The Bloody's weren't spicy but so unbelievably flavorful. The Hurricanes, aka gasoline, and Hand Grenades were too sweet for me but you have to have at least one when you are in New Orleans. I still can't get over the ability to walk up to a bars "To Go" window and ordering a drink to take with you on your walk down Bourbon St. or the drive thru Daiquiri windows. This town loves to party...hard and dirty. And it sure loves to make good eats.
The first thing that I wanted to do when I got off the plane was to grab a drink and find something delicious to eat and that's what we did. We took a walk down Decatur St, ordered a Hurricane to go, and found our way to the infamous Bourbon St. This was Josh's first trip to New Orleans and I wondered what he was thinking as he saw all the people crowded in the street drinking drinks bigger than they could hold. I on the other hand had been to NoLa back when I was 16 but this was my first trip as a "legal" drinking adult. and it is some sight to see. Some of the greatest people watching I have witnessed.
After a Hurricane or two and a few local brews, we stopped in at La'Bayou Restaurant on Bourbon St for a late night snack. We ordered the Oyster Ya Ya's and one of my fav's, crawfish cakes. The Oyster Ya Ya's were charbroiled, which I discovered is a popular way to serve them in NoLa. They were topped with a cajun pesto and parmesan cheese. They were surprisingly very spicy and the smokey, charbroiled flavor gave them a delicious and distinct taste. The crawfish cakes were your typical patties served with cajon aioli. What wasn't so typical was how fresh the crawfish was. It made the cakes so moist and the many, many, chunks of crawfish made these some of the most delicious crawfish cakes that I have ever had. We were so happy with our midnight snack that it got us pretty excited for our weekend of indulgence.
Our first attempt to go to Cafe Du Monde was for breakfast but on a Sunday morning, apparently, that was everyone else's intentions as well because the line to get in was wrapped around the building. Our bellies were a little to hungry to wait in that line but don't worry, we make it there, twice before our trip came to an end.
We found a restaurant across the street from Cafe Du Monde called Rivers Edge and decided to have breakfast there. We started the morning with the infamous Bloody Mary's. The ones here were rimmed with Zataran seasoning. An idea I must duplicate, after all, imitation is the best form of flattery. I had the Rajun Cajun Omelet with smoked andouille sausage, ham, bell peppers, and onions topped with a Creole sauce and served with grits. This was my first time having grits and the menu didn't indicate that it came with them so I was really excited when I saw them on my plate. They were great! Rich and creamy and with a little salt, pepper and tabasco they were perfect. The omelet stole the show. The large bits of sausage were my favorite part. Josh had fried crab "fingers". They were literally the thumbs off of the crab's claw. They were battered in a cornmeal base fry and served with tartar and cocktail sauce. It was so fun to slide the meet off with your teeth.
After breakfast, and ordering another Bloody Mary to go, we decided to explore the city on foot admiring all the local artist in the street and all the gypsy's telling fortunes. Walking up and down all the sides streets is the best way to see the French Quarter. I'm not sure how people drive around down there. The streets are so narrow I still think that they are only meant for horses.
We found ourselves on Charters St and decided to pop into Charters House Cafe, a quiet, quant bar/restaurant. We didn't eat there but we bellied up to the bar and indulged in some great drink and conversation. We ended up back here the next day as well, not to eat, though the menu was tempting and a must stop next time we find ourselves back down here.
Our next stop on our walking tour was for drinks and not for food but this place has made it on my list as favorite bars. Lafitte's Black Smith Shop Bar is THE oldest bar in the country and by far the coolest. The structure, architecture and brick are so old you can feel the history as you walk inside. I couldn't help but imagine all the different people, in ll the different era's that had walked in the door and sat at the bar. The energy in Lafitte's is chilling and way cool. It is a must place to grab a drink if you are in NoLa. The waitress said that they had the best Bloody Mary's so I partook in another 3 or 4 and Josh made his way thru the local brew list.
We spent hours at Lafitte's working up an appetite for one of New Orleans most favorite places, Cafe Du Monde. The coffee and beignets at Cafe Du Monde was what I was looking forward to the most this trip. I know it's a tourist trap and that hoards of people crowd this place but it's for a damn good reason. The cafe au laits with chicory coffee and scolding milk are delicious and the beignets, oh the beignets...there are just no words.
These puffy, doughy, fried french doughnuts are dusted with powder sugar and are like heaven in your mouth. I've made them before for Josh and Bella but none compare to the ones at Cafe Du Monde. We had to stop here on our last day as well to indulge again.
That evening for dinner we headed to Acme Oyster House. The very same place where Adam from Man vs Food downed 15 dozen raw oysters. I love oysters but, that's just gross. There was a pretty hefty line to get into Acme but we opted to sit at the oyster bar instead of a table and I am glad we did because we got to sit in front of "Magic" and watch him shuck oysters all night and tell some pretty entertaining stories. Without much convincing he had us order their chargrilled oysters. I loved these with garlic and cheese and a little dab of cocktail sauce, mmmmmmmm....Though I did really enjoy the charbroiled ones at La'Bayou I preferred Acme's chargrilled one. And the oysters at Acme were huge. We ordered raw ones too an as Josh put it "These are monsters!"
This is also where I had a Po Boy! I ordered the Peace Maker Po Boy. It was a combination of shrimp and oysters cornmeal battered and friend served on an 8" roll topped with lettuce, tomato and tabasco infused mayo. "Magic" suggested I put a few dabs of smoked Tabasco on it and I am glad he did. We were way too stuffed for dessert but the bananas foster was tempting me.
Our last meal of the trip was a fun one. I had made it a goal to try alligator while we were down here and at Riverfront Restaurant, we did! We had the Cajun Alligator Bites. The bartender suggested we have them blackened so we did. It was delicious. It's hard to describe without using the cliched "It tastes like chicken" but it does. It just had a meatier, denser texture. It was really good with a little dab of tartar sauce and cocktail sauce.
We also indulged in a little taste of Louisiana. It was a platter of gumbo with chicken and sausage, crawfish etouffee, and jambalaya. It wasn't a knock your socks off meal but it was really, really tasty and a good way to end our trip.
The next time we go I would like to try some of the fine dining places that NoLa has to offer. I've heard Emeril's Nola is really good and John Besh's August. Stay tuned....someday there will be a part 2.
Points of interest:
La'Bayou
208 Bourbon St
Rivers Edge
801 Decatur St
Chartres House Cafe
601 Charters St.
Acme Oyster House
724 Iberville St
Cafe Du Monde
800 Decatur St.
Riverfront Restaurant
541 Decatur St
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