Page 49 - South Mississippi Living - March, 2019

of medjool dates stuffed with boudin and Andouille sausage wrapped in bacon, which would be delicious by itself, but the plate is painted with a splash
of piquillo pepper and tomato sauce that lifts the dish beyond expectations. The dates are sweet, the sausage is savory and the sauce has just enough heat to make you pay attention. We also tried the lamb empanadas, which are perfectly fried and served with smoked date marmalade, harissa aoli and a queso fresco foam. This is not your standard Natchitoches meat pies.
The Down South eggrolls are a perfect example of the kind
of culinary magic Dickensauge
is creating on 27th Avenue. It’s
an eggroll filled with collard greens, smoked chicken, boudin and tasso served with a Chinese mustard and peach chutney. It’s a well-thought out dish that hits all the right notes of savory, sweet, spicy and salty. It’s Asian-meets- Louisiana- meets-the South in all of the best ways.
On the night we visited the bistro, it just happened to be steak night. On Mondays, you
can get a house-aged ribeye or fillet and potatoes for about
$20. The steaks are large and
were practically flying out of
the kitchen. We tried the coffee- braised short rib. The large short rib was fork-tender and served on top of rosemary-thyme polenta with sweet corn chow chow and bone marrow aoli. This dish is
so good that it will haunt your thoughts until you can try it again.
We also tried the brown
sugar and five-spiced duck, or,
as Dickensauge calls it, “duck, duck, goose” because it features duck breast and legs served with foi gras dirty rice. Yep. Instead
of putting the traditional chicken livers in the dirty rice, he is putting goose liver-based foi gras in the mix. The dish also comes with pickled collard greens that are so good, Dickensauge should think about selling them by the jar.
TOP: COLD Smoked Prime Ribeye MIDDLE: DOWN South Eggrolls BOTTOM: CREOLE Devils on Horseback
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March 2019 • SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living 49