Eating My Way Through New Orleans

There is no doubt that the city of New Orleans lives within me.  Almost 25 years ago I took my very first trip there.  A little piece of my heart and soul stayed - and I return as often as I can to visit the city that holds my heart! 

 

On our most recent trip we tried to eat at restaurants at which we hadn't eaten before.  We have always had amazing meals in NOLA - and this time was no exception.  Just gives me more places to add to my list of recommendations.  In the past we have eaten at Emeril's, NOLA, Delmonico, Dickie Brennan's Steakhouse, Muriel's, Commander's Palace, Court of Two Sisters and Bayona - to name a few.  We've had Po-Boy's at Johnny's, Mother's and Parasol's.  All of them delicious.  But, as I mentioned, we wanted to try places to which we hadn't been before.  So, here is a visual tour of some of our best meals on our most recent visit to The Big Easy!

 

Kingfish

 

We celebrated my birthday at Kingfish, in the French Quarter.  Fabulous appetizers, which I neglected to take photos of.  But, the main course - a hearty 14oz RibEye Steak with Guava Butter French Fries... that was heavenly.  The steak was cooked to perfection with a touch of creamy horseradish on top and olive salad confit.  Wow!  This was wonderful!

 



 

Café Du Monde

No trip to NOLA would be complete without several visits for Beignet's and Café Au Lait.  Sooooo wonderful!!

 

 

Parkway Bakery

I neglected to take photos of the Surf & Turf Po-Boys that we consumed. (I was too busy eating and enjoying it!) Think delectable fall apart roast beef with a touch of gravy and mounds of grilled shrimp.  Oh My!  They were so good!  My son had the alligator sausage po-boy.  He loved it.  Of course, you MUST request your Po-Boys be "dressed".  (That means it has lettuce, tomato, pickles, and mayonnaise; onions are optional. Non-seafood po' boys will also usually have mustard; the customer is expected to specify "hot" or "regular"—the former being a coarse-grained Creole mustard and the latter being American yellow mustard.)  This wonderful neighborhood find is in Bayou St. John.  We will definitely return here on our future visits.

 

 

 

Atchafalaya

I wanted to go here for my birthday brunch - but waited too long to request reservations.  But, that's alright... it just extended the celebration by another day.  (Oh, who am I kidding... I celebrate my birthday for at least a month... and we've begun working up to "birthday season".  LOL)  The breakfast was so good.  Each of us had a version of Egg's Benedict - but Café Atchafalaya style.  I had Egg's Atchafalaya which was served on Fried Green tomatoes with lump meat crab. My son had the Eggs Treme and a side Alligator Sausage.  This was served on Boudin Cakes with Popcorn Crawfish.  The hubby had The Boudreaux which was served on Jalapeno Cornbread cakes with Alligator Sausage.  

 

 

 

They have an amazing Bloody Mary Bar!  Think "Salad Bar" but for your Bloody Mary's.  When you order one they bring the glass of vodka to your table, on ice.  You then build your own Bloody Mary by picking and choosing between three different mixes - Mild, Spicy and the House Green.  And, you get to add whatever garnishes you desire from the excellent and varied choices of vegies and garnishes.  We loved these!  (I had the Spicy on the left - and Hubby had the House Green)

 

 

 

 Commander's Palace

While we wanted to eat at "new to us" restaurants - we couldn't resist going to Commander's for their $.25 martini lunch.  We ate in the Garden Room - which is beautiful.  I had requested the Upstairs Garden Room - which I like even more - but they weren't sitting upstairs that day. 

We began with the famous martini's.  Vodka Please - Dirty - Three Olives.

 

For lunch, I had a Crab Boiled Seafood Tamale, Hubby had the Pickled Shrimp and Avocado Salad with Mango.  My son had Beef Carpaccio Panzanella Salad... and the guys had Chicken & Andouille Gumbo for starters (not pictured) and I had the Famous Turtle Soup... Heavenly.  We topped it all off with Baked Bread Pudding Souffle - AMAZING!

