Did you see Elvis Presley down there or King Creole?
>>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yA_zS6-dO7Q <<

Mr. X and I had a great short getaway in New Orleans recently. Using tips from LTH and some suggestions from co-workers, we're already talking about our next visit.

Friday lunch: Johnny's Po-Boys. We split a catfish po-boy and gumbo. Mr. X commented that it was the best, freshest catfish he's had. Perfectly fried with a breading that didn't overwhelm. The gumbo was good as well.

Friday cocktail: Sazerac at the Sazerac, Roosevelt Hotel. I don't like anise or licorice. I had no problems with the hint of anise from the herbsaint. It was a damn fine drink and a perfect pre-nap cocktail. Mr. X had a French 75.

Friday dinner: Commander's Palace. We had early reservations and were seated in a corner table on the main floor. It is quite the setting and was a wonderful experience. After enjoying a cocktail (hibiscus martini for me, Adelaide Swizzle for him), we went for the three course prix fixe. We both started with the trio of soups (turtle, gumbo and an artichoke crab.) Mr. X had the mixed grill, which had boudin, andouille and rib-eye (possibly filet?). I had the caraway crusted scallops. Dessert was the bread pudding soufflé for me and the strawberry shortcake for him. It's telling to me that I had a hard time remembering what I had as an entree at CP. That's not to say it wasn't good -- it really was. The artichoke soup was the best of the three soups and they were all good. The mixed grill was a great way for us to sample different specialties. I would go back for that bread pudding soufflé in a heartbeat.

Friday post-dinner: A short stroll on Bourbon Street ended in a stop for a set or so at Irving Mayfield's Jazz Playhouse at the Royal Sonesta. Great room and no cover, at least for the show we saw.

Saturday lunch: Casamento's. After wandering through the Garden District and Lafayette Cemetery, we headed over to Casamento's for lunch. Simple yet wonderfully prepared food. We split a half-dozen oysters. They were so fresh and delightful, some of the best I've had. I continued on the oyster theme with a cup of oyster stew and half an oyster loaf. This meal continues to haunt me in its simple perfection. Mr. X stayed on his catfish theme with a catfish loaf preceded by a cup of gumbo. It was a decent gumbo, but Johnny's had the best of our trip. We split an Abita Andygator, a doppelbock. Really a great lunch.

Saturday dinner: Dante's Kitchen. We headed back out to the Riverbend area to sample their seasonal menu of local cuisine. This is another meal that has resonated with me. We started with a cocktail at the bar to wait for our table. (We were early.) Once seated, we shared plates. We started with their shrimp and grits. Great stuff -- "andouille red-eye gravy" per their menu over perfectly cooked grits and shrimp. We followed this with the charcuterie plate, which included mortadella, house-made pate and manchego. The thing that put this over the edge for me was the cherry mustard and the pickled radishes. For our entree, we had the corn-bread crusted flounder with hoppin john and a side of sautéed Brussels sprouts with bacon. Delicious! I have somehow blanked on dessert. We had a lovely bottle of Oregon Pinot Noir. I enjoyed the setting and really loved the food.

Post-dinner Saturday: Frenchmen Street. We caught the tail-end of Carol Fran’s late show at Snug Harbor. She’s a 77 year-old spitfire. We then wandered the street and landed at Three Muses for some great cocktails and terrific band. Three Muses had an interesting menu that I’d like to explore next time.

Sunday brunch: Surrey’s Café & Juice Bar. After a quick snack from the continental breakfast at our hotel, we headed out into the sun to walk over to Surrey’s. There was a wait for a table, but it was worth it for Mr. X’s entrée alone. It was a take on biscuits and gravy. A bacon scone was covered in a tasso gravy, two eggs (over-easy) with hash browns. Fantastic stuff. I had the special omelet, shrimp Veracruz with a black bean salsa. I was envious of the bacon scone. The meal at Surrey’s was a perfect base for a trip to the zoo.

Sunday lunch: Tracey’s. We had passed Tracey’s in our wanderings. When I spotted someone in a Bears jersey, I felt it was the best place for us to catch the game after visiting the zoo. It was packed when we got there, but we were able to grab a table before half-time. An order of fried mushrooms, fried okra and a roast beef po-boy soon followed. Good stuff, especially the sandwich. Not quite an Italian Beef, but moist and flavorful. Too bad the Bears lost. The Abita Ambers helped.

