I was extremely disappointed with how lacking the selection in fresh produce was here. This isn’t a farmer’s market! It’s a flea market! Get it straight, Nola. Anyways, I figured since I made the trip out here, I’d take pictures but I was really disappointed.

crawfish jelly?

find me by the spices!

lots of alcohol at a farmer's market

interesting food

beautiful raspberries

mardi gras masks

more mardi gras masks

gator heads only in new orleans

800 Tchoupitoulas St.
New Orleans, LA

the food here was amazing, as can be expected from the famous master mind who created the menu, the very Emeril. This is his original restaurant. The food here is rooted in Creole/Cajun ways, but Emeril always does something unexpected. We were definitely pleased with this meal.

decor

Saffron-Chili Dusted Jumbo Shrimp with Sweet Potato-Smoked Corn Grits, Skillet Beans, Benton's Bacon and Mango Chow Chow $27

Grilled Niman Ranch Double Cut Pork Chop with Caramelized Sweet Potatoes, Tamarind Glaze and Green Chile Molé Sauce $30

http://www.coquette-nola.com/

ambiance

warm sourdough bread w spreadable butter

I liked the ambiance, the brick wall and al fresco atmosphere but still classy. My friend and I each ordered the 3-course lunch for $20 each (but thanks to restaurant.com, we only paid $9.30 each).

My 1st course was the Boston lettuce salad with red wine vinagrette (a little tangy), candied pecans (i think they may have been dipped in peanut butter and the  brown sugar), and goat cheese (delightful):

Boston Lettuce salad

My friend’s 1st course was the Burrata Crostini which was toasted bread with tomato and mozarella on top, drizzled with a basil sauce over it (very delicious):

yummy

We both got the Gulf shrimp with Anson Mill’s grits, okra and sweet corn. The remoulade sauce was a bit heavy, but the shrimp were nice and big:

Gulf shrimp with grits

And for dessert, we both had the beignets (which tasted like egg, i”m not joking) and chocolate coffee pot de creme (which didn’t help at all with the egg flavor):

beignets

Overall, a nice meal at a great price. Our server was very attentive to us, I think he came over at least 5 times during our meal, asking us if everything was delicious/delightful/delectable (and every other d-word for yummy).

Wow, hours later, my stomach is still exacting its revenge on me for putting it through this ordeal. Note to self, never go to a restaurant where waiters pester you to order the Hurricane drink or fried alligator (he apologized to us, saying he has to ask us). Curse you, restaurant.com coupons!  I know they’re not all gonna be winners, but I thought the consolation of eating at a seafood joint in the Quarter meant at least fresh quality seafood. Not here! I knew this was a tourist trap from its prime location on Bourbon St., how I pity you, you poor unknowing souls. My friend and I ordered the seafood platter which should have had a combination of fried shrimp, catfish, softshell crab, crawfish, and
oysters with french fries and hush puppies. I don’t remember any softshell crab coming on our plate. The oysters were pretty gross.  The other pieces were decent. So when the platter came out, my friend and I were amazed with how big it was, little did we know that there was an entire huge loaf of french bread on the plate, covered with a thin layer of fries, and then all the fried seafood on top (clever).  The vieux carre shrimp pasta served over garlic butter pasta topped with tasso ham and creamy crawfish sauce served with garlic bread was decent, but a little on the bland side.  The space was otherwise large, and clean (better than some other restaurants I’ve been to), and service was pretty friendly except for when he kept bugging us to order alcohol.

Seafood Platter: A combination of fried shrimp, catfish, softshell crab, crawfish, and oysters. Served with French fries and hush puppies.

Gulf shrimp with tasso ham served over garlic butter pasta topped with creamy crawfish sauce. Served with garlic bread.

