A nice thick cut of watermelon is a symbol of summer and relief from it, all under one rind. Picture a bowl of watermelon glistening at the end of a picnic buffet or whole melons stacked along a roadside vendor’s dented tailgate, all green like gators and nearly as big. Conjure an image of kids spitting seeds into shaggy summer grass or of paper towels blushing pink with juice. Think about your first bite into the tip of a triangle of watermelon after you’ve worked up a thirst. It’s the look, smell and taste of simple summer pleasure.
There may be no way to improve on it. But that doesn't mean it isn’t fun to try, and this summer New Orleans has presented an abundant melon patch of examples.
Some take a light hand to the task. For instance, steer your eyes past the heartier fare of pimento cheese burgers and country gumbo at High Hat Café and on the specials board there you'll often find a salad that starts with a thick block of watermelon topped with sweet crab and finished off with torn mint and red onions. It tastes elemental and that tastes right.
Other dishes are more intricate, and they can sometimes turn the old familiar flavor into a surprise.
At Coquette, on Magazine Street, a fine dice of watermelon is pressed into mozzarella, under a ruffle of greens for one clean-lined summer salad. Underneath, there’s a much more vivid element - watermelon hot sauce, it splashes over the palate with fresh, spicy flavor.
On the other hand, watermelon becomes the antidote for peppery spice at MoPho, the Mid-City modern Vietnamese spot with the oh-so-memorable name. Here it gives light, cool body to a salad lashed with Thai chiles.
At Avo, an Italian restaurant Uptown in the old Martinique Bistro space, you’ll find watermelon as an unusual accompaniment to octopus. Picture a plump curl of tentacle artfully arrayed on the plate, and imagine how its charred ridges contrast against the cool, juicy burst of the melon.
But as offbeat pairings go, octopus has nothing on a new dish at SoBou, down in the French Quarter. Whose ready for watermelon and anchovies? Yes, stuck to the same skewer, SoBou puts deep red hunks of watermelon against the oily, strong fish flavor of the marinated white anchovies. It's an intense, back of the mouth bite that lands at the table with modernist gusto and brings an experimental edge to bar food.
Of course, a New Orleans summer can drive you to the sort of relief you can't get on a spoon or a fork. And so watermelon ends up in our drinks too. The watermelon margarita is usually a good call, though it’s the watermelon mojito that has lately been hitting the spot for me.
Pal’s Lounge, over by Bayou St. John, makes a definitive version. Start with rum, add pureed watermelon, soda, mint and….boom. It’s a grown up energy drink for the ages when New Orleans summer starts closing in.
Details on the restaurants and bars mentioned in today’s Where Y’Eat:
High Hat Café
4500 Freret St., 504-754-1336
Coquette
2800 Magazine St., 504-265-0421
MoPho
514 City Park Ave., 504-482-6845
Avo
5908 Magazine St., 504-509-6550
SoBou
310 Chartres St., 504-552-4095
Pal’s Lounge
949 N. Rendon St., 504-488-7257