Sunday supper: Coop’s Place. We weren’t terribly hungry, but we needed something. Mr. X was hankering for jambalaya and I remembered Coop’s Place had it on their menu. Mr. X went for the Coop’s Taste Plate: A cup of Seafood Gumbo, Shrimp Creole, Cajun Fried Chicken, Red Beans & Rice with Sausage, and Rabbit & Sausage Jambalaya. I just had a bowl of jambalaya with a side salad. The fried chicken on the taste plate was phenomenal. We were not disappointed with anything else on our plates. Loved the no-nonsense atmosphere and the great value.

We hadn’t had the obligatory beignets yet so we made our way over to Café du Monde. One order of beignets and a couple of café au laits between us and we waddled back to the hotel.

That was it for our dining adventures in New Orleans. It was a great trip in a beautiful town. My only other experience in NOLA was over 10 years ago and was focused on Bourbon Street. I am so grateful to have broadened my horizons (and waistline) and can’t wait to go back!

Johnny’s PoBoy - 511 St. Louis St. - New Orleans, LA 70130
http://www.johnnyspoboy.com/default.aspx

Commander's Palace - 1403 Washington Ave. New Orleans, LA 70130
http://www.commanderspalace.com/

Casamento’s Restaurant – 4330 Magazine St., New Orleans, Louisiana 70115
http://www.casamentosrestaurant.com/

Dante’s Kitchen - 736 Dante St., New Orleans, LA 70118
http://danteskitchen.com/

Surrey’s Café & Juice Bar – 1418 Magazine Street New Orleans, LA 70130
http://www.surreyscafeandjuicebar.com/

Tracey's Bar & Restaurant - 2604 Magazine Street, New Orleans, LA 70130
http://traceysnola.com/

Coop’s Place – 1109 Decatur St., New Orleans, LA 70116
http://www.coopsplace.net/

Snug Harbor - 626 Frenchmen St., New Orleans, LA 70116
http://www.snugjazz.com/test/index.htm

Three Muses – 536 Frenchmen St., New Orleans, LA 70116
http://www.thethreemuses.com/

GP - You're making me really hungry for NO - I wish Dante's was in Chicago . . . I love everything about that place. I'm a big fan of both Coops and Johnny's too, and who doesn't love a beignet. Nice report!

Disappointed to hear that CP isn't enforcing the dress code. I haven't been to NO post-Katrina (and feel guilty about that) but back when I used to be a more regular visitor CP was always on the short list. From the turtle soup to the bread pudding it was always worth donning a jacket.

Finally working my way through the approx. 250 food pictures I took. Ill post individual reports on restaurants as I get to them.

Here is where we hit in order:

Saturday:
snack: cafe du monde
lunch: Drago's
dinner: Cochon
Sunday:
breakfast: Felix
lunch: Grands Isle
dinner: Emeril's Delmonico
Monday:
lunch: August
dinner: Commanders Palace
Tuesday:
breakfast: cafe du monde
snack: Johnny's
snack: French Market Bar
dinner: Boucherie
Wednesday:
lunch: Cochon Butcher
snack: Mahoney's
dinner: Luke
Thursday:
lunch: Cassamento's
snack: Luke Happy Hour
dinner: Bourbon House
Friday:
breakfast: Johhny's
snack: K-Paul
snack: Big Fisherman
dinner: Galatoire's
Saturday:
snack: cafe du monmde
snack: K-Paul
snack: Drago's

NOLA was fantastic, depressed we are back in Chicago.

Cochon, had to be our first dinner in NOLA. This place is all about what I like, rustic, old school recipes. Great chefs, great service, and moonshine. On a Saturday this place required a reservation, or one must be willing to wait. Line out the door waiting for them to open, and by the time we left an hour wait for those unfortunate enough to not have a reservation. A modern space with an open kitchen in the back with an impressive wood burning oven that they kiss alot of their dishes in.

Moonshine flight was great, that paired with a Abita Amber, and I was on my way.

