Last night I got to try out Angeline's Kitchen in Berkeley, a Louisiana soul food place where all the beer is served in ice cold mason jars. We only ordered some starters: garlic salted hush puppies and grilled boudin with mustard, greens and one tiny green tomato. The gumbo was spicy and flavorful, but I felt the shrimp taste and texture was a little lost in the thick brown roux. I, in fact, like the Gumbo at Brenda's better, but a Creole expert I am not.

The star for me were the brussel sprouts suprisingly. I've had only one really good experience with brussel sprouts, and that was at Bay Wolf, where the flavor, color and texture were absolutely clean and just tender without any bitterness. Their technique (so I've been told) is apparently to leaf every brussel sprout, discard the bitter core, and boil with just a lot of butter. But for some reason, no other restaurant, nor I myself, have been able to achieve a satisfactorily similar result. At Angeline's kitchen, the halved vegetables are (perhaps lightly steamed and) sauteed (or roasted) in brown butter and crispy sage cracklings. Not as fresh or light tasting as just plain brussel sprouts but definitely a fragrant hearty flavor. Below is a recipe according to the Real Simple folks. Angeline's grills 'em till the edges are brown and crispy.

2 pounds fresh Brussels sprouts (40 to 50 sprouts), trimmed and halved
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup coarsely chopped sage leaves (6 to 8 leaves)
1 generous teaspoon kosher salt, to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

In a large saucepan, add the sprouts to boiling salted water and cook until bright green and just tender, 6 to 8 minutes; drain and set aside. In a 12-inch skillet, over medium heat, melt the butter and cook until nutty brown in color, being careful not to burn it. Add the sage, stirring until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the sprouts, salt, and pepper. Toss to coat in the butter and cook until heated through, 5 to 7 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.