Tucked down a side street behind Cochon on Tchoupitoulas Street, Butcher reads like a deli, like the uptown Martin's Wine Cellar but smaller and with a decidedly more food-snob appeal. Tall boys and stools it across from the deli counter and service bar where friendly hipsters take your order for pork belly sandwiches, bacon melts, boudin and house-made hot dogs (I was personally present at the inception of Stephen Stryjewski's hotdog creation years ago at a contest among local chefs; it was great to see it in commercial form on the menu here) as well as your Abita, Sessions Lager, Tito's vodka et al.
On the menu for me, my dear friend MCF and a new Austin acquaintance was the aforementioned boudin, served hot with course Creole mustard and electric green pickles; that fabulous hot dog covered in what looked like a bean based chili, green onions, cheese, etc etc etc; a plate of melt-in-your-mouth head cheese with crusty bread and more Creole mustard; and a few drinks to begin our weekend back in town.
I'm glad we arrived when we did; after 11:30 the line stretched out the door and we had hungry patrons breathing down our necks for a shot at our tallboy. We befriended our friendly bartender over lunch and he bequeathed us with two delicious cookies on the way out: classic white chocolate chip and snickerdoodle that were still moist when this writer indulged this evening.
Definitely ch-ch-ch-check it next time you find yourself wandering in the Warehouse District, just get there with plenty of time to wait and an aggressive approach to table poaching!
Cochon Butcher, 930 Tchoupitoulas Street, New Orleans, LA