Items ordered: wood fired oyster roast, spicy grilled pork ribs with watermelon pickle, mac-n-cheese, Louisiana cochon with turnips, cabbage & cracklins & rabbit & dumplings. Wood fired oysters were solid, but after having Drago's oysters a few hours earlier they couldnt compete. Oysters were fresh, plump and tasty though. Pork ribs, I really wanted to steer away from any bbq this trip(and the last few months), but decided to give these a try. Quality pork, nicely cooked(maybe a little to tender for me,), spicy sauce with a high vinegar note. The thing I liked about the dish was the watermelon pickle garnish, really nice adder. Mac-n-cheese, a good version, we needed something for Shay, and I think we ate as much as she did. Cheesey, a solid dish.

The stars, The Louisana cochon with turnips, cabbage & cracklins. Magnificent dish. The cochon was formed into a cake, and was succulent, moist, flavorfull, and had a great texture. The bottom of the dish had a pork jus, the cabbage, and the tender turnips. Topped with a crispy pork skin this dish was great. The rabbit and dumplings, another stellar dish. Rustic & simple, but great. Tender rabbit in a tarragon laced gravy in a cast iron skillet topped with dumplings that were browned in the wood oven.

Cochon set the bar high for the rest of the trip.

moonshine flight:


wood fired oyster:


mac-n-cheese:


rabbit & dumplings:




Louisiana cochon:





Cochon
930 Tchoupitoulas
NOLA

http://www.cochonrestaurant.com

Thanks for the write up GP!


I am way outdone by both Jim and yourself. I take so few pictures and no notes or anything...I sometimes wish I was more like a friend of mine, or you'all, and took more pictures of food. But heck, I'd rather sit back and just take the meal/experience in. Good thing there are others who like to chronicle your trip.

One thing is for sure...

My last trip to New Orleans, before this one, was about 10 months ago. I wish I could go back already...what a town...what food, music, people, history, etc!


Maybe I'd be more enthused about taking photographs if my cell phone took better pictures. Mine are real bad in poor light.


Look forward to the write-up!

dan

gonefishin wrote:

Kpauls... Now, his gumbo does have a little different flavor to it, but I thought it was a welcome change...and still a nice dark roux.

dan, we hit K-Pauls Friday & Saturday during lunch for a cup of gumbo to go. Saturday because the Friday version was great, and probably one of the best gumbo's I have had.

Friday: Dark roux, great deep flavor, nice chunks of chicken and sausage. The broth had an almost silky texture to it.

Went back Saturday, and got a terrible version. Lighter, more tomato, fattier sausage, and a couple chicken bones to boot. Night and day difference between them.

No kiddin'!


Oh, that's just wrong. You should send an email

Cochon Butcher, as impressive as Cochon was, Butcher was just as impressive. We went here for lunch on Wednesday I think, and were blown away by the meat, the service, and operation.

Housemade meats, sausages, & local products were the predominant theme of all the places we ate at in NOLA, and none did it better than Butcher.

Got to bump into Chef Stryjewski for a chat and some pictures as well. A friendly guy as was Butchers entire staff.

Trying to pace ourselves food wise we only ordered (2) sandwiches off the menu, "the gambino" & the duck pastrami slider. We also got a king cake, and a couple bottles of Barq's.

"the gambino": as solid of an Italian style sub as I have had anywhere...anywhere. Cotto salami, sopresetta, coppa, arugala, and herb vinaigrette. Housemade lunch meats were top notch, as good as I have eaten anyplace. Butchers were peppery, packed with flavor, and perfect. Great bread for a sandwich, soft, yet chewy and flavorfull. Herb viaigrette was excellent, complimented the sandwich totally. great sandwich.

the duck pastrami sliders: to me more like a duck pastrami patty melt. cheesy, nice bread, duck pastrami was great.

King cake was nice, as were the housemade chip that came with the "gambino". Cochon Butcher is a cant miss in NOLA, I am just mad at myself we didnt get back for another sandwich.



meats, sausages, etc.:













king cake:



"the gambino":



duck pastrami slider:



Chef S., & the grubseeker:



Cochon Butcher

http://www.cochonbutcher.com

Next up: August & Commanders.

A dinner @ Delmonico wasnt on the initial plans, but Sunday's offer somewhat limited dining options. I am not a huge fan of the Emeril schtick, but I am not one to deny his success, and skills.

The restaurant is a grand old space, and restored nicely as I heard it sustained heavy damage during Katrina. Located on St. Charles in the GD.

Overall a solid meal with a few standouts, a peychauds sazerac, Double Gloucester cheese tasting, crispy pork cheeks with dirty rice, and a dry aged ribeye.

