On the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain in Covington, seasoned local chefs Carl Schaubhut and Jean-Pierre Guidry are blending local and global flavors at the casual yet sophisticated Bacobar, their international street food concept.
The contemporary menu is filled with innovative yet approachable dishes and cocktails that highlight the chefs’ favorite ingredients in new and exciting ways. They even offer a “Bacopedia” to help patrons understand some of the international street food fusions that may be unfamiliar territory. For instance, there is the bäco, a combination of an Asian steamed bun, or bao, and a taco. Carl and Jean-Pierre stretch the limits of Cajun and Creole cookery by infusing their creations with Asian and Latin flavors, turning out items like Gumbo Ramen, which combines a dark seafood gumbo “that any grandmother would approve” with Asian ingredients such as fermented Korean chile paste, ramen, and shiitake mushrooms.
“The idea was to take ingredients that we love to use and cuisines we love to eat, and build a menu off of that with no real limitations,” Carl says. “What we’re trying to do at Bacobar…is to be something that people can’t just find down the street.”
