New Orleans Food and Drink Thread

[hornian 5293]

I just booked my flights and rental car for Weekend 1 of JazzFest. 

[NOMAAA 1700]

9 minutes ago, hornian said:

I just booked my flights and rental car for Weekend 1 of JazzFest. 

love it. 

why you getting a car? 

[hornian 5293]

3 minutes ago, NOMAAA said:

love it. 

why you getting a car? 

Because I have 3 kids that I take on the trip, and we do stuff outside of just go to Quarter/JazzFest. 

[NOMAAA 1700]

dang!  yeah that would help!

[horn4life 3838]

28 minutes ago, hornian said:

Because I have 3 kids that I take on the trip, and we do stuff outside of just go to Quarter/JazzFest. 

One place we went consistently when my Daughter and her husband lived there was Superior Seafood.  Stop # 24 on the St Charles Line. But plenty of street parking around it.  If your hotel is walking distance to the Trolly you could ride the trolly to sightsee for a while with the kids to get the old New Orleans vibe. Then end up at Superior Seafood for happy hour, $1 oysters (might be more now) and large frozen drinks for price of small.  Frozen French 75 is pretty damn delicious, and you can keep the glasses for souvenirs/roadies.  I would make a reservation for a party of 5, especially if it's during JazzFest.   

[hornian 5293]

5 minutes ago, horn4life said:

One place we went consistently when my Daughter and her husband lived there was Superior Seafood.  Stop # 24 on the St Charles Line. But plenty of street parking around it.  If your hotel is walking distance to the Trolly you could ride the trolly to sightsee for a while with the kids to get the old New Orleans vibe. Then end up at Superior Seafood for happy hour, $1 oysters (might be more now) and large frozen drinks for price of small.  Frozen French 75 is pretty damn delicious, and you can keep the glasses for souvenirs/roadies.  I would make a reservation for a party of 5, especially if it's during JazzFest.   

Thanks for the recommendation. 

My kid's favorite place these days is Parkway Tavern - so we go there most trips. Need a car (or an uber) to get there. 

[msucolt45 4227]

If in the Garden District area, Joey K’s, on Magazine is a good lunch spot. They have daily specials as well as regular menu items.

We also went to Cochon for a lunchtime break at the WW2 museum. Thanks for the recommendation!

Hook’em!!!

[utee94 16081]

1 hour ago, horn4life said:

One place we went consistently when my Daughter and her husband lived there was Superior Seafood.  Stop # 24 on the St Charles Line. But plenty of street parking around it.  If your hotel is walking distance to the Trolly you could ride the trolly to sightsee for a while with the kids to get the old New Orleans vibe. Then end up at Superior Seafood for happy hour, $1 oysters (might be more now) and large frozen drinks for price of small.  Frozen French 75 is pretty damn delicious, and you can keep the glasses for souvenirs/roadies.  I would make a reservation for a party of 5, especially if it's during JazzFest.   

+1 on Superior Seafood, it's really good and the happy hour specials are a welcome break for my wallet...

[horn4life 3838]

22 minutes ago, msucolt45 said:

If in the Garden District area, Joey K’s, on Magazine is a good lunch spot. They have daily specials as well as regular menu items.

We also went to Cochon for a lunchtime break at the WW2 museum. Thanks for the recommendation!

Hook’em!!!

I meant to also mention the WWII museum.  I think everyone should go there, and learn about history.  Interesting one thing I did not really realize was the politics of the time pre-WWII.  We were a very divided nation on intervention into "The war in Europe." Where Hitler has mostly taken over the continent and the only reason public sentiment didn't allow Hitler to take over Europe was the Japanese attack on Peal harbor.  I grew up scouring two huge coffee table WWII boots divided into Europe and the Pacific, and I knew the politics in Europe and about Hitler's rise. But I was surprised that we politically were going to "sit this one out"  and I didn't really know that before the visit.  We went during covid, and I wish I had at least for myself gotten the cheaper second day return ticket.  I did not sit and watch a lot of the small films as I would normally have. Plus second day I could skip past most of the crowd to the second half of the exhibit. One cool thing that Kids would like is you "follow" a person in the war with a playing card they give you.  So you can hear details about your specific person you are following after the opening "train ride."  So it's interactive to some degree which is interesting.  I really good museum. Highly recommended.

