away in the Holy Cross neighborhood, beyond the blossoming Bywater, but McNulty claims it's definitely worth the trip. [Gambit]

· Butcher Lives High off the Hog [City Business, subscription required]
· Review: Cafe Dauphine [Gambit]
· All Week in Review [-ENOLA-]
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