Food from New Orleans
How exciting…last weekend, I left the Rockies for a trip to New Orleans to see the sights and, most importantly, to eat the food! As a U.S. city that serves up a unique style of very American cuisine, New Orleans certainly offers eats worth mentioning here.
Personally, I visited some of the best-known, but least-expensive places (sorry Emeril). Here’s where I ate (in chronological order).
On the first night, we headed straight to the Acme Oyster House, but the line was out the door and onto the sidewalk — we settled for Felix’s across the street. Although Felix’s lacked ambiance and the water tasted terrible, the food was terrific. The oysters were super fresh and had a fine texture that slid down my mouth. The fried calamari was also superb. Afterward, we headed down Bourbon Street to join the revelry.
Raw oysters by missayumi on Flickr
My friends snagged hand grenades, (mixed drinks composed of rum, gin, vodka, grain alcohol, and melon liquor), which they claimed were super tart and quite strong. The best thing about them is their shape; they come in neon-green grenade-shaped plastic bottles — instant souvenir!
by Quicksilver1850 on Flickr
Late the next morning, we enjoyed a breakfast of beignets and cafe au lait at Cafe du Monde. Cafe du Monde, which is famous for its chicory-roasted coffee, was established in 1862, and, as far as I could tell, is a popular locale during all 24 hours a day that it’s open. The beignets at Cafe du Monde are, essentially, squares of fried dough, served hot and fresh, and smothered in confectioners sugar.
New Orleans - French Quarter: Café du Monde - Beignets by Wallyg on Flickr
Like beignets, New Orleans’ signature, chicory-flavored coffee was brought to Louisiana by the Acadians (French immigrants who had originally settled in the maritime provinces of Canada). According to the Cafe website, chicory is added to “soften the bitter edge of the dark roasted coffee.” Traditionally this coffee is cut with milk and served as cafe au lait. Although the beignets were good, they eventually didn’t agree with my stomach. I had two (they come in packs of three), but I think one would’ve sufficed.
Still plenty a little full from breakfast, I headed out to Mid-City for lunch at Mandina’s Restaurant. Mandina’s, which serves Creole and Italian dishes, was founded by Italian immigrants over 100 years ago. After a brief, natural-disaster-induced hiatus, the restaurant re-opened in 2007 as the Mid-City neighborhood began recovering from heavy damage inflicted by Hurricane Katrina. Immediately upon entering, I could understand why Mandina’s had become a neighborhood favorite. It emanated a laid-back, kid friendly atmosphere, and the interior was light and colorful.
Mandina's sign by Scrunchleface on Flickr
Fortunately, the prices were reasonable and the food was fantastic. I enjoyed the perfect texture of my seafood gumbo (not too thick and not too heavy), which was happily–though I warn some finicky eaters–chock full of okra. One of my friends had the tasty fried shrimp and another offered me a bite of Shrimp Creole, which was smothered in a delightful, spicy tomato sauce. We also devoured an appetizer of breadcrumb-and-butter-smothered crab legs. Although they were good, I actually thought the crab legs would have stood better on their own.
At night I attended a wedding, which had its own delightful collection of gumbo, seafood cakes, muffulettas, etc…I was happily getting used to eating this sort of food…or so I thought…
The next morning I made a terrible mistake and ate an entire po’boy between breakfast and lunch. It was expensive, and I didn’t want to waste it, but I should have stuck with half — it was so rich! The affronting sandwich came from Johnny’s Po’boys, a long-standing, diner-style shop in the French Quarter. Essentially the po’boy was constructed of French sub bread and freshly fried oysters, dressed (or topped with lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise.) The po’boy was absolutely delicious…it just didn’t sit well in my stomach afterward. If you visit the French Quarter, my recommendation is not to miss Johnny’s, just split a sandwich with a friend!
New Orleans - French Quarter: Johnny's Po-Boys - Fried Oyster Po-Boy by wallyg on Flickr
To make matters worse, more fried food was on the menu for dinner at Deanie’s Seafood. I started with an appetizer of mixed greens, lest I get scurvy from all the lack of produce on the trip. My husband ordered the soup of the day, which was corn and crab chowder — yum! Then, we split a shrimp platter, which was PLENTY big enough for the two of us. It was good, but by the time I polished off my allotted shrimp, I realized how foolish I had been; I spent the rest of the night with stomach upset.
Deanie’s is well known for its heaping seafood platters. Being fried seafood they are, naturally, delicious, but should be consumed after a light lunch and split among friends! (the picture below shows the HALF seafood platter)
Deanie's by Fuzzy Gerdes on Flickr
Now vowing to avoid fried food for the rest of my life, the next day, I insisted we lunch at the Gumbo Shop. This French Quarter cafe had some good press from a couple of my guide books, so I was eager to try it out. Overall, the dining room was dim, the service was poor, and everything smelled like a wet dishrag (and was mildly sticky). The tossed salad was okay, but the gumbo was unpleasantly goopey. The taste was not so bad though, and I did manage to eat a good deal before that gave me a stomach ache as well! I would not recommend the Gumbo Shop: steer clear.
Seafood gumbo by Lorenia on Flickr.
I couldn’t risk another stomach upset, so I wimped out and ordered pizza delivery for dinner.
It’s not worth mentioning what we ate in the airport, but I certainly wish I had brought some pralines on the plane. Pralines, which are quite prevalent in the French Quarter’s touristy shops, are a type of candy comprised of cream, brown sugar, and pecans that melts in your mouth in sweet, pecan-ey goodness–sounds yummy, huh? My favorite were the rum-flavored pralines. If anyone has a recipe for pralines that they would like to share, please share!
