Guy Caballero's Profile
Heading Back To New Orleans: Ponderosa Stomp at Howlin Wolf
Yep I would have recommended Harry's Corner even if you didn't mention it. Great quarter bar, full of character(s). Fancy cocktails at Loa might not be worth it after that many drinks though.
Casamento's will usually have soft shells when they're in season, you could probably kill an oyster bird and a soft shell bird with one stone there. Fried in lard, too. Call ahead.
I am not sure about the status of the Mother in Law lounge. I suspect it is open but probably a shell of its former self. If you are going to be in town the 15th, I personally recommend catching the Royal Pendletons and Redondo Beat at Siberia which is more or less in the Marigny, 2227 St. Claude Ave.
Heading Back To New Orleans: Ponderosa Stomp at Howlin Wolf
Capdeville is another place fairly close to the Howlin Wolf, they are probably the only ones in the city doing a true gastro-pub thing. Not very New Orleansy, but very good for what it is.
Heading Back To New Orleans: Ponderosa Stomp at Howlin Wolf
I second the Corporation. A truly weird holdout dive in the warehouse district with decent po boys for lunch and taxidermied creatures affixed to the walls. They do not stay open very late though, so get there before 10:00 if it's on your must-do list. Otherwise you could go to the Rusty Nail which is a longer walk but good.
Twelve Mile is pretty out of the way, and usually attracts a young crowd. Same quality as some of the upscale cocktail bars in town (Tonique, etc) but in a more "homey" setting. I would recommend Loa over the Swizzle Stick. Same area and prices but better drinks.
Muffs at Terranovas are still Saturday only.
If you like Domenica you should try A Mano, which is a block from the Howlin Wolf.
Will post more recommendations as I think of them.
Distilled vinegar in olive salad?
Central Grocery sells theirs by the jar at the counter, so there should be a list of ingredients right on the jar.
"Set ups"? - New Orleans bars
I have seen it both ways. In N.O. I think most places sell the pint. The Sandpiper Lounge on Louisiana Ave, for example, does it this way.
In other places in the south, it is common for bars to have "beer only" licenses, but still allow customers to bring in their own liquor. The bar will sell cups of ice and mixers as "set ups."
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Sandpiper Lounge
2119 Louisiana Ave, New Orleans, LA 70115
New Orleans Style Hot Sausage: Trash or Treasure?
I often wonder why it seems that nobody has tried to elevate the use of this unique local product beyond the lowly corner store's hot sausage poboy and occasional pot of gumbo. Rivershack's hot sausage / beef burger is the only exception I can think of, which is excellent, and the hot sausage poboy with cheese at Parkway is as good as it gets. I can understand prejudice against the mainstay "Patton's" brand which is full of cereal fillers and god knows what else, but even this product can be decent when prepared correctly. I've found that Rouses makes a very tasty, lean variety that goes great on breakfast sandwiches and pizza, and I've been trying to think of other uses for it.
Surely I can't be alone in my appreciation of hot sausage. It seems to me that whereas most locals are eager to embrace any sort of New Orleans or Louisiana specialty food, hot sausage gets the cold shoulder. Or maybe my taste buds are just defective?
Tully's Pizza
Sugar Park's new location already had a soft opening. Not sure if they have regular hours yet, but soon if not.
Best Dives
The best part of the budsbroiler.com website, besides the photos on the menu, is the disclaimer:
"Unfortunately, this site is not officially affiliated with the "Bud's Broiler" chain of fast food restaurants. The website 'budsbroiler.com' was created and maintained by a private individual who believes that Bud's Broiler is a really great place to eat (possibly the best). "
Ponderosa Stomp Weekend is Coming [ Sept. 24th & 25th ]
Bode's catfish shack is in the same location that Minnie's was. It is a real hole in the wall, but the prices are right.