Sazerac was simple yet great, a nice before meal cocktail:



Double Gloucester:

really nice, some crystalization of the cheese added texture:



Crispy pork cheeks with dirty rice, probably the overall best dish of the night. Perectly cooked pork cheeks, tender and tons of flavor. The dirty rice was the best version i have ever eaten. Loads of offal, and green onions, geat flavor, and supple rice:



After the sazeac I enjoyed a few bottles of Abita Jockamo, probably my favorite of the Abita's.:



The ribeye was another star of this meal 20+ day dry aged 20+ oz. bone in ribeye. Perfectly cooked to rare. Dry aged beef was tender, and the mineral funk from the dry aging was present. Probably one of the top steaks I have ever eaten. I mentioned upthread how they threw out the small chink I was going to take back to the hotel for a snack, and they cooked me a whole steak to replace it. unheard of.



Overall Delmonico was a good meal, great service, comfortable surroundings. Glad we went.

Delmonico
1300 St. Charles
NOLA

Restaurant August.... One of the best restaurants in NOLA? yes,

in the country? its on the short list thats for sure.

1st of two John Besh places we went to, Luke was the other, both were great.

So glad we made it in here for lunch, dishes, service, etc, were superb. A little over 2 hours for a casual lunch. $20.11 3-course prixe fix for my wife, I went ala cart. All dishes were great, well executed, pretty to the eye.

Prixe fix slections:

salad of fried brussel sprouts - house cured ham, marcona olives & local yams(fantastic dish):



stuffed jumbo gulf shrimp - local mirliton, warm andoullie vinaigrette, petit fine herbs(also great):



Creole cream cheese tartlet - pistachios, Liuzzo's strawberries, elder flower:



Ala cart selections:

Plaquemines Parish citrus & blue crab - blood orange, Sixilian pistachios, smoked aioli, house bacon(magnificent dish, sweet, salt, tart, etc):



Black garlic carbonara - pasta a la chitarra, La Provence bacon, Marvilla Ranch egg(over the top, rich, savory, perfect dish):






Shay and Chef Jackie:



Restaurant August, a must when going to NOLA.

August made for part one of one of the greatest one-two punches I have ever done: lunch @ August, dinner @ Commanders Palace....

Restaurant August
301 Tchoupitoulas
NOLA

http://www.restaurantaugust.com

jimswside wrote:
Shay and Chef Jackie:

And NOW we know how you were scoring free steaks

Looks like Shay was right at home in that kitchen--Look out!!

boudreaulicious wrote:And NOW we know how you were scoring free steaks

Looks like Shay was right at home in that kitchen--Look out!!

lol,

shay and her mom are the charmers in the family thats for sure,

cooking can be her hobby, hopefully she is going to be a doctor, lawyer, or some other high paying profession which will allow her parents to retire early.

Helluva trip jim - and great pictures. I haven't been to August and I'm really eager to try it out.

Out of curiosity, you say you didn't like Central Grocery. I'm assuming you had the muffuletta, and while theirs is not my favorite in town, I am still a big fan. That being said, I've been in there when the place is packed and I have seen some pre-made muffs which I think is just wrong - I hope you didn't get stuck with one? Or was it something else that was not right?

BR wrote:Helluva trip jim - and great pictures. I haven't been to August and I'm really eager to try it out.

Out of curiosity, you say you didn't like Central Grocery. I'm assuming you had the muffuletta, and while theirs is not my favorite in town, I am still a big fan. That being said, I've been in there when the place is packed and I have seen some pre-made muffs which I think is just wrong - I hope you didn't get stuck with one? Or was it something else that was not right?

thanks, I still have alot of pics to post(Luke, Johnny's, BIg Fisherman, Commanders, Galatoire's, Cassamento's, Drago's) been really busy this week at night.

We went to Central Grocery @ around 9:00 a.m., and got a freshly made muffaletta, olive salad was good, bread was kind of stale, meat was sparse. The muffaletta's @ Johnny's looked great but we didnt try one.

