Join us this week for our specials:
Amuse Gueule (served complimentary with entree Tuesday - Thursday) – Sautéed Alligator Tail with Creole Meuniere created by Mac Casteel
Soup – Watercress and Pear Bisque with Gorgonzola
Meat- Vol-au-Vent* Beef Tips Bourginion, Accompanied by Asparagus and Wax Bean Medley
Seafood- Grilled Herb Scented Cobia Filet, Accompanied by Toasted Almond Saffron Pilaf
*Vol-au-vent is a puff pastry dome made in a similar style as a bread bowl
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Santillo,Your newsletter has become one of my favorite e-mails. While I was hunkered down by a day of rain, I thought about trying to visit Jolie's. Then your newsletter arrived ...just reading it makes me hungry for the week's special and longing to enjoy the peace and beauty of the building I recall as a former steak house.Blue Dog is always exciting because I can buy Rodrigue note cards and calendars and enjoy art work that has a history. When George Rodrigue painted President Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachav, I was producing the 6 P.M. news at Channel 3. For once, we had a big international story with a Lafayette angle. It is nice seeing those two portraits side by side in a Lafayette restaurant.However, Jolie's adds a menu not previously available in Acadiana or New Orleans. Healthy French and Creole cuisine prepared in creative ways. New options on the menu make each week always a delightful surprise. Jolie's is also an atmosphere of elegance and peace. The people who work there seem so happy...like part of your family.So glad you added lunch for Fridays.Wishing you and your staff a blessed holiday. Look forward to seeing you soon!LillianP.S. The photos of people eating at Jolie's cannot compete with the actual experience. Rodrigue is a great artist but combining the best of the culinary arts with architecture and family creates a synergy of many arts rarely found in the places we dine in the fast paced world.
Over the past few weeks the Director and Producer of the Disney/Dreamworks movie "Secretariat" have dined with us a number of times. They let us know that the actors would begin arriving in town this past Saturday. On that very evening we had the great pleasure of meeting and serving Diane Lane, who dined on Redfish Amandine, After the Boil Salad and Cheesecake with Strawberry Margherita Sauce. She is interested in Cajun & Creole culture, loved everything she ate, and promised to be back as soon and as often as her filming schedule permits. We are hoping it is just a matter of time before we see her co-star, John Malcovich.
Fall is in the air, and that means comfort food. Our Chefs have put their spin on the classic "Coq au Vin". The result is a Rock Cornish Game Hen Slow Braised in Burgundy with Shitake Mushroom and Tasso Ragout, and accompanied by Creamy Southern Style Grits. Our seafood offering is Redfish en Papillote with Louisiana Garden Vegetables and accompanied by Roasted Pepper Linguini. This week we are also featuring a Fall favorite, Butternut Squash Soup. Our complimentary Amuse Bouche (offered Tuesday thru Thursday evenings) is an adventure in contrasting flavors and textures. Jeramie Vasseur has created the perfect amusing bight of Pear Chip with Gorgonzola, Walnut & Honey.
Come as you are. We'll take care very good care of you...
Steve Santillo
We have a few interesting items this week in the kitchen, some which are just coming into season and others which are novelties. It is truly a treat to watch our chefs get excited when new fresh and local products become available.
New in the pantry this week: Monk Fish, Pork Short Ribs, Blood Oranges, Local Baby Carrots.
Amuse Bouche: Smoked Pork Ravioli with Chipotle Demi-Glace
Soup: Scallop and Roasted Red Pepper Bisque
Seafood Special: Pan Fried Parrot Fish with a Brown Butter Meuniere accompanied by a Fennel Salad
Meat Special: Braised Short Ribs with Blood Orange Glaze, Accompanied by Brown Sugar and Cayenne Baby Carrots.
The inspiration this week is Creole classics. Taking something wonderful from New Orleans cuisine and giving it new life. There is a play on Veal Oscar, as well as the classic Ravigote (a highly seasoned sauce with shallot, capers, and herbs). Hope you enjoy!
New in the pantry this week: Sheep Head (sea bream), local chicory, asparagus, fresh horseradish, house made crème fraiche, house made chowchow, and loads of fresh herbs.
Amuse Bouche: Frog Leg Pate (brought to us by Mac Casteel) Served complimentary Tuesday - Thursday
Soup Du Jour: Black Bean Soup with Roasted Tomato Crème Fraiche
Seafood Special: Crispy Sheep Head (sea bream) Ravigote, Accompanied by Creamy Chicory Polenta and Corn Chow-Chow.
Meat Special: Pan Seared Tournedos of Beef with Sauce Béarnaise, Accompanied by Jumbo Lump Crab Meat, Sautéed Asparagus and Horseradish Beignets.