I’m not sure why yelp has listed this place as closed. I don’t know why this is listed as closed on yelp because it is very much OPEN. That being said, it is a delightful, big joint in the Embassy Hotel in the CBD. Their menu isn’t vast, but the location is convenient enough for hotel-goers. The free garlic bread was delicious and crispy. The fettucine alfredo was a thick creamy concoction. The ribs were juicy and delicious with cajun fries. Then we had the dessert sampler with red velvet cake, banana cheesecake and bourbon pecan pie. the pecan pie was heavenly! the red velvet cake was a little dry and the banana cheesecake was very rich and good! everyone should check this place out. I’m so sad that there weren’t very many people here.

complimentary garlic bread

voodoo baby back ribs

fettucine alfredo

red velvet cake

banana cheesecake

bourbon pecan pie

http://www.thebontoncafe.com/

Ok wow, so I believe I was duped. No, no not about the True Blood name similarity. I believe I was tricked by inflated reviews on yelp for this place. Even the website was misleading. I thought this place would be uber fancy but it kinda seemed like a cozy restaurant with jacked up prices. I definitely don’t think the tiny portions for ok food was worth the prices they were asking for. I was quite disappointed with service as well. I ordered the half-half crabmeat dish, and when I realized I was getting full after finishing off half of my dish I asked for them to pack up the other half. To my surprise, when I got home, the remainder of my dish was barely 2 spoonfuls. I had heard rumors about restaurants that take your dish to the back and only pack a portion of it to go. I was pretty sad by this. Also, my friend had specifically said she did not want her leftovers to go and they brought it out for her in a bag anyways.

So the hyped up dish was the crabmeat au gratin which was mentioned on the Food Network as one of the best cheesey dishes ever. I was quite excited for this but I also wanted to give the crabmeat imperial (cooked w lemon juice and garlic) a whirl. The crabmeat au gratin was mostly just cheese, you couldn’t taste anything else. And the crabmeat imperial,on the other hand, was bursting with crabmeat flavor. Which was why I was really sad to find such small portions compared to what I had left on my plate.

Yelp reviewers also led me to believe that the bread pudding with whiskey sauce would be out of this world. The bread pudding with pecan ice cream was delicious but ruined by the bitterness of the whiskey that drowned the plate. Shame on you, yelp.

http://www.irisneworleans.com/

So I know parking in the Quarter can be a pain in the butt. But apparently on N. Peters St there is a huge parking lot that’s $5 for the first hr and $8 for 2 hours! That is quite a deal if you’re stressed for time or lack of street spots or cannot parallel park, ahem.

The fixed prie menu was a good deal for this restaurant. 3 courses for $20. The ambience was nice, small rustic feel with still a hint of elegance to it. It was not crowded for Friday lunch. We were seated right away and our server was very friendly but not too accurate.

I had asked him about some of the first course dishes because I had my eye on the Gulf Shrimp w Vietnamese herbs, I wanted to make sure these weren’t the bitter herbs that I’m familiar with. He assured me the plate wasn’t bitter so I gave it a shot. I was first disappointed because the dish was cold shrimp (which I think would have tasted better hot), and then the herbs were bitter.

I also had the potato gnocchi was seared and garlicky and out of this world.

My fellow foodie had the egg drop soup which was burning hot and the fish of the day, snapper. It was aromatic and flaky.

The cantaloupe sorbet was light and yet not mild. It was very flavorful and not too sweet.

http://www.gottgourmetcafe.com/

People think Magazine st. is a mess and it is! But if you’re lucky, you can parallel park on a side st for free and walk around. So I found this little place for lunch today and decided to check it out. It was delicious!

The menu had so many original dishes so I decided on the Shrimp BLT wrap and my fellow foodie had the Blue Corn Fried Oyster baby spinach salad.

The wrap was very tasty especially with a couple dips of Crystal hot sauce. I thought the cream cheese would overwhelm the flavors but it was actually very mild. The bacon was very flavorful and plentiful, and the avocado was a pleasant surprise in the background of flavors. The Blue corn fried oyster was delicious but the spinach salad was ruined with the salad dressing dominating the flavor (maybe next time, order the salad dressing on the side). We spent $12 each for lunch. The place was a bit small, but every table was taken when we went and so we settled for the bar but it was still nice. The service was very friendly and quick.

habanero buffalo wings

woo! these wings were hot! after a few, my lips were burning! thank God for blue cheese! haha. the chicken wings were wonderfully flavored with the habanero hot sauce and cooked to a nice juicy texture. a welcomed addition to the menu.

