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2 2 | t h e c l e v e r r o o t CONTRARY TO HOPE, taking my Young Scholar on a tour of potential colleges is not one of life's most memorable experiences. I quickly realized that every tour is pretty much the same. An hour spent in an auditorium listening to details about cost, study abroad, cost, housing and, yes, cost, followed by an hour following a tour guide who walks backwards, pointing out the student union, the engineering building, the sta- dium—and, of course, the cost. It doesn't take long for it all to blend into one . . . long . . . tour—an Educational Slog. To survive the tedium, I turned my thoughts to where to eat when it was all over. In each city, around every campus, restaurants abound. Many are chains. But with a frisson of creativity, good eats can be found. Indeed, very good eats were found. I may not remember the business school. But I do remember the beef, chicken, seafood, vegetables—and always that much-needed glass of wine. And so, on a journey to see the schools of New Orleans, it was joyous going, first of all, to the restaurants of chef/restaurateur Donald Link. I got to two of his three restaurants—Herbsaint will have to wait for my next visit. But much happiness was to be found going to Cochon and Pêche—both in the Warehouse District not far from the French Quarter, and both a denial of the sense that the cooking of N'Awlins is all about butter, cream and the deep fryer. Cochon is the realm of smoked pork ribs with watermelon pickle, fried boudin with pickled peppers and onion braised pork cheeks with grits—not one of which was priced above $15. Pêche, not surprisingly, is about seafood—catfish with pickled greens, craw- fish and jalapeño cappellini, spicy ground shrimp with noodles. And both were a warmup for my best meal in New Orleans—the Modern Israeli restaurant called Shaya (named Best New Restaurant at the 2016 James Beard Awards), where the hummus is worthy of an Old Testament prophet, topped variously with curried fried cauliflower, lamb ragu, butternut squash and more. And the sabich sandwich is the best this side of Tel Aviv. And then, it was up to New York, where the choice of restaurants around NYU is encyclopedic—there are wonders to be found at Mighty Quinn's BBQ, where the burnt ends could inspire a seminar, and at Momofuku Ssäm Bar, with its amazing rotisserie duck and seven-spice brisket buns. The options aren't nearly as fine uptown at Colum- bia. But just a short Uber ride south of the campus, there's Fishtag, a restaurant by Chef Michael Psilakis, which sits slightly underground in an Upper West Side brown- stone, and where Psilakis ventures away from his usual Greek cooking and into the realm of smoked fish and charcuterie, smoked octopus with hearts of palm and grilled branzino stuffed with (of all things) head cheese. It's an education in thinking outside the culinary box. And we hadn't even gotten to Boston yet—where the dining, like the college scene, offers experience that could merit a post-graduate degree. Chef Alon Shaya's new restaurant, Shaya, located in New Orleans, LA, was named Best New Restaurant at the James Beard Awards. Bacala and skordalia brandade melt from Fishtag in NYC. PHOTO: GRAHAM BLACKAL Shakshuka from the Modern Israeli res- taurant called Shaya in New Orleans. TOURING COLLEGE CAMPUSES BY FOLLOWING OUR PALATES by Merrill Shindler WHERE WE'RE EATING Eating Smart ■cr