Cochon for Lunch is also a great suggestion, we enjoyed it. Even got to see them roll in a side of hog.

With kids I also might recommend Dat Dog they have several locations but solid food., like a torchy's or hopdoddy of hot dogs.  I also might make a special effort and get some to go from a place simply called Cajun Seafood. I am pretty sure they have multiple locations, in mostly lower rent areas. But damn, the po-boys we got were frigging huge and stuffed with shrimp.  

 

[closetojumping 65407]

I was in New Orleans Thursday afternoon through Sunday morning. We had an excellent time eating and drinking well, gambling and generally just doing New Orleans shit. I've spoilered my thoughts on the food experiences since it's way too wordy for the tl;dr crowd, but wanted to follow-up on some of the restaurants talked about often on this thread.

Spoiler

Thursday at lunch, we went to Parkway. Someone up thread said they'd heard it had fallen off a bit. I don't claim to be a poboy connoisseur but the oyster and shrimp poboy I had was outstanding. Someone may be doing them better, but I don't think it takes long to call roll on the best poboys in NOLA before you get to these guys still. 

We went to GW Fins on Thursday night. Been to NOLA numerous times and had never tried this place. Hell, never noticed it. You guys on this thread rec'd it and it was the best meal we had, easily. We had lobster dumplings and snapper ceviche for apps. The dumplings were velvety and delicious. My wife said she'd order them as her meal next time and I mocked that, since they were too rich for one skinny chick to get through. Their lobster bisque was also as good as lobster bisque can get. I had the dry-aged tuna ribeye for the entree. I'd never seen something like that, and it was ridiculously priced, but it was worth it and I couldn't even finish the damned thing. Wife had the "Scalibut". I tried that and I won the entree round, but I would take the Scalibut over any other entree either of us had during the weekend. Will go back.

Did our own sort of "original drinks of New Orleans" drinking tour on Friday. Had Pimm's Cups at Napoleon House and ate muffaletta there. I like going there and people watching at that particular corner. Saw a fist fight between two bros from two different bachelor parties at Pat O's while drinking a hurricane. Glad I'm not in that cycle of life anymore. Vieux Carres at Carousel, etc., and so forth. 

We went to Compere Lapin on Friday night after being wishy-washy about it due to recent reviews on it. I have to say, this was the least favorite meal for us on the trip. The pig ears were excellent, but the snapper collar simply wasn't good. My wife had curried goat and it was tangy, gamey, jerky and excellent. I had the short rib pepper pot and calling it mediocre would be putting it nicely. Somehow, the short rib was dry and overcooked. Compere is extremely proud of their wines. No big deal, but if you're going to do a super mark-up, it should be accompanied by amazing food and atmosphere. I feel like there are 10 restaurants that feel like this place, with better food, in Houston or Austin right now. Would not go back.

Another disappointment was La Petit Grocerie for brunch. The drinks were great, but the food less so. We've done the blue crab beignets before and think they're overrated, so we went with some snapper tartare, which was excellent, and a turnip-parsley soup, which they shouldn't even be serving. It was damned near sweet and the consistency was of baby food. I've had soup there and it's always been great. They had a sheepshead sandwich special that they bragged on. I used to catch sheepshead wade fishing in Galveston and Texas City growing up and we'd just throw them back. I saw sheepshead on several menus so, what the hell, I ordered it. There is a reason we thought sheepshead was trash fish and threw them back. I ate two bites of the sandwich and then just focused on the fries. Finally, we ordered a butterscotch pudding because, if I ever see it on a menu, it's getting ordered. I should have paid attention to the smaller text. They cover the pudding in bits of popcorn. Christ. The pudding was awesome when you could get to it. Anyway, we always go to LPG and will probably go back at some point, but we were surprised by how mediocre it was this time. Next time my wife wants to go shopping in the garden district, we'll go to Lilette for lunch, as many folks were raving about it.