Hey Jim,

You're right about Central Grocery. The bread is sometimes stale and the meat is sparse. But, but...you must close your eyes and imagine what it is. Any bread will not do for a Muffaletta. Find the recipe I linked to here, from NolaCuisine. It's easy...and it's a Muffaletta bread. Get some nice Boar's Head deli meat and make your own olive salad. The Muffaletta is a wonderful thing. Central Grocery does have a nice olive salad though...I found it a little heavier on the oregano and capers than other mixes.


Dan

I don't recall the sparse meat at Central Grocery, but I have had stale bread there before. Next time, give Stein's a try. I liked everything about it, including the fact that they toast the bread just enough to give the crust some crunch. And Johnny's makes a surprisingly good one too.

gonefishin wrote:Hey Jim,

You're right about Central Grocery. The bread is sometimes stale and the meat is sparse. But, but...you must close your eyes and imagine what it is. Any bread will not do for a Muffaletta. Find the recipe I linked to here, from NolaCuisine. It's easy...and it's a Muffaletta bread. Get some nice Boar's Head deli meat and make your own olive salad. The Muffaletta is a wonderful thing. Central Grocery does have a nice olive salad though...I found it a little heavier on the oregano and capers than other mixes.


Dan

good points dan,

I make a better muffaletta on the Italian round loaf, and meats cheeses and olive salad i buy @ Caputo's.

with that said im glad we tried Central grocery, one of those must tries.

After doing August for lunch, I had a reservation @ Commanders Palace for dinner. This day ended up to be one of the greatest eating days of my life, a 1 - 2 punch that cannot be duplicated anywhere in the country.

Commanders Palace.... this venerable institution of NOLA blew my mind. Great service, and magnificent food. Loved the building and a few drinks in the bar that peers into the kitchen. I had some burbon on ice as my drink at the bar and that choice continued to the table. Dining room off the courtyard with a tree growing up through the middle of the building. Elegant surroundings, attentive service. I was dressed for the visit, Ivory dinner jacket, white shirt, black tux pants, and a crawfish lapel pin.. I received vip treatment, comped after dinner bourbon, comped mid dinner palate cleansing shot. I asked many questions about the menu, snapped alot of pictures, and gav my feedback of each dish to interested servers and management.





The food, I was planning on doing the 8 course tasting menu, but changed my mind after seeing some of the offerings(i dont do beef tongue), so i put together my own menu and it turned out to be a great decision...

Amuse: some sort of salmon:



Appetizer #1: "The Pig & the Peach", an abita rootbeer braised pork belly atop boudin, with put up peaches, honey, and trotter jus.... This dish was brilliant, and one of the top dishes of the visit and my life. Fork tender, succulent, flavorfull, moist pork belly with the added textures and flavors of the peaches, honey, boudin & trotter jus. The abita rootbeer added a sticky crust to the belly, as well as sweetness. I dont think I can describe this dish to give it enough credit for how great it was. This was easily the best pork belly preperation I have ever had.





Appetizer # 2: Shrimp & Tasso Henican, local white gulf shrimp, stuffed with tasso ham, Crystal hot sauce beurre blanc, pickled okra, and 5 pepper jelly. A great dish, lots of things going on, salt, heat, flavor, texture, etc. Magnificent, I ate very bite:



I went with the 3 course dinner after these excellent appetizers.

Course # 1; Sefood gumbo, my first of the trip, and a really nice version. Deep flavored broth, nice chunks of oysters and crab.



Main: Butter roasted sea scallops - caraway crusted sea scallops over wild rice, quinoa, barley & winter wheat. With porcini cream and pressed pumkin seed oil.... Perfectly cooked, buttery texture scallops, all the grains were a nice touch adding texture and hearty flavor. A solid dish start to finish.



Dessert: Strawberry shortcake, I took it to go, and really didnt try any. I was stuffed at this point:



After my 3rd day in NOLA I was starting to think NOLA may be the best food city in America. Imaginative chefs, fresh, local ingredients, history, tradition, etc. By the end of my trip I was convinced.

Commanders Palace
1402 Washington Ave.
NOLA

http://www.commanderspalace.com

Beautiful pictures Jim - and that meal at Commander's looks outstanding, although a lot of food. The pork dish sounds fantastic.

Luke for a Wednesday dinner was a good pick. Another of my new hero John Besh's restaurants. Located off the lobby of the Hilton,a comfortable space with a hopping hasppy hour bar scene(1/2 price drinks and oysters). We did a dinner here I also did happy hour the following night.