Jolie’s is the latest restaurant by Steve Santillo; the other being the Blue Dog Café a few blocks away, with both containing George Rodrigue artwork. The building that Jolie’s occupies used to be the original Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, a gentleman’s club and a couple of other restaurants Rodrigue was known to frequent while keeping an eye on his first gallery across the street. People still wonder about the gentleman’s club, said Santillo, even though the current Jolie’s is nothing but elegance. Santillo also mentioned that the Blue Dog Café used to be the oilfield hangout, and when Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward were filming The Drowning Pool in Lafayette, “they had a corner where they ate every day,” he said.
This week we will be featuring summer conscious specials that are both light alternatives yet uniquely Jolie’s.
New in the pantry this week: parsnips, home cured sherry sauerkraut, local grown watermelon.
Soup Special: Parsnip and Crab ‘Manhattan Style’ Chowder
Meat Special: Broiled French Cut Pork Chop Accompanied by Home Cured Sherry Sauerkraut, and Toasted Almond Thyme Risotto
Seafood Special: Pineapple Glazed Grilled Mahi Accompanied by Watermelon and Boursin Cheese Salad with Balsamic Reduction Dressing
This week in the Kitchen we are celebrating summer with one of Louisiana’s greatest traditions - the pig! We will be in the kitchen bright and early to light the fires, soak the casings and begin the ritual of making boudin.
Everything from the amuse to the appetizer special will showcase our homemade boudin paired with the freshest of ingredients.
It will be a love fest of pork… an indulgence of everything good and delicious.
In the pantry for this week’s specials: Black Eye Peas, Parsnips, Soft Shell Crab, Home Made Boudin.
Specials for the Week of August 11, 2009:
Soup: Black Eye Pea and Boudin Gumbo
Meat: Boudin Cassoulet of Three Beans with Fried Pork Cracklings and Beurre Rouge
Seafood: Boudin Stuffed Soft Shell Crab Accompanied by Corn and Andouille Croquette, and Parsnip and Bacon Mash.
There’s something magical about sitting at a restaurant and receiving an unexpected offering without ever having to ask for it. A small bite meant to excite the palate and send your taste buds on a quest to discover the chef’s approach to cuisine. This explosive mouthful is known as the amuse bouche, literally translating to "mouth amuser" it is different from other hors d’oeuvres. They are not ordered from any menu, executed according to the executive chef’s selection, and the same for all guest. It’s the chips and dip of fine dinning, just enough lagniappe to capture your attention.
At Jolie’s Louisiana Bistro we celebrate this culinary tradition with a completely different attitude – the amuse guelle. The much more laid back version of its stuck up cousin, guelle is slang for mouth and is found in bistros and brasseries all over the world. It’s rustic, it’s raw and completely unpredictable. We strongly believe that there’s more to a kitchen then just one man. Behind every executive chef there’s a group of men and women whom without their dedication and hard work the entire concept would cease to exist. Each week we honor these young chefs in our kitchen by allowing them to showcase their skill, artistry and showmanship as they offer you a bit of insight into their individual cooking styles. Join us for dinner Tuesday through Thursday and try our amuse guelle of the week.
Jolie’s Louisiana Bistro is named after the painting titled “Jolie Blonde” (Pretty Blonde) by world-renowned artist George Rodrigue. Originally painted in 1974, Jolie Blonde depicts the artist's vision of the fictional Cajun woman. According to the song, written by a prisoner in Port Arthur, Texas in the 1920's, the pretty blonde woman left her Cajun lover for someone else.
Jolie’s features 30 Rodrigue painting reproductions of works he painted while living in Lafayette and starting his career. They depict the famous, and sometimes infamous, people who have influenced the history of our state. Also, on display are works that depict his popular dinner scenes, like the Aoili Dinner, and various other Louisiana themed pieces, such as the legendary Evangeline.
Jolie's offers a Contemporary Creole menu with traditional New Orleans favorites such as Oysters Bienville & Rockefellar, BBQ Shrimp, Turtle Soup and Redfish Amandine. They share the stage with flash fried Escargot en Brochette with Roasted Red Pepper Aioli, Poached Salmon with Sun Dried Tomato Tapenade, and Grilled Duck Breast with Black Cherry Madeira Demiglace.
Now you can choose to enjoy the “Cajun cool” vibe of the casual dining experience at Blue Dog Cafe Or, you can go for the more upscale and inviting “Louisiana chic” of Jolie’s Louisiana Bistro. Our sister restaurants are our way of bringing you the entire spectrum of incredible Louisiana cuisine, and two delightfully different dining experiences. Jolie's is the perfect place to get back in touch with your Louisiana heritage or to show your out of town guests the uniqueness of our local Acadiana culture.
Jolies Louisiana Bistro is owned by Steve and Suzi Santillo and George Rodrigue's two sons, Andre and Jacques.