truffle mac and cheese

i wasn’t a fan of this unfortunately. i was really looking forward to the truffle flavor (i’ve made truffle mac and cheese before) and this dish, the truffle flavor was either lost in the cooking process or completely forgotten. It was very creamy and the pasta was cooked to a nice consistency. but I missed the truffle

http://www.boucherie-nola.com/

OK so actually Boucherie has been on my list ever since I moved here and heard great things about. And this place definitely delivered! It’s high quality food at a very affordable price! My fellow foodie had the brilliant idea to order a ton of small plates so that we could try a bit of everything! We spent about $15 each on food and we helped ourselves to 4 small plates (pretty sizeable) and 1 dessert platter. We both ordered the caipirinha mixed drink because when I was abroad, I was told that it is the Brazilian mojito but sweet. Unforunately, it ended up being lemonade for adults.

The food, however, blew my mind!The complimentary soup was an interesting blend of flavors, especially the curry that kinda snuck up on you at the end:

The Boudin balls and mussels were delicious and don’t get me started on the garlicky parmesan french fries (heavenly!)

The Boudin balls were perfect with the garlic aioli:

The mussels were good but the garlicky parmesan french fries were to die for! Perfect amount of saltiness:

The roasted eggplant and goat cheese terrine surprised me because I was expecting mostly roasted eggplant, not mostly goat cheese. It was interesting but I was not a fan:

I was really looking forward to the bacon brownie. I think the texture of the brownie was a bit dryer (probably from the bacon pieces), and it tasted saltier than a normal brownie but the bacon flavor didn’t really hit me until I had a big piece of bacon in my mouth. I wasn’t a huge fan of mixing two of my many favorite things. The Thai chili chocolate pie was very surprising because the spiciness was a huge kick at the end when you think, ok sweet stuff and then your tongue screams hell no! burnt spicy stuff! The star of the night was the Krispy Kreme bread pudding, they even had this warm honey sugar glaze over it so it really did taste like a Krispy Kreme donut! It was the perfect amount of fluffy and crispy with lots of sweets! mmmmmmmmmmm

http://www.muriels.com/html/menus.html

They have a 2 course lunch special for $16.95 and a 3 course dinner special for $30 which are pretty good deals considering how expensive everything is on their menu. The location is great too for walking around Jackson Square.

I had the shrimp creole (Louisiana shrimp simmered in classic New Orleans creole sauce served with rice) and the house salad. The shrimp was cooked nicely but the sauce was a little too sweet for me. At first when I saw it, I thought it was a sweet and sour sauce from a Chinese restaurant (the taste was similar but not the same). I think I had built up in my mind a different dish and was sorely disappointed with what the waitress brought out.

Speaking of the waitress, she was a bit snooty and not very friendly.

My fellow foodie had the Blackened Mississippi Catfish which she said was cooked to a perfect flaky composition. Although the sauce was Crystal hot sauce I think the chef add sugar to it because both of us were surprised at how sweet the dish was. She also had the seafood gumbo which was ok, little lacking in andouille sausage.

I had such high hopes for this place. sigh.

bread with a hint of some spice in it

house salad with a very mild blue cheese

Shrimp Creole

seafood gumbo

Blackened catfish

http://www.yelp.com/biz/liuzzas-restaurant-and-bar-new-orleans

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60864-d426324-Reviews-Liuzza_s_Restaurant_Bar-New_Orleans_Louisiana.html

Beware, cash only! This place had pretty high ratings on yelp and tripadvisor, so we thought we’d give it a try.They claim this is where REAL New Orleans-ians come to  eat.

i love it when bars chill the glasses before they pour the beer in!

trying out some gumbo

OMG i love fettucine alfredo with shrimp and sausage!

chicken parmesan with spaghetti and meatball

andouille sausage

overall, the food was great for the price they were asking for. it was a nice introduction to New Orleans food

http://mothersrestaurant.net/

their famous baked ham

my very first jambalaya in new orleans! which was quite tasty!

their gumbo, however, was not .

http://www.mandinasrestaurant.com/

Beware, cash only! Parking lot is convenient except that this place gets so full that you’re going to have to look for street parking in what resembles a residential area. (One time I saw a cop drive up his police car onto the sidewalk, and then walk in and eat! hahaha)