Finally, we went to Herbsaint due to the recs on this thread. It was terrific. We liked GW Fins more, but this place was great. We had fried oysters and baked asiago for apps. You can get fried oysters anywhere, and I do, but I really liked the way they did these. The breading was lighter and the sauce was excellent. Baked asiago is like baked brie, so it was up my wife's alley and fine. I had the duck confit and my wife had redfish for entrees. Both were top notch, if not unique for NOLA menus. 

Anyway, we had a great time and won at the craps tables. It was nice to get back and have some terrific food. Thanks for the recs on this thread. 

 

[South Austin 53222]

Good write up.  I've been to Compere Lapin four times, three were great, one was so-so.  I've probably read a bigger swing of reviews on that place than any other in New Orleans. 

I need to try Herbsaint next time.  We went there the last time as part of some bar-hopping before dinner and had a drink and appetizer.  The drinks were meh and I don't recall being intrigued with the menu.  But a lot of folks love it, it's not far from the hotel we frequent, and we like Peche and Cochon, two other Donald Link restaurants.

[GreenspointTexas 9968]

Cant go wrong with any BRG restaurants, Donald Link Restaurants, or Alon Shaya Restaurants

[closetojumping 65407]

25 minutes ago, South Austin said:

Good write up.  I've been to Compere Lapin four times, three were great, one was so-so.  I've probably read a bigger swing of reviews on that place than any other in New Orleans. 

I need to try Herbsaint next time.  We went there the last time as part of some bar-hopping before dinner and had a drink and appetizer.  The drinks were meh and I don't recall being intrigued with the menu.  But a lot of folks love it, it's not far from the hotel we frequent, and we like Peche and Cochon, two other Donald Link restaurants.

I didn't think about it, but I would rank Peche, then Herbsaint, then Cochon, personally. 

You talking about bar hopping reminds me of something else. We got to GWF early and took seats at the bar. We didn't really notice the couple next to us until we'd been seated for about 60 seconds. Given more time to pay attention, it became clear this couple was either drunk, high, or both, and they had an active argument going on with one of the bartenders. The broad was wearing a t-shirt and had a Lafitte's plastic cup that she was drinking out of and the dude had fishnet cap on and a beer in a plastic cup.

They were trending towards belligerent. It felt like things were ultimately going to end badly, and then the hostess walks up to them and says "your reservation is ready" and takes them to a table where they sat and uneventfully ate their meal. You only see shit like that in a few places where it is more or less "normal", NOLA and Vegas being the two that immediately spring to mind. I think that's part of what it makes it fun to me, just watching people behaving ridiculously while all of the locals have the "Yep, same shit as always" attitude carrying on with their business. 

[Storm the Field 5366]

Have a 3-day trip to NOLA with several other couples coming up next weekend. Haven't been back since a bachelor party in 2020, literally the weekend before COVID ground everything to a halt. Been close to a decade since I've been for a "relaxing" weekend (vs. guys trip/bachelor party).

Need to catch up on this thread for some dining ideas. We're doing a private group dinner at Calcasieu one night, but so far, that's pretty much the only meal that's been pre-planned.

[HenryJames 67337]

10 hours ago, closetojumping said:

I saw sheepshead on several menus so, what the hell, I ordered it.

[kevwun 16438]

Sheepshead is a very underrated fish.  It has a really good texture.

[texashorne 1194]

On 3/21/2023 at 10:30 PM, Stringer said:

La Petite Grocery - Our first stop in town and it was very solid.  The blue crab beignets were great as were the biscuits.  

