Serendipity

Serendipity, in Mid-City, is the newest venture by Chris De Barr (most recent of Green Goddess fame). It is in the American Can Company building and right next to the Mid-City Library. The space is more industrial and much larger than Green Goddess. They accept reservations but we dropped in at 6pm without them and were seated right away.

The selection of cocktails was pages long and we relied on the waiter for guidance for something sweet and cool. My dining companion choose one of their signature punches. Beautiful color and flavor and definitely tasted like more.

I had been without soda for a week and had just picked up my car from the body shop, so I went for the house made Coca-Kola. It was a little dry from the extinct acid phosphate but still a good cola flavor. 

We decided to share Tuna and Watermelon Skewers as our appetizer (although we were both tempted by the pickled okra stuffed with pimento-jalapeno cheese). As you can see from the picture the tuna was perfectly seared medium rare and blended well with the cool watermelon.

For the main course, I went with the Cochon de Lait/Lei - a banana leaf wrapped spicy BBQ pork with mashed sweet potatoes (it also came with collard greens but I pushed those onto Charlotte's plate. The pork was absolutely delicious and paired beautifully with the glass of Sangiovese.

She had the Malaysian Red Curry Goat Empanada with rutabagas and parsnips. The combined flavors were very well balanced.

If we hadn't had dessert ready back at my place, there was plenty on the menu that we could have chosen from-especially the homages to Hubig's Pie. I guess I'll just have to come back soon.

On Chris' blog he writes about his new venture, "We bring the same sassy strut, the love of the unexpectedly beautiful, and the same flair for relentless creativity that has been my calling card as a chef for these many years." As he moved around the tables, talking to guests, you could definitely hear that love in his voice.