The food here is great at a good price,

shrimp po'boy

crab po'boy

and since it’s big, it’s great for families and larger gatherings.

http://www.jackson-square.com/merchants.html

Located in Jackson square which is great for window-shopping and possibly stopping by at Cafe Du Monde. Everything on the menu is in the low teens and the food is pretty good.  I asked for my cajun pasta to be extra spicy, but it still tasted a little bland to me.

http://www.jacquesimoscafe.com/

I dont think anything will freak out out-of-towners more than alligator cheesecake! (especially my out-of-towners who were from the north!) Real authentic, New Orleans cooking! The only thing is, the sauces are really heavy here, flavorful, but heavy.

shrimp and alligator cheesecake $8

some fried fish mid 20s

salmon stuffed with black beans

very yummy, but those sauces aren’t joking around!

736 Dante St.

New Orleans, LA 70118

http://danteskitchen.com/

This place was a little out of my normal price range (the entrees were in the mid-20s and the the small appetizers and side dishes were in the $10s).The food was pretty spectacular, although safety in the area is a a bit iffy (lots of muggings apparently).

My favorite was the cheese sampler

cheeseeeeeeeeeeeee

my main entree was some sort of pork chop

http://www.zearestaurants.com/site3.php

This place is good if you have older guests in town. The decor is nice and clean and modern. If you’re hosting a younger crowd, then I would suggest somewhere in the Quarter, but if it’s your parents, then look no further. The food here is delicious and moderately priced. And there is parking behind the restaurant (convenient for walking around on St. Charles)I am absolutely in love with the Thai ribs here! The corn grits was amazing and the sweet potato was a bit too sweet for me but it made  a nice dessert. This is the crawfish etouffee, my friend said it was alright but definitely enjoyed my ribs!

Their menu is pretty solid overall, on another occasion I’ve had the burger and it was pretty good too but whenever I come here, I always order the ribs and am never unsatisfied!

http://www.coopsplace.net/

I came here with a friend who said this is great Creole/Cajun food for cheap. The place looks like an old pub and the bathroom was a girl’s nightmare, but the food was good. Probably won’t become one of my regulars because it is difficult to find parking.

I ordered pasta with cajun seasoning (was a little bland even tho I ordered extra spicy).

My friend ordered the southern platter which came with dirty rice, beans and fried chicken (everything tasted very good! wish I had gotten this instead. the price was not bad at all, maybe low teens)

The sausage in the pasta dish did have a nice smoky flavor to it.

The dirty rice and fried chicken were especially yummy!

I hadn’t a chance to post this because of the whole mesh of holidays that occurred last week. First it was Valentine’s Day, then it was Phillip’s grandmother’s birthday and then his was yesterday. I also had a crapload of stuff to do, in addition to working and I’m still not completely done what I need to do; but, I did create a recipe in contribution to Mardi Gras: Cajun Chicken and Dumplings. How can you not fall in love with the maque choux style stew beneath the floating bundles of doughiness. Phillip absolutely loved it and ate nearly every bite I, of course, had some too.

It was a comforting home cooked meal that didn’t entirely represent Fat Tuesday, but it did its own justice.

For the biscuits, I used a premade mix of 1-2-3 Gluten Free since I found it on clearance. They weren’t bad, but, it wasn’t that fantastic. Due to it being a starch-based flour combination, the dumplings didn’t really brown all that much. If I made them myself, I would have added some sorghum flour or a flour that will brown in the oven. I also added more liquid to make it drop-biscuit like in texture.

Cajun Chicken-esque and Dumplings
1 cup okra
2 cups diced quorn, defrosted
½ onion, chopped
½ bell pepper, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
2/3 cup corn kernels
1 can of Rotel
Crystal Hot Sauce
Cajun seasoning mix
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp minced garlic


Biscuit Topping
½ tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp minced parsley


½ box of the 1-2-3 Gluten free biscuit mix, followed half portions of the additional ingredients stated on the box


In a nonstick pan or one sprayed with nonstick cooking spray, brown the quorn. Remove the quorn from the past then add the trinity and sauté until soft. Add the garlic and sauté until aromatic. Add the Rotel, corn, and okra, allowing it to simmer until it reduces slightly. Add the Cajun seasoning mix, salt, pepper, and hot sauce.


