The College Inn Farm is a project that currently provides a variety of fresh produce. The focus of the farm changes seasonally. Herbs are a year round item of the farm and provide an ultra fresh compliment to our menu. The seasonality of the vegetables and fruits help enhance the creativity of our specials. Additionally, fresh farm eggs provide a great twist at times. Currently, nine Buff Orpington and four Rhode Island Reds reside at the farm providing us with a steady supply of rich, deep orange yolks. The flock, affectionately referred to as the Cock-a-doodle Convent, give some life to the grounds as they enjoy pecking about the farm searching for the goodies they enjoy. This traditional breakfast item is presented in unique ways for dinner, sometimes changing the common held perception of the egg.
David Grunfeld, The Times-Picayune
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Johnny Blancher
EXECUTIVE CHEF/VICE PRESIDENT OF YE OLDE COLLEGE INN RESTAURANT & BAR
What prompted you and your father to buy the historic Ye Olde College Inn in 2003?
“It was driven by our appreciation for a New Orleans icon and all the great old institutions we had growing up — and for the families that ran them. [My father owns] the Rock ‘N’ Bowl next door to Ye Olde College Inn, which had become one of those landmarks. So we felt like we had an understanding of what it was to be a part of that.”
Did reopening after Katrina mean a lot to locals?
“More than we ever imagined. It overwhelms me every now and then. We had regulars calling us, asking, ‘How’s this going to work? If I come back, are you going to be there?’”
What is it like being in the restaurant business in a foodcentric city like New Orleans?
“Everything revolves around where you eat next. At lunch, you talk about where you’re going to eat dinner. At dinner, you talk about where you’re going to eat tomorrow. It’s a pretty neat thing to be a part of.”
By Sam Polcer
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Best of Show: Ye Olde College Inn’s Bread Pudding Po-Boy
I made a beeline when we arrived to taste the bread pudding po-boy. It was a whole loaf of bread made into bread pudding, and somehow fried. It was pretty darned yummy.
Ye Olde College Inn also won last year’s Best of Show award, for their Fried Green Tomatoes and Shrimp Remoulade Po-boy.
The festival on Oak Street turnout was no doubt enhanced by the most spectacular weather imaginable. When I arrived at 11:45 a.m., there were already hundreds of people on the street in advance of the noon starting time, as some of the artists were still setting up, the beer trucks were still finding cups, and food booths were gearing up.
It looked like the crowds were just as plentiful as they were for the first festival, when 10,000 people packed Oak Street like sardines.This year, traffic flow was vastly improved, although still crowded in spots. My sometimes-cranky husband said the festival should ban bicycles, strollers and dogs, but for a free street festival, I can’t see it. In fact, there was a place for canine watering this year, so dogs were specifically welcome.
Several restaurants along the expanded five-block festival route were serving food other than po-boys, including the sushi restaurant Ninja and the new barbecue joint, Squeal, which even had a guy with a big sign standing out in the traffic touting their $8 ribs.
Another welcome innovation was the addition of two big dining tents, set off on side streets. The one history panel I managed to see, on the history of muffulettas, was excellent, but sparsely attended.
Judy Walker, Times Picayune
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By Angus Lind / Times-Picyune
June 10, 2008, 5:00AM
When the John Blancher family bought Ye Olde College Inn five years ago, little did they know that the cast of characters they were inheriting at the Carrollton Avenue restaurant and bar would rival Norm’s gang from TV’s “Cheers.”
Cartwright Eustis IV is such a regular at Ye Olde College Inn that the menu features a steak named after him, the chefs wear coats with his face embroidered on them, and his picture is in numerous pictures and drawings on the wall.
Chief among those is a round-faced, rosy-cheeked, pudgy, always-smiling, fun-loving cutup named Cartwright Eustis IV — a creature of habit who probably has logged more hours at College Inn than anyone else, with the exception of former owner Emile Ruffin, whose family began the business in 1933.
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By: Susan Langenhennig/Times-Picayune
May 16, 2008
A D.H. Holmes shopping bag is framed in a shadow box. A large painting pays tribute to Mr. Bingle. A quote from Ernie K. Doe — “I’m cocky but I’m good” — is scrawled across a wall plaque.
And general manager John Blancher II wears seersucker pants with his white chef’s coat as he greets guests on warm summer days in the dining room.
Fashion trends may come and go, but during sultry New Orleans summers, lightweight seersucker is always in style.
The striped cotton is so closely associated with the South in general, and the Crescent City in particular, that the Ogden Museum of Southern Art salutes the traditional summer suit during its annual Sippin’ in Seersucker fundraiser, held tonight at the Shops at Canal Place.
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In this episode of New Orleans Chefs, sponsored by DCS by Fisher & Paykel, Johnny Blancher from Ye Olde College Inn prepares barbecue shrimp.
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