Last year the stomp allowed people to leave the HOB and come back during the show (HOB usually does not allow this), I became fond of running around the corner to the Chart Room, where drinks cost about half the price of HOB, and are twice as strong. Also if you get hungry at the shows, pizza by the slice at Club Decatur on the corner is not bad.
we just got a new record store in town, Euclid, out in the Bywater on Chartres St, which is a block from Elizabeth's (good brunch). you might make a food and record scoring trip out of that.
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Chart Room
300 Chartres St, New Orleans, LA 70130
Zatarain's Root Beer Extract
I'm curious what people use this stuff for. I had some root beer glazed chicken once that used it, which was not something I'd recreate. Do people use it in cooking or is it just for making beverages?
The black list: which restaurants historically do NOT rely on local seafood for most of their product?
Rule of thumb:
Oysters and blue crab are almost always local and not farm raised.
Shrimp- unless the menu specifically says gulf shrimp, assume that it is imported.
Fish- depends on the variety but probably a solid majority of restaurant fish is not local or wild caught. redfish is generally farmed, because of a commercial fishing ban. speckled trout has a lot of regulation. if a menu just says trout and not speckled trout, you are not getting speckled trout. flounder, grouper, red snapper, tuna may or may not be from the gulf depending on the quality of restaurant. catfish is 100% farm raised.
the bottom line is, when in doubt ask your server and hope they are telling the truth.
Mid City recommendations
You will not go hungry, that's for sure. There are plenty of places in the neighborhood, most mentioned here already, but these are the ones I find myself eating at regularly.
Creole-Italian: Mid-City, historically being a strong Italian and Irish neighborhood, boasts some great new orleans/italian restaurants, which are also frequently mentioned as being the best "neighborhood" restaurants in the city. Within a few blocks of each other you'll find Liuzza's, Mandina's, Venezia, and Katie's, all of which have a number of dishes featuring a uniquely New Orleanian take on Italian-American food, using local ingredients and seafood. All of them (except Venezia) also serve traditional New Orleans po-boys, soups, and fried seafood, although I find their preparations to be fairly hit-or-miss. I usually stick to the stuff with marinara sauce (a.k.a. "red gravy") on it.
Taqueria Guerrero: Excellent, authentic Mexican and Central American food. Breakfast (!), Lunch and Dinner. Cheap and quick. Right next to Brocato's.
Lazaro's: My favorite delivery pizza in the city. Just don't expect to get it quickly.
And of course Parkway.
Mid-City places tend toward the casual. For fine dining the only place I would recommend is Cafe Degas. Ralph's is OK, but the menu is fairly generic contemporary creole that's done better elsewhere.
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Cafe Degas
3127 Esplanade Ave, New Orleans, LA 70119
Venezia Restaurant
134 N Carrollton Ave, New Orleans, LA 70119
Taqueria Guerrero Mexico
208 N Carrollton Ave, New Orleans, LA 70119
Grated Cheese on Burgers
I'm curious about the tradition of serving burgers with grated, unmelted cheddar cheese on top. Just about every burger joint in the city does it this way. This may not be strictly a New Orleans phenomenon, but I have never seen it done anywhere else. If there's a story to be told about this practice, I'd love to hear it.
i have a vision...
I would go with Felipe's. it does have a slight fast food vibe and the patio leaves a little to be desired, but it is cheap and their margaritas are decent. I went to a "Moe's Southwest Grill" in a pinch in Atlanta last week and it made me realize Felipe's could sure be a lot worse..
Juan's on Magazine does have a patio in the back but I think it's for special occasions only. Juan's on Carrollton has sidewalk seating.
Muffelata Sandwich...
The tradition is cappicola ham, salami, and mortadella. lots of places (supermarkets, etc) will cheap out and use only low grade ham and a few pieces of salami.
never seen one with prosciutto or roast beef. I have seen black olives on a muff, at nor-joe's (which I wasn't impressed with either).
What is your fave Take Out option lately?
They have some shelves with food items (hot sauce, jerk seasoning, etc) for sale. When I was there it looked like they were still working on getting more stock.
