Once again, the month almost escaped me. I complained constantly during the lockdown about forced idleness but now find I’m now out of practice when it comes to actually getting things done. Around town, business continues to pick up in the food world and people seem to have gotten used to the frequent outbreaks of nearly symptomless COVID that now afflict us. In truth, basketball was the antidote to most aggravations around here this spring, except perhaps for the disruptions to traffic caused by public works. Even the most civic minded of us were angry at least once a day as that trundled along. But enough whining.
First, some sad news. It looks like my friends at Lime and Basil on Franklin Street have decided to hang it up. I haven’t seen owner Tuan Le to ask him about it, but you can no longer get takeout and there is a simple closed sign on the door. I’ll miss it very much. It was always good and was remarkably affordable. Tuan bought the restaurant from an uncle, who started it. He’s a cool, hardworking guy and I wish him well.
I got back by Imbibe on Henderson Street last week on Monday. That’s the night you can hear swanky, sophisticated jazz from musicians like Danny Grewen, Robert Griffin and Chris Frank. And you never know who else might turn up. The music was complemented that night by Mandey Brown’s delicious Crawfish Bread. The place is getting a sprucing up too, with a big mural and a new awning.
At long last, I also got back to Mama Dip’s for fried chicken. When I first retired, I imagined cooking all kinds of favorite foods like this at home. Wrong. First of all, it’s hard to cook a small amount of fried chicken and then what do you do with all of that oil? I go back a long way with the Council family. When we moved the Cradle down Rosemary Street after being evicted from our first location, we shared a building. We were in the back and Dip’s was in the front. This was handy to say the least. There was good food up front. Our bands didn’t start up until Dip’s was closed so we never had any noise problems. And I got to be friends with Spring and Neecy and the rest of Mrs. Council’s children. We still are friends, and now Erika Council, her granddaughter, is also a friend and colleague. She owns Bomb Biscuits in Atlanta. Last fall she and I got to work together making oyster sliders for the annual Oyster South fundraiser that supports small oyster farmers.
On that note, I’ll leave you with a favorite oyster recipe that I got from my friend Moreton Neal’s father, Henry Hobbs.
Oysters in Champagne
- 3 dozen oysters, well-scrubbed and rinsed
- 2 cups Champagne or other sparkling wine
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 generous teaspoon curry powder
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Shuck the oysters and save them in their juice. Rinse the shells and reserve the deeper half of each one. When you are ready to eat, put the empty shells in a hot oven. Put the Champagne in a saucepan and bring it a gentle simmer. Arrange the warmed shells on plates. Gently slide the oysters into the simmering wine along with a little of their juice, maybe half a cup. Cook them just until they begin to curl a little, one minute max. Put one oyster into each warmed shell.
Turn the heat to high and quickly whisk in the curry and butter. Whisk vigorously as the wine reduces a little. Sprinkle the oysters with salt and pepper. Add the parsley to the sauce and spoon a little over each oyster. Serve at once. Poached oysters don’t sit well for long, so you may want to bring these to the table in small batches. Drink the rest of the Champagne with them.
“Just The Bill, Please” is a regular column on Chapelboro.com penned by local culinary legend Bill Smith. Born and raised in New Bern, Bill Smith spent 25 years heading up the kitchen in Crook’s Corner — and over the years, he accumulated the accolades to match his incomparable takes on classic Southern food.
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