Commander's Palace is in the Garden District.  We usually take a cab there - so we don't have to worry about timing.  But, then we take the St. Charles Streetcar back after strolling through the area a bit.  Makes for a lovely day.
 

 

La Boca

Ok... this was INCREDIBLE!  La Boca is an Argentina Style Steakhouse in the Warehouse District and Zagat rated it the best steakhouse in New Orleans.

We started with the Gaucho Plate for appetizers - again, I was too busy eating to remember to take a photo.  The plate contained sausage, steak bites and sweet breads.  Everything was spectacular. 

When serving the steaks, they bring around a selection of steak knives and allow you to choose your own "weapon".  That was kind of fun!  All of our steaks were cooked to perfection.  No frills here - just delicious, mouth watering steaks.  (and the asparagus and French fries were pretty delicious too!) 

 

 

 

Herbsaint

We had a delicious dinner at Herbsaint on St. Charles in The Warehouse District. The Men had the Top RibEye with Fries - Oh My Goodness... that was the MOST amazing steak EVER! More like a tenderloin or Filet Mignon... Incredibly tender and delicious. I had Chicken & Andouille Gumbo and Shrimp with Tasso Ham Collard Greens served over the creamiest Grits I've ever had. Wonderful. Oh - I might have washed it all down with my very first Pimms Cup. Yum-O. Fantastic dinner with excellent service! Definite recommend!

 

 

 

Café Adelaide & Swizzle Stick Bar

Café Adelaide is on the corner of Poydras and S. Peters.  It is located in the Loew's hotel.  This is another Brennan's Restaurant - and they also participate in the fabulous $.25 martini lunch.  The food was delicious and the service and atmosphere were excellent.

Hubby had a Dirty Martini and I opted for a Cosmopolitan this time.  OK, we both had more than one... but we WERE on vacation after all!  ;-)

The Hubby and I both started with the Mojito Melon Salad. Wow! I have been working to recreate this one at home!  I think I've just about perfected it.  So, look for my recipe in the next few days.  Hubby had the Jalapeno Jelly Lacquered Chicken. I had the Black Skillet Roasted Drum with Spring Succotash and Son had the Chargrilled Skirt Steak Salad. Everything was Very Very Good!
 

 

 

 

 

Cocktails at The Carousel Bar in The Hotel Monteleone

After an afternoon of strolling through the French Quarter, we stopped at The Hotel Monteleone for a cocktail in The Carousel Bar. (Vodka Tonic's) It is delightful and a must see.  One of our favorite places to visit when in town.  The hotel is beautiful too.  So, if you're looking for accommodations in The French Quarter - this is one of my favorites. 

Muriel's

For our "last supper" we ate at Muriel's on Jackson Square. We have dined here for lunch on previous visits - but this was our first time having dinner there.

Hubby had New Orleans barbeque shrimp enhanced with Abita beer and rosemary; served with a chipotle-parmesan grit cake.  Son had the Wood Grilled Tournedos of Beef, which was Three Tournedos topped with a choron, au poivre and a chasseur sauce, with smoked bleu cheese mashed potatoes.  And I had Pan Seared Maple Leaf Duck Breast with Duck confit dirty rice and a fig reduction sauce . 

Everything was wonderful.  But, I resisted the urge to take photos.  My son was a little "over" us taking photos at every meal and felt that I was not displaying good table manners and that I was acting like a tourist.  Gotta love a teenager!  In any case - I promised him I wouldn't take photos at this dinner - so I didn't.  But, trust me... it looked and tasted amazing!

 

So, another adventure to the City that Care Forgot has come to an end.  It always saddens me when I have to say good bye to this beautiful city.  As usual, I cried on the way to the airport - and I'm already trying to plan our next trip back.  It gives me something to look forward too!

Until we meet again -

Au Revoir!