I am your designated eater in New Orleans. Tell me what to eat.

[Taverner]

;)

[Shakespeare]

1. Go to Central Grocery (across the street from the French Market) NOW and get a muffelata.

And then mosey on down the street to Cafe du Monde and have beignets and cafe au lait for dessert. :9

[Taverner]

2. beignets - is that bread pudding?

[Shakespeare]

4. Newp. Little deep-fried rectangles of heavenliness.

Covered in powdered sugar (they're French doughnuts).

Accompanied by the coffee, it's the food of the gods.

[jobycom]

12. Here:

Beignets.

[marzipanni]

35. If I'm not mistaken I think beignets are served in the morning, too

MMmmmm, breakfast of café au lait and beignets.

[charlie and algernon]

3. you actually have room for desert after a muffelata?

When I went to Nawlins and had just a half Muff I was stuffed to the gills.

[Shakespeare]

5. I usually order the half-sandwich.

Or split one with whomever I'm with.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

6. jambalaya and crawfish pie and filet gumbo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnKOVPXhlnE

Goodbye, joe, me gotta go, me oh my oh.
Me gotta go, pole the pirogue down the bayou.
My yvonne, sweetest one, me oh my oh.
Son of a gun, gonna have big fun on the bayou.

Chorus:
Jambalaya and a crawfish pie and fillet gumbo
’cause tonight I’m gonna see my ma cher amio.
Pick guitar, fill fruit jar and be gayo,
Son of a gun, gonna have big fun on the bayou.

Thibodeaux, fontaineaux, the place is buzzin’,
Kinfolk come to see yvonne by the dozen.
Dress in style, go hog wild, and be gayo.
Son of a gun, gonna have big fun on the bayou.

[raccoon]

7. Grilled gator. nt

[Taverner]

9. Wouldn't that end up turning to mush?

I've had fried gator bits, and they were all breading, with nothing inside. Kinda like popcorn shrimp, minus the shrimp

[raccoon]

10. Fried gator bits are all I've ever eaten too.

:sigh: We Americans should eat more gator. They have made such a comeback (the gators, I mean), that in SC, I hear we have a gator hunting season.

[Taverner]

11. Can you just knock them in the head with a stump?

Just like Amos? :)

[raccoon]

14. Amos moses? nt

[Taverner]

16. Yup - and he can eat up his weight in groceries :)

[nosillies]

8. Go to Mr. John's and get the mushrooms

On St. Charles, next to Avenue Plaza. I think they still serve them.

[tismyself]

13. bananas foster

over at Brennan's!

[JVS]

15. Find a hotdog cart and have 3 or 4 for Ignatius.

[Taverner]

20. 12 inches of paradise!

[MilesColtrane]

17. "A Taste of Soul" Platter from Praline Connection downtown.

"A Taste of Soul" Platter - Filé Gumbo, Red Beans & Rice, Jambalaya, Greens, Fried Chicken, Catfish Strips, and Bread Pudding.

Either that, or a shrimp po' boy...

[kedrys]

18. Crawfish etouffee

With the obligatory beignets for dessert, of course. :hi:

[MountainLaurel]

19. It's Monday: red beans and rice, of course!

Coulda had them at Chez Laurel had I known you were here! (Mr. Laurel also makes a mean jambalaya.)

[KamaAina]

24. My goodness, you are coming along quite nicely!

One would hardly know you "weren't really local"! How's your accent comin' along, chere? Better 'n' Chris Rose's? (Times-Picayune columnist originally from Wisconsin who once attempted to talk like Harry Connick Jr. on network teevee :-) )

[MountainLaurel]

28. Awww thanks!

We're both foodies in our own ways, so learning how to make the local specialties was high on our list, now that andouille and tasso are readily available (compared to Maine, where we tried to improvise using Italian sausage and chorizo). As for my accent, there's not to be much done about that: I managed to spent the first 23 years of my life in WV without picking up much of an accent except when around my friends from the southern part of the state, so I doubt I'll get much of a LA thing going. (Although, can you explain why my Chalmette-born-and-raised coworker sounds like she's from Joisey?) However, I do occasionally call my dogs chere.

[KamaAina]

33. Actually, I can, sort of

Although, can you explain why my Chalmette-born-and-raised coworker sounds like she's from Joisey?

