Cookaholics Bulletin Board

So, NOLA:

First, you pretty much can't go wrong, in general. I didn't have access to a car while I was there, so a bunch of places which were recommended to me where out of reach. Still, within the French Quarter and a trolley-ride of it there is quite a few options.

Per above, I had my first brunch at Red Gravy, where I had pain perdu:



For a quick dinner before giving the training, I took out a fried shrimp poboy from Johnny's poboys:





The next day, I went to Cafe Du Monde for beignets and coffee. The beignets were divine; we went back for them several times, taking advantage of the fact that Cafe Du Monde is open 24 hours. Note that the coffee is rather weak, though.

Antonio's is a NOLA institution, dating back to the Civil War. They've been serving the well-to-do in this dining room for 150 years:



There, I had two more Creole classics: shrimp remoulade and Creole seafood gumbo. Since this is classic old Creole cuisine, the seasoning was quite understated compared to what I'm used to from Creole/Cajun. Frankly, the main reason to go to Antonio's is the atmosphere of antiquity, rather than the food, which is good but you can do better.





Antionio's mostly does huge banquets, for which reason they've expanded into multiple dining rooms in all of the adjacent buildings:

Next day, I decided to go for more modern New Orleans food. So a colleague and I went to Couchon. We shared some deep-fried alligator bites, he had the charcuterie and I had wood-oven roasted fish:







Dessert was a mini pineapple upside down cake, but the ice cream was better than the cake:

My last day there I went to Clover Grill for breakfast, to have their famous pecan waffles, which rightfully deserve to be famous:



Then I had a lunch meant to last me until 9pm when I got to SFO. So I hit a new place in the north end of the French Quarter called "Eat". The main reason I ended up there is I was seeking crawfish etouffee. What I got was not the traditional version, but a tasty variation made as a casserole with sweet potatoes:



I also had butter beans and shrimp, and that did indeed last me until 9pm.

Some other notes about eating in New Orleans:

Most of the stuff in the French Quarter is mediocre by NOLA standards, but will nevertheless have high online ratings because of tourists. So you can't really trust the ratings on Yelp, etc. Note, though, that "mediocre by NOLA standards" is still pretty good.

Most of the really interesting restaurants are outside the Quarter. Some are reachable by trolley from the Quarter (Couchon, Emeril's, etc.). However a lot of the more interesting "cheap" dining -- Cajun and/or African-American stuff, like poboys, crawfish, fish fries, hot gumbo -- are available only with a car or a fairly lengthy cab ride. However, cabs in NOLA are affordable compared to SF, NY or DC.

It's worth doing the Central Grocery muffaletta thing. Don't have a mufalletta anywhere else.

The French Market has a series of food stalls. Most of them have fairly mixed ratings.

It's currently not crawfish season, so any you order will be either frozen, tank-raised, or both. Keep it in mind.

Beautiful photos that evoke fond memories. I took a 2-day cooking class in the French Quarter at a brewery. Coincidentally to your pics, I made jambalaya and gumbo this weekend and will be sharing it with friends tonight!!

So, we're going back to New Orleans for a vacation trip, and for our 25th dating anniversary (first date, halloween party 1991).

So far we've made reservations at Bayona, GW Fin's, and bought tickets to Preservation Hall. Also booked a graveyard tour on All Saints' Day.

Any other must-eats?

Also, we'll have access to a kitchen this time, so marketing recommendations would be great.

MANY CONGRATS ON YOUR 25TH
We are also celebrating our 25th - decided to do that all year

Evening entertainment on Bourbon Street, Fritzel's Jazz Bar. It is Dixieland style music. There isn't a cover charge but I think you have to buy a drink. The band starts at 8 pm or 8:30 pm. The butt room is limited, you need to have a seat about 30 min before the music starts.

We like Deanie's Seafood, not sure of the spelling, Redfish Grill & Mr B's. Old reviews say the charbroiled oysters at the Ritz restaurant are supposed to be the best but the ones at Acme's are great.

EN

EN,

Thank's. Of the Brennan's restaurants, I've heard good things about Mr. B.