I am so glad I ignored 99% of the information about NOLA I got from Chowhound, I was told to skip places like Like, Cochon & Big Fisherman...

Embarassingly my stomach wouldnt even consider any oysters until the 4th day of our trip. Way too hung over most days, and the idea of slurping some plump gulf oysters turned me green at the thought. However this meal we started out with some Kumamoto oysters, and some boiled shrimp from the raw bar. The Kumamoto's are a smaller but packed with flavor oyster, and my favorite so this seemed a good point to start. These Kumamoto's were perfectly shucked, fresh, tender and briny. A great start to the emal. Cold boiled shrimp were large, perectly cooked, and fresh. A nice opening.

We went with the Wednesday special for $23 which was a choice of soup, Jumbo Louisiana shrimp creole, and bread pudding. I went a-la cart, cup of crawfish bisque, and local crab ravioli.

The gumbo, a really nice version, my memory is fading of the trip a bit, but I am pretty sure it was a duck gumbo that night. Nice roux, nice balance of flavors in the broth, a solid cup. The crawfish bisque was very delicately flavored, lots of crawfish, and got better with each spoonfull. Especially after switiching back to it after a few spoonfulls of gumbo, seemed to really bring out the nuances of the bisque. The shrimp creole with local shrimp, local tomatoes & popcorn rice was a nice dish. Perfectly balanced, fresh, local ingredients, solid dish. The Local crab ravioli in the garlic & Meyer lemon cream sauce was rich and good. Ravioli made in house cooked al-dente. Dish was topped with more lump crab as a garnish. I really enjoyed all the fresh, local crab I ate on this trip. Bread pudding as a dessert was good from what I was told, I didnt waste any stomach space this trip on desserts.

Happy hour the next night was great, 1/2 price pours of Evan Williams bourbon, Abita beer, and 1/2 price oysters. These P & J local gulf oysters were great. Fresh, plump and briny as expected.



Kumamoto:


Gumbo:


Jumbo Louisiana Shrimp creole:



local crab ravioli:


Happy hour pics:






I wish Chef Besh would open a place in Chicago

Luke Restaurant
333 St. Charles
NOLA

http://www.lukeneworleans.com

jimswside wrote:I am so glad I ignored 99% of the information about NOLA I got from Chowhound, I was told to skip places like Like, Cochon & Big Fisherman...

Amen to that. I don't think half of those posting there regularly even dine out anymore, they just keep backing up their old war horses. The one knucklehead who pimps Brightsen's every chance he gets is particularly annoying.

Great posts, you're making me hungry! I'm not going back there til April, can't wait.

Fast Eddie wrote:

jimswside wrote:I am so glad I ignored 99% of the information about NOLA I got from Chowhound, I was told to skip places like Like, Cochon & Big Fisherman...

Amen to that. I don't think half of those posting there regularly even dine out anymore, they just keep backing up their old war horses. The one knucklehead who pimps Brightsen's every chance he gets is particularly annoying.

Great posts, you're making me hungry! I'm not going back there til April, can't wait.

thanks,

yep, Brigsten's, & Mr. B's were constantly recommended as was Bon Ton. Maybe they are good, but I only had 7 dinners, and had to pick & choose. Mr. B's was in the running until the person that answered their phone told me "you have to come in and see" when I asked about any menu specials for the evening.

Chowhound was one of many sources I scoured for info before the trip (Yelp, LTH, New orleans food boards, books, magazines, etc.), and much like the Chicago Chowhound board the NOLA board was basically useless, and suffered from the same problem as the Chicago board, one or maybe two posters who post every day and regurgitate the same bad recommendations over and over.

jimswside wrote:Mr. B's was in the running until the person that answered their phone told me "you have to come in and see" when I asked about any menu specials for the evening.

I did have an excellent smoked duck dish there many years ago, but although I often think about that dish, I have yet to return. I just can't bring myself to join the touristic throngs at Mr. B's.

stevez wrote:I just can't bring myself to join the touristic throngs at Mr. B's.

I generally couldn't care less if a place is
hip/touristy, or not - if the food is good.
In my experience, Mr. B's was disappointing
by about every measure. The whole experience
was about as rote as hotel dining or your typical
Applebee's®. Especially egregious were their
"signature dishes" of Gumbo. Watery, burnt/bitter,
with sparse and rubbery SeaFood™ bits and/or
mealy snausage. One of those places that
just makes you angry that you're wasting
your precious time, when there are so many
better options everywhere you turn.

