Beignet done that

Art Culinaire, Spring, 2004 by Carol M. Newman

Louisiana, specifically New Orleans, is a swampy mix of sultry southern enchantment and French savoir faire. The state's politics are just as murky as its bayous. Both serve as the setting for a few sugary stories. Because when it comes to the "Big Easy", there's nothing that goes better with a beignet than a cafe au lait and a lot of voodoo politics.

An uncivif offering

In 1862, as the Civil War wrapped up, a French market coffee shop, by the name of Cafe du Monde, opened in New Orleans. It's signature seller-noticeably strong coffee. Legend says it was purposely made industrial strength to dissuade the delicate constitutions of an unwelcome Union militia. And what to serve with the strange brew, but beignets-essentially, a square donuts sans the hole! Think chicory coffee and a plate of three-because that's how they serve the fried fritter down there-perfect squares dusted with powdered sugar. According to Crescent City Beignets, the sweet originated with the Acadian French (who first settled South Louisiana.) With the civil war at hand, the pastries became a welcome treat-inexpensive and effortless to produce.

Visit Louisiana today and you'd be hard-pressed to sidestep French culture. This has been the case ever since 1682, when Frenchman Rene-Robert Cavalier arrived in the Mississippi River Valley and declared it the territory of France (naming it "Louisiane" in honor of Louis XIV). Louisiana was sold to the Americans in 1803, but the French influence has endured, served up with a little American attitude- and a whole lot of beignets.

Beignet backlash

When French President Jacques Chirac openly opposed the U.S.-led effort to invade Iraq in the Spring of 2003, all things French suddenly became a foe. French fries went stale. French wines forgone. The backlash reached its peak in mid-March, when Republican lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives decided to take control and rewriteno, not legislation-but cafeteria menus! Anything with the word, 'French' was replaced with 'freedom.' And in Louisiana? Republican State Representative, A.G. Crowe drafted a resolution to renig Jacques Chirac's invitation to attend the bicentennial celebration of the Louisiana Purchase. But where does this leave Louisiana's favorite French-fried fritter, the beignet?

A culinary coup d' etat

Beignets aren't in jeopardy if Massachusetts Senator John Kerry has anything to do with it. Beignets made the back page in the summer of 2003. Fox News Channel's managing editor and chief Washington correspondent Brit Hume reports that when the Massachusetts Senator and presidential candidate walked into a restaurant on Nantucket Island, an unnamed, but powerful Washingtonian was waiting for his order of Cod Fish Beignets. But for reasons unexplained, the waitstaff informed the VIP his dinner entree was no longer available. Smartly, the VIP asked the waiter if his order, (apparently the last serving), had been given away-to Kerry! The waiter confessed, "Yes," Senator Kerry couldn't wait any longer for his beignets.

I'm not very opinionated, am I?

Geoffrey Zakarian

The printed postcard that rests near the hostess stand in Town is titled, 'Still Life with a Glass of Water and Figs.' It was painted in 1888 by the late Zachary Zakarian, great-great uncle to--Geoffrey Zakarian.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Take one on your way in-or-out of Town. Just don't help yourself to the salt and pepper shakers. Or the flatware. Or the fine china. Unless, that is, you want a 400 dollar charge to appear on your credit card statement. And don't think it won't.

"We catch people taking things all the time. When we know we're going to catch someone, I come out of the kitchen and stand so I can see their reaction. I'll say something like, 'I'm flattered you like our place settings so much!' And they look at me mortified. Those are some of my most enjoyable times. Those salt and pepper shakers cost us a fortune. I'm not going to sell them at cost. Retail is a 50 percent markup."

Spoken like someone who carned one of his three degrees in business.

His chef's coat is embroidered with his initials only: GZ. So too might his line of pots, pans and plates he plans to design. "I love fashion and food. I read more fashion magazines than any woman I know." Blending these two loves, 'GZ' even consulted briefly for The Gap, when branding strategy called for juice bars and cafes in selected stores. "I take as much inspiration from Helmut Lang as I do from Alain Ducasse."

But who needs supermodels and a catwalk when there is ambiance and food just as sexy? Walk down-'Town' on the vertical runway--the staircase--to the sub-basement. This is the dining room and Zakarian's stage. "No girls running around in mid-drifts here. That's not what I'm about. We're all professionals."

And Zakarian is a pro. Being partners with the Chambers hotel (call it Town & Chambers), means he's responsible for the mood of anyone who walks through those heavy mahogany doors.

"If a customer receives bad treatment at the hotel, it reflects on me. And if he has bad treatment at the restaurant, they go piss at the hotel. They (the customer) rightly assume we are one entity. If I go to an establishment, it better be good. If it isn't, fix it. My customers spend a lot of money. We have to work hard here."