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Transfer the stew to a casserole dish.


Mix the biscuit mix and plop six balls of dough on top of the stew. Mix the topping ingreients together and sprinkle evenly over the biscuits.

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

Just part of the menu...

A few weeks ago, my artist friend, Tanya Bjork, and I paid a visit to the Farmers Market at The Grove.  We decided to have lunch at one of the many eateries there.  Since we had been talking on and off for a while now about how long overdue we were for a trip to NOLA and how much we missed The Gumbo Shop in the French Quarter, The Gumbo Pot called to us.

Located in a back corner of the Market, The Gumbo Pot boasts a menu featuring Creole and Cajun specialties like gumbo (of course), jambalaya and red beans & rice.  There’s blackened catfish, po’boys, muffelatas and even alligator!

Muffelata

Cornbread Muffin

I opted to get a muffelata and a side of the cornbread.  The Gumbo Shop’s version of this sandwich consists of a thick sesame crusted bread, ham, salami, some other meat that I forgot the name of, provolone and an olive tapenade.  The bread was a little dry and the olive tapenade was quite strong and a little salty.  The bread to filling ratio was leaning towards a little too much bread.  While the flavors were good, it wasn’t quite up to what I had when I was in the French Quarter.  The cornbread was good though – moist and speckled with bits of pepper for a little bit of kick though for my tolerance, there wasn’t much heat.

Tanya went with a blackened catfish sandwich.  It was massive.  She decided to take the filling from one half and double up the other half so she wouldn’t fill up too much on the bread.  I didn’t get a taste but she seemed to like it. Looking around at other customers, I could hear chatter about how good the gumbo and jambalaya were.  Those, along with alligator, will have to be ordered on my next visit…

Beignets

The Gumbo Shop also serves up beignets and cafe au lait.  We couldn’t resist and got an order of those yummy fried dough bits.  The beignets here were a little denser and oiler than what we got at Cafe du Monde but our memories could be a little biased since we were, um, intoxicated when we were there.  We noticed that the chicory coffee was courtesy of cans from Cafe du Monde, though!  Maybe the beignet mix was from there as well…

Over all, I wasn’t blown away by my meal.  I guess the muffaleta isn’t their specialty.  But there were many other things on the menu that I would come back for sure to try them.  I’ve never had alligator and my curiosity is piqued…

The Gumbo Pot gets 3 NOMs for the Catty Critic’s first visit.

The Gumbo Pot
6333 West 3rd Street
Los Angeles, CA 90036-3190
(323) 933-0358
http://www.thegumbopotla.com

Without a doubt, it’s the prices. All ending in oddball amounts, nearly every dish is under $10 and the fanciest Patron margarita tops out at $8.50. I couldn’t tell you the last time dinner for two with drinks cost under $40 (ok, that’s not counting the $5.50 house margarita at the bar).

While doing my monthly Wegmans, Costco, Target, DSW rounds in Middlesex County, Jose Tejas won out over Cheeseburger in Paradise (I mulled over Ruby Tuesday, but I have an irrational reluctance to go there after throwing up dim sum in their bathroom a few years ago).

You can have your ceramic dish of melted cheese two ways: Cajun ($6.94) or Mexican ($6.83). This is the latter, an above ground pool of pepper jack with chorizo, onions, tomatoes and mushrooms sealed beneath the surface.

Naively, I thought fajitas might be a minutely healthier entrée than many of the fried, dairy laden options (I don’t even consider the Cajun items because that’s just weird). Grilled meat, vegetables and tortillas, right? Sure, and a whole block of grated cheese on the side. Rice and black beans or jambalaya come with all mains. 

I ordered a combination of chicken and beef, pork is nowhere to be seen on the menu and never seems to have a presence at Tex-Mex and Americanized Mexican chains. Why is that?

You are encouraged to wrap everything unfinished to go in Styrofoam containers, even the free flowing chips and tortillas. Even though I’ve been diligent in my carb-limiting, I still packed them all in with my untouched cup of rice because I just can’t blatantly waste food.

I also wonder if part of Jose Tejas' appeal is that it gives the illusion of being a unique restaurant. It's not until you search the name that you realize it's part of a chain whose other locations in Massachusetts and Delaware are called  Border Cafe.

Previously on Jose Tejas.

Jose Tejas * 700 Rt. 1 N., Iselin, NJ

At some point you are going to have to break for lunch. Right down the street is Cafe Reconcile, a non-profit restaurant, which helps teach job skills to at-risk youth. It’s Monday, so it would be appropriate to order Red Beans and Rice [with smoked sausage and a side salad ($4.99!)]. You’ll have to try the Bananas Foster Bread Pudding ($2.99), it is “award-winning” after all. And, you deserve a treat; you’re such a good person.

At 3:30, Zeitgeist (which started as an alternative movie house, but has evolved into a more of an interdisciplinary artist/activist hub) is showing Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin, who apparently was an important civil rights activist, but was marginalized within the movement because he was gay. The film did very well on the festival circuit this last year.

After that, at 5:30, commences the ninth Media That Matters Film Festival. There are 12 very short films in the line-up, and I’ll just go ahead and re-print Zeitgeist’s blurb:

The Media That Matters Film Festival is the premiere showcase for short films on the most important topics of the day. Local and global, online and in communities around the world, Media That Matters engages diverse audiences and inspires them to take action.  From gay rights to global warming, the jury-selected collection represents the work of a diverse group of independent filmmakers, many of whom are under 21. The films are equally diverse in style and content, with documentaries, music videos, animations, experimental work and everything else in between. What all the films have in common is that they spark debate and action in 12 minutes or less.

“Spark debate and action in 12 minutes or less” huh? Wow. So now you’re all fired up! Go out there and change the world! Err, I mean be the change you want to see in the world. Or, wait, never doubt that a small group of thoughtful people can change the world…or something like that.

The play is one of his earliest, and is a farce full of mistaken identities, infidelity, theft, and according to Wikipedia “wrongful beatings,” which begs the question: what is a rightful beating? Anyway, sounds like a good time; and I love an excuse to stroll the stately Tulane campus.

The play should be over at 9:30, which gives you just enough time to get over to Jacque-Imo’s and get seated before they close at 10:30. They don’t take reservations for parties of less than 5, so unless you’re in a big old posse, you’re going to have to wait a minute. That’s alright, you’re not in a big hurry, get a drink at the bar and chat on the sidewalk; it’s far too easy to take for granted our right to drink on the street.

Jacque-imo’s website doesn’t list their menu, so here’s a copy I found elsewhere. I have been lucky enough to eat there many times, as my employer takes us there every year for our Christmas party, which is usually held after Mardi Gras, but nevermind about that. It is very easy to be completely stuffed before your entree ever arrives, so I recommend taking it easy on the apps. They are tempting, I know, I’ve fallen into this trap many times. Skip the delicious sausage and alligator cheesecake. And for God’s sake don’t start with the sinful deep-fried, roast beef po-boy. I think, maybe, I’m unwittingly using reverse psychology here. Well, I’m certainly sending mixed messages:

I would start with the fried green tomatoes ($7.95) which comes with a little shrimp remoulade. Then, if you ordered an entree, they bring you a lightly-dressed spinach salad adorned with a fried oyster. The Potato-Crusted Drum ($21.95) in a caper beurre blanc is heavenly, and you get a choice of two sides, (I usually get beets and country greens).

Speaking of comedies of errors, it’s off to Prytania Theatre‘s midnight screening of The Big Lebowski–another farce replete with mistaken identities, infidelities, thefts, and wrongful beatings. The brothers Cohen owe a debt to the Bard, certainly, but it turns out Shakespeare borrowed heavily from the Romans to write his late sixteenth century play. The Dude abideth.

Yeah, it’s late, but don’t you kind of need a Caucasian (aka White Russian) now? The Dude wouldn’t go to some swanky cocktail lounge to get his drink, he’d look for quarters in his couch, and head over to some place like Snake & Jake’s Christmas Lounge.

I hope they have milk. Or do I?