About halfway through a plate of jambalaya at Pearl’s Southern Comfort, it occurred to me that I’d never given much thought to the distinction between Cajun and creole cuisines. In fact, I’ve probably used the terms interchangeably, which makes me a terrible southerner. (Well, that and defecting to Chicago.)
The Becks were already serving Louisiana-style dishes at Toons, which is known for having better fare than the average fried-food feed trough—there are po’ boys on the menu along with nachos and mozzarella sticks. But chef de cuisine Dan Finelli, with the help of consultant Jonathan Zaragoza—formerly of Masa Azul and his family’s restaurant, Birrieria Zaragoza—has expanded the po’boy repertoire to include cochon de lait and fried shrimp. Unless you have a maw of Martha Raye proportions, eating either sandwich as you’d typically eat a sandwich presents a challenge. In the former, moist smoked and shredded suckling pig is piled high between a bisected baguette, and then a layer of creamy, celery-seed-rich slaw is heaped on for good measure. With some effort, it’s possible to clamp your jaws around the behemoth.
For dessert, peach cobbler served with whipped cream has a surprising amaretto-like flavor that deepens the taste of the tart fruit. Similarly, the Hurricane packs an extra fruity punch, likely from one bartender’s heavy hand with the passion-fruit syrup. The Animal Instinct, a concoction of bacon-infused whiskey, raspberry, and molasses syrup tastes vaguely like a wet frying pan smells after breakfast. If you like whiskey, stick with the Sazerac.
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