Casamento's was always on my list of places to try, and it fit in well on a day when we were going to the NOLA zoo. The zoo in NOLA was a pleasant surprise, with a world class zoo in Brookfield I wasnt sure the NOLA zoo would be anything special. However it was, and easily on par with Brookfield, with the many local exhibits & attractions in NOLA.

We used alot of public transportation in NOLA, street cars, and even a couple city busses... Both were a real departure for us who unapologetically drive our own vehicle everwhere. Public transport was handy getting to and from places, I just hate working with a schedule. Casamento's is towards Uptown at the far end of the garden dist. Been here 80+ years. Loved the decor with what i believe was white "subway" tiling on the walls and floor. Front room has some tables and a oyster shucking station, backroom is tables leading to the kitchen, Friendly staff, simple menu. Oysters once again were not in teh cards(too early, and I hadnt started drinking yet - cant eat oysters without some beers imho). We went with the deep fried crab fingers, a cup of gumbo, a small shrimp dinner, and a 1/2 soft shell crab loaf. All good, some things better than others.

The gumbo, I liked this version, a little more tomato in the broth than I am used to, but it was good, almost a minestrone gumbo. Crab fingers were ok, meaty morsels of on the claw. Deep frying crab kind of takes away from it imho. Small shrimp dinner, fresh local shrimp, perfectly fried, nice breading. I also really liked that they had the fixins' at the table to make your own cocktail sauce. Hot horseradish, ketchup, L & P, and Crystal. Nice touch. The 1/2 soft shell crab loaf. Meaty, fresh local crab, perfectly fried, this held up to the fryer better than the claws. However, the texas toast bread to ake it a sandwich was way to much to beable to let the star shine through. We munched that crab seperate. Friendly staff, took shay and vangie for a tour of the kitchen.





gumbo:


crab claws:


shrimp dinner:





Next time Im doing raw oysters...

Casamaneto's
4330 Magazine Street
NOLA

http:..www.casamentosrestaurant.com

Jim-

If one needs to use the restroom at Casamento's, it's a self-guided tour through the kitchen. I just didn't get an explanation of what I was looking at or introductions like Shay and Vangie did.

The GP wrote:Jim-

If one needs to use the restroom at Casamento's, it's a self-guided tour through the kitchen. I just didn't get an explanation of what I was looking at or introductions like Shay and Vangie did.

its good to have the 2 food vip's with me.

That kitchen was tiny, they had a prep area outside that had a popup tent over it. Id imagine on a busy day they need all the space they have.

One of the cheapest meals ended up being one of the best of the trip. Although it was early in the season I knew there were Louisiana crawfish to be had, just took some effort before the trip having Big Fisherman in my back pocket, and talking to local chefs, etc. There were some options up near the French Market, but expensive, so we waited until later in the week when Big Fisherman was open(I believe they were only open Thurs, Fri., Sat., & Sunday when we were there). Friday was a sunny 70 degree day, perect for a run over to Big Fisherman which is carryout only. I called in advance and was told they did indeed have Louisiana crawfish for $4.99 cooked and ready to go. Game on....

Took the Magazine street bus to their location, a storefront seafood shop with coolers and display cases of seafood, sausage, etc. I love all insects of the sea, and loved their display cases filled with local crabs.. Gumbo crabs to xtra large ones. We opted for some medium ones which by what is typically avaialable in Illinois were huge & @ $2 each a steal, I think they ship all the buster crabs up to us yankees.. Crawfish were already boiled, and in a large tub much like you find at a crawfish boil @ Toon's. Crawfish were $4.99/lb.

We took our mobile feast to a park a couple blocks from Biug Fisherman and dug in. Crawfish were great, tender, nice flavor, and for some reason tasted better sitting in the sun. Crabs were also nice, served chilled, they yielded alot of lump from their bodies, and each quite a bit of roe. Just a great, simple lunch. Which with a couple cans of pop cost us maybe $20 total. We then strolled around the garden district and caught a street car on St. Charles back towards the FQ. Great afternoon.





Crabs:





picnic:









ride home:



Big Fisherman Seafood
3301 Magazine Street
NOLA

http://www.bigfishermanseafood.com