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From Shrimp to Taffy, Food Finds Mean Sweet Support for the Gulf
At left, frozen shrimp from Desporte & Sons; at right, the Haydel's Bakery Russian cake.
(Photos By Julia Ewan -- The Washington Post)
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Ten years after the Roman Chewing Candy cart debuted in New Orleans, bank teller Henry Kepler started importing coffee beans into the French Quarter and roasting them according to precise shades, temperatures and timetables. Eighty-one years later, his grandson, Robert Lutz, is continuing to sell the city's Try Me Coffee, despite having to completely rebuild after Katrina.
His wife, Cynthia Crifasi, is one of the firm's four employees. "Our building was a total gut job," she said, estimating that it cost the family $100,000 to resume business after the hurricane. "We had no loans and no outside help." The original roasters had to be stripped, cleaned and retooled.
Their loyal customers stood by them. The employees roast beans on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, in quantities as small as 10 pounds. They ship orders within hours to ensure freshness. Their most popular coffee is Ruth's Blend, a Columbia Supremo blend chosen by legendary restaurateur Ruth Fertel, founder of Ruth's Chris Steak House. It's a medium-shade roast with very low acidity and is sold as whole beans or ground for a bargain $5.85 for 14 ounces. A decaf version is $6.40 for 14 ounces.
Try Me Coffee Mills, 504-945-4314;http:/
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The shrimp boats along the shores of Gulfport and Biloxi remain hard hit. Several once-flourishing fleets are down to a single boat. Desporte & Sons, which has been in business for 108 years, had its nearly new building in Biloxi reduced to a shell by Katrina.
"We had to start over, but we're still here," said Artie Desporte, whose great-grandfather began the business. Using FedEx next-day delivery, the firm ships every manner of seafood: shrimp, peeled or unpeeled, with or without heads; crabs, picked or live; oysters by the 100-pound sack or shelled, in gallons and quarts; and a variety of fish. The prices are bargains by Washington standards: five pounds of peeled medium shrimp (70 to 90 per pound) cost $20.
A welcome gift would be a gallon of Desporte's homemade gumbo or crawfish etouffee, made from recipes devised by his mother, Shirley. Each costs $35 a gallon and arrives frozen. The gumbo is filled with shrimp, crabmeat, okra and oysters and is mildly spicy. The etouffee has a butter roux base and a large dash of cayenne pepper. Both stews are customarily served over steamed rice.
Desporte & Sons Seafood Inc., 228-432-1018. Accepts all credit cards.
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A kringle is an oval Danish or Norwegian pastry ring that is most often found in Racine, Wis., and is a welcome addition to any holiday breakfast. New Orleans's venerable Haydel's Bakery makes a Cajun version, filled with praline cream cheese and studded with pecans. Haydel's, which closed for a month after the storm, sends a package of French roast coffee with the kringle for $28.95, delivered by UPS the next day.
Its five-layer chocolate cream-filled Doberge cake makes an impressive holiday dessert, for $46.95 delivered. Chef David Haydel, the third generation of Haydels to run the bakery, also has created an unusual Russian cake: a delicious combo of almond, chocolate and yellow cakes, bound with raspberry jelly, rum and anise and frosted with buttercream. It costs $35.95, also including next-day delivery.
If you don't order by holiday time, remember that Jan. 6 begins king cake season. Haydel's is among a dozen area bakeries that will ship the braided yeast rings, decorated with gold, green and purple sugars; the price of $36.49 includes a pack of French roast coffee, a Mardi Gras guide, carnival beads and next-day delivery.
Haydel's Bakery, 800-442-1342;http:/
Margaret Engel of Bethesda is co-author with Allison Engel of "Food Finds: America's Best Local Foods and the People Who Produce Them" (HarperCollins). The book is the basis of the Food Network show "Food Finds."