There is also a latin grocery store across the street.
What is your fave Take Out option lately?
There's now another option in Mid City for Jamaican/Carribean - Boswell's has returned and is now on the 3500 block of Tulane Ave. The food is excellent.
Restaurant with big tv's in New Orleans
What about Gordon Biersch near the casino? It's a chain, but it's the only place that comes to mind. For what it's worth, it's the "official" place to watch Hornets away games, so they must have some big TVs. I've never been there.
Cochon Roasted Oyster topping?
truly, this discussion deserves its own thread.
tabasco is different than the others because they go through a whole process of salting & fermenting their peppers. plus they use tabasco peppers whereas most other sauces use cayenne only. it definitely has a distinct taste to it.
to me tabasco tastes disgusting and the rest of them (crystal, louisiana, cajun chef, etc. etc. etc.) are all fine. I probably buy crystal as a matter of local pride more than anything else since it used to be bottled right down the street from me. Crystal is the true new orleans hot sauce, the rest of them come from out in the bayou or beyond.
St Charles Streetcar Bar Hopping?
The Circle Bar has changed quite a bit in the last few years- is not a college bar, but it does not really bring in the cocktail crowd anymore. The Delachaise has filled that niche.
Delachaise & the Columns would be the two can't miss places for me. and you can walk from one to the other. The Mayfair is right there too.
St Charles Streetcar Bar Hopping?
It will officially start going up Carrollton this Sunday.
http://www.norta.com/showadvisories.php?id=254
Cracklin'
I've had great crackin (and boudin) in Baton Rouge at Ronnie's Boudin & Crackin, on hwy 190 in east BR. So far it's the closest real cracklin I've found to New Orleans.
Supposedly there is a new cajun grocery store in the Warehouse district, but I highly doubt they've got fresh cracklins.
Fresh Fish
the fish at the westwego market is fine, usually a good selection of gulf fish. however, they will not and can not legally clean/filet whole fish for you there; something to do with it being an outdoor market or something. so unless you like fish scales you might want to try a store. I usually go to k-jean.
Anita's Grill
It is on Tulane Ave. near Galvez. Although the sign proudly declares "open 24 hours" I think it is strictly a breakfast and lunch place post-k.
Camellia Grill
Was just there last night. No complaints whatsoever, not much has changed. I don't know if they're open 24 hours though.
Don't forget your antacids.
Cresent City Steakhouse
They have a parking lot, safety should not be a concern.
It is definitely a "local" joint. I would say the atmosphere is the best thing going for the place. The steaks are good and cheaper than what you'd pay at a chain/downtown steakhouse, and everything else is so-so.
Anywhere I can get fresh local oysters by the sack?
there are a few places. the classic is P&J in the French Quarter, they supply oysters to most restaurants around town. you have to call them and reserve a sack in advance. their sacks contain 100 oysters and were about $25 last time I bought them.
If 100 oysters is not enough--or too much, k-jean in Mid City sells 100 POUND sacks which is a lot of oysters. early in the season when I purchased one it was roughly 20 dozen. they were also the best oysters I've ever had. very salty. they purchase from different fishermen than P&J. if you don't want a full sack, being a seafood market they might be willing to sell you a few dozen unshucked.
Deanie's on the lakefront sells sacks as well but I had a bad experience with them the last time, the oysters were not fresh at all.
Kay Gene's (sp?)
no tables yet, just carry out. it's close to city park though, so go have a picnic. pre-k I thought they had the best crawfish in town, haven't had any since they've re-opened. got a sack of raw oysters from them in the fall, best oysters I've ever had. call ahead if you're ordering po-boys, I don't know if they fry everything to order or what, but it takes them 10-15 minutes to make a poboy.
Vietnamese poboy?
I like the bubble tea / vietnamese po boy shop that's right across the parking lot from Dong Khanh market on the Westbank. It's in Harvey, get off at Manhattan, go through the tunnel, and it's on the right just past the tunnel.