Do you need to make a reservation for a Thursday lunch? 

[Jack Straw 2955]

 

shrimp and coconut milk grits with paprika curry and andouille at MOPHO

 

peacemaker po-boy at Mahony's - shrimp, oyster, cheddar, candied bacon

 

heirloom tomato and crab salad at coquette

 

beef short rib at coquette

 

[South Austin 53222]

Nice.  I'm guessing that New Orleans is hot and sweaty as fuck right now, but that food makes it worth it.

[closetojumping 65407]

I stopped for a night in NOLA on the tail end of a long road trip two Saturdays ago. My wife got us a reservation at GW Fins and we left the kids with room service in the hotel and headed out. It was our second time there and, just like the first time, it was a fucking amazing meal. She had the Scalibut and loved it. I had a blue fin tuna special and it might be the single greatest filet of fish that I have ever eaten. If you're ever there and that's available, get that. Also, the lobster dumplings and bisque are excellent. 

Compared to Houston, Austin, San Antonio and DFW these past few weeks, NOLA's weather was pleasant. High humidity, but in the low 90's. The high pressure dome hasn't touched that area all summer, so they're getting plenty of rain that has many days in the 80's and the rest in the low-ish 90's. Given Houston has been running 10 degrees hotter, I took it.

[utee94 16081]

19 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

Compared to Houston, Austin, San Antonio and DFW these past few weeks, NOLA's weather was pleasant. High humidity, but in the low 90's. The high pressure dome hasn't touched that area all summer, so they're getting plenty of rain that has many days in the 80's and the rest in the low-ish 90's. Given Houston has been running 10 degrees hotter, I took it.

Yeah I was there in late June and it was the same, low-mid 90s, felt great.  The various hotel and restaurant staff would apologize for the heat and I'd just smile and nod.

I will say that an hour-long show in the non-air-conditioned Preservation Hall was pretty warm,  but the music itself, and the joy it brought my kids seeing their first live jazz show ever, made it more than worth it.

 

 

[Jack Straw 2955]

On 7/24/2023 at 11:11 AM, South Austin said:

Nice.  I'm guessing that New Orleans is hot and sweaty as fuck right now, but that food makes it worth it.

hot and sticky, like my balls.

-Phil Leotardo

we were there for a week and there were showers on 3 different days, with a solid rain one afternoon.  i'll take that over the 145 in Austin lately for sure.

a few more:

 

High Hat gumbo

 

go to meal - FC and pimento mac n cheese at High Hat

 

 

shrimp po-boy at Parkway

 

scallops and pasta at le chat noir

quinn waiting for the doggy bag to arrive 

[We’reTexas 1477]

5 minutes ago, Jack Straw said:

hot and sticky, like my balls.

-Phil Leotardo

we were there for a week and there were showers on 3 different days, with a solid rain one afternoon.  i'll take that over the 145 in Austin lately for sure.

a few more:

 

High Hat gumbo

 

go to meal - FC and pimento mac n cheese at High Hat

 

 

shrimp po-boy at Parkway

 

scallops and pasta at le chat noir

quinn waiting for the doggy bag to arrive 

Love High Hat. You able to check out Pigeon and Whale while you were on Freret?

[Jack Straw 2955]

On 7/27/2023 at 12:49 PM, We’reTexas said:

Love High Hat. You able to check out Pigeon and Whale while you were on Freret?

have not tried Pigeon and Whale yet.  might check that out on the next trip in november. 

some Labor Day week pics:

fried shrimp po' boy at domilise's

white beans and smoked sausage at mr. ed's mid-city

heirloom tomato salad and crab cake at coquette

quinn living her best life at city bark

24 hour roast beef po' boy with horseradish cream and pickled onions at bouree

fried okra and FC at picnic provisions

linguine with clams at san lorenzo in the st. vincent hotel

fried green tomato and pimento cheese po' boy at mahony's

parisian sandwich at la boulangerie

marinated cucumbers and indonesian FC at mopho

[Texzilla58 4790]

I would eat every bit of that but the thing I get nostalgic for is that Domilese shrimp po boy. I’ve eaten those for decades.

[Biff Tannen 46163]

7 hours ago, Texzilla58 said:

I would eat every bit of that but the thing I get nostalgic for is that Domilese shrimp po boy. I’ve eaten those for decades.

Had a Domilese vs Guy's poboy showdown a couple of weeks back.  Guy's was the winner.  Going to hit Bear's in Metairie next time.

[Texzilla58 4790]

Not had a Guys but will try next trip.

[PantsTent 2004]

First time at Commander’s Palace

Turtle/gumbo/potato leak trio. Cast iron redfish. Apple cobbler.

[Texzilla58 4790]

Commanders is awesome though it’s been years. The bread pudding is the signature dessert. Dont eat while it’s on fire.

[Etexhorn13 3094]

I found through search that it’s been mentioned in the past, but on our last visit to NO the wife and I had breakfast at Elizabeth’s. Holy shit that was one of my favorite New Orleans meals I’ve had. For a pretty unassuming place, we could not have been happier with our meal. Praline bacon was great, huge Bloody Mary, crawfish etouffe over crab cakes Benedict, and eggs florentine with fried oysters on top made for a perfect base to start a New Orleans day. A little out of the way but would highly recommend. 

[South Austin 53222]

I have reservations at MaMou the second weekend in December.  A friend highly recommended.  SIAP, but any Surly reviews?

[We’reTexas 1477]

7 minutes ago, South Austin said:

I have reservations at MaMou the second weekend in December.  A friend highly recommended.  SIAP, but any Surly reviews?

Yes, I was able to go back in December and it was fantastic. Full disclosure, the owners are friends of ours and this is a shameless plug. But, they just made the NYT’s Top 50 Restaurants and Bon Appetit’s Best New Restaurants lists, so they are doing something right. 
 

[South Austin 53222]

Just now, We’reTexas said:

But, they just made the NYT’s Top 50 Restaurants and Bon Appetit’s Best New Restaurants lists, so they are doing something right. 

Yeah, my friend told me that.  I made the reservation a few weeks ago, and when I checked again recently to adjust the time of our reservation, there were only a few seatings left.  And this is over a month out.

[kevwun 16438]

No going until April, but I am intrigued by their menu.

[PantsTent 2004]

GW Fins. What a great meal. We liked the more fun/cool wait staff here over the more straight laced at CP but both great experiences.

[Biff Tannen 46163]

GW Fins is always great. 

[Mo Horn 8937]

Best meal we had there

[GreenspointTexas 9968]

Gonna recreate the Homer food crawl for my 40th in a few years…. Although 40 places/dishes over a weekend seems tough

[Rip76 5022]

We went last October, I can't wait to go back to NO.

It exceeded all of my expectations. 

A cajun that didn't go to NO until he was 50. wtf.

[dirtonia 271]

Heading to NOLA tomorrow for our anniversary. We got married there in 2016, but haven’t been back since. Hitting up Compère Lapin, Brennan’s (brunch), GW Fins so far. WW II museum on Monday, and I’m sure I’ll slum it up at Harrahs. Weather looks fantastic, should be good times!

[Biff Tannen 46163]

37 minutes ago, dirtonia said:

Heading to NOLA tomorrow for our anniversary. We got married there in 2016, but haven’t been back since. Hitting up Compère Lapin, Brennan’s (brunch), GW Fins so far. WW II museum on Monday, and I’m sure I’ll slum it up at Harrahs. Weather looks fantastic, should be good times!

Perfect itinerary imo

[South Austin 53222]

Yeah, that’s a great weekend. 

I had high expectations for the WWII museum and the place exceeded them.

[Chad Fuck 18134]

Yeah, that’s a great weekend. 
I had high expectations for the WWII museum and the place exceeded them.

You know I really enjoyed the WWII museum and have been multiple times. But it seems to me that it hits on the main topics pretty lightly. Like if you’ve ever been to the Imperial War Museum in London you’ll think, “Ok, this is how the grown ups do museums.” Also their aviation exhibits have some glaring errors. Anyhow minor quibble. Overall it’s a good experience. I’ll probably take Jr. again on my next trip.

I’m headed to Nola in a few weeks to celebrate my birthday. I have Antoine’s on the itinerary because I’ve never been. Looking to fill out the rest of the slots with places I’ve never been. I’ve done Brennans and Commander’s Palace plenty. So I’m looking to expand the comfort zone. I’ll probably head to Felix’s for chargrilled unless someone has had a poor recent experience or has another suggestion. Rolling in Friday aftenoon, out Sunday afternoon so a short window.

[South Austin 53222]

1 minute ago, Chad Fuck said:

I’m headed to Nola in a few weeks to celebrate my birthday. I have Antoine’s on the itinerary because I’ve never been. Looking to fill out the rest of the slots with places I’ve never been.

I’m also going for my birthday in about a month, and I told my finance that our goal is to not go to any restaurant that we’ve been before (we’ve been twice together in recent years) with the exception of mid-day appetizers and drinks at the Peche bar, which is sort of a tradition for us. This thread will definitely be a resource.

[T’Boo Ted Marshall 2779]

You know I really enjoyed the WWII museum and have been multiple times. But it seems to me that it hits on the main topics pretty lightly. Like if you’ve ever been to the Imperial War Museum in London you’ll think, “Ok, this is how the grown ups do museums.” Also their aviation exhibits have some glaring errors. Anyhow minor quibble. Overall it’s a good experience. I’ll probably take Jr. again on my next trip.

I’m headed to Nola in a few weeks to celebrate my birthday. I have Antoine’s on the itinerary because I’ve never been. Looking to fill out the rest of the slots with places I’ve never been. I’ve done Brennans and Commander’s Palace plenty. So I’m looking to expand the comfort zone. I’ll probably head to Felix’s for chargrilled unless someone has had a poor recent experience or has another suggestion. Rolling in Friday aftenoon, out Sunday afternoon so a short window.

Felix’s has never let me down.

[South Austin 53222]

Any recommendations for dinner in the Warehouse District that’s not Peche, Cochon, or Compere Lapin?

[We’reTexas 1477]

37 minutes ago, South Austin said:

Any recommendations for dinner in the Warehouse District that’s not Peche, Cochon, or Compere Lapin?

Link’s other spots, Herbsaint and Gianna. La Boca is an institution for steaks. Also, hear me out: Emeril’s. His son took over last year and put in place a tasting menu with the goal turning into a Michelin-level destination. They just reopened after a full renovation. Haven’t been and don’t know anyone who has, but I’m curious. 

[South Austin 53222]

24 minutes ago, We’reTexas said:

Link’s other spots, Herbsaint and Gianna. La Boca is an institution for steaks. Also, hear me out: Emeril’s. His son took over last year and put in place a tasting menu with the goal turning into a Michelin-level destination. They just reopened after a full renovation. Haven’t been and don’t know anyone who has, but I’m curious. 

I’ll probably give Herbsaint a shot. We went there last time to have a mid-day cocktail at the bar, and the bartender was a douche, so we got a bad vide from the place. But I’ve heard good things about the food.

The tasting menu at Emeril’s looks fantastic, but very pricey. 

 

 

[4th&Five 41999]

Best place to watch the Texas game Saturday? We’re staying off Magazine. 

[Biff Tannen 46163]

6 minutes ago, 4th&Five said:

Best place to watch the Texas game Saturday? We’re staying off Magazine. 

Cooter Browns was always good sports watching for us, but haven't been in a while.  Over by the zoo at the end of St. Charles.

Edited November 25, 2023 by Biff Tannen
Great fried seafood too