The true N'Awlins accent (see under Connick, Harry Jr.) has nothing whatsoever to do with that of the Deep South which surrounds it; rather, it has been described as "Southern Brooklynese". Similar ethnic makeup, with Irish, Italians, etc.

[MountainLaurel]

36. Makes sense

Actually my part of WV is very similar -- We don't have much of the Appalachian thing going because we're too far away from the mountains but more influenced by Pittsburgh, and the current population includes a high percentage of 2nd and 3rd generation Italians, Croatians, Hungarians, Poles, etc. (As my mom says: "You're three steps off the Spaghetti Boat.")

[krispos42]

21. Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. in the French Quarter

:hide:










Shades of Olive Garden?

[Janice325]

22. Go to Mandina's Restaurant at 3800 Canal Street

and have a bowl of turtle soup with sherry and followed by their trout meuniere.
Have a good time while you're in N'Awlins.
Gosh, I miss that city (I moved in 1994). :cry:

Edited to add that Praline Connection is terrific, too!!! Red beans and rice...yummmmmmmm.

[musette_sf]

23. another vote for Mandina's

where back in the day, before the storm, i had one of the best meals and best (unintentional) entertainment by nutty locals in my life.

[KamaAina]

25. Even "American" food like burgers and fried chicken is better there

The classic NOLA burger is served at Port of Call on Esplanade. It is primarily a bar, so go ahead and have a beer or three. :beer: Note that there is no deep-fryer, so the side of choice is a baked potato! I also have fond memories of a similar joint on St. Peter called "Yo' Mama's": you get a "Yo' mama is so... she..." joke on your receipt! Do be sure to stop them from putting mayo on the bun, though. :puke: And if you see Erica, tell her the tall, shambling fellow from last January says Hi... :loveya:

Fried chicken is ideally obtained at the award-winning Willie Mae's, but it's somewhat out of the way and not exactly in the best neighborhood (it matters a lot down there). Silver and bronze medalists are McHardy's near the Fair Grounds, and Dunbar's which relocated onto the Loyola campus (not the main one, but the one at St. Charles and Broadway)! Dunbar's gets extra props for having catered one of the Rising Tide blogger conference events last year.

For your eating pleasure, here are some classic "food porn" threads from the late titan of the NOLA blogosphere, Ashley Morris.

http://ashleymorris.typepad.com/ashley_morris_the_blog/2007/10/more-food-porn.html



http://ashleymorris.typepad.com/ashley_morris_the_blog/2007/10/my-lunch-was-be.html



edit: spelling

[MountainLaurel]

29. Have seen the sign for Dunbar's

And was wondering what that was all about (I'm often walking the dogs past LOYNO Law.)

[jobycom]

26. Parkway Bakery for po boys. And drink Barqs!

There are a lot of great po boy shops--although be sure you get real New Orleans style french bread, and not that heavy stuff most places use--but Parkway was my father's favorite when he worked in the area, so I'm partial to it. It's undergone a renovation and new ownership since they used to take me there as a kid. The new decor has a lot of old photos of the area, and some nice historical newspaper articles on the wall.

Barqs rootbeer (they can't call it rootbeer!) was started in Biloxi, Mississippi and quickly bottled in New Orleans, under a slightly different recipe. Many wars were fought over which was better, but everyone agrees that both are better than the national product Coke distributes now. Whether it's the formula or the water, every local or former local will tell you that the Barqs tastes better there--kind of like Mexican Coke versus HFCS Coke bottled in the States. Barqs there has more sparkle in the water, and less syrupy stickiness.

[YankeyMCC]

27. Is there a McDonald's nearby?

I kid :)

[MorningGlow]

30. Go to the Alpine on Chartres, steps away from Jackson Square

(Bosshog will back me up on this one.) Get a giant mess o' crawfish and say "Keep 'em coming." Don't bother with side dishes. Once you're nearly full to bursting but not quite, order up some creme brulee from the guy who looks like Uncle Fester in big baggy shorts. They crisp the top with a BernzOMatic propane torch. Suh-weet.

[Brewman_Jax]

31. You gotta have a po' boy

half and half (i.e. 1/2 fried shrimp, 1/2 fried oysters) is one of my favorites. :9

[LostinVA]

32. Bubba Gump's-- it's next to the

Olive Garden.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

34. Go to either of these addresses and tell me how the food is.

1315 W. ESPLANADE AVE.
KENNER LA 70065

168 NORTHSHORE BLVD
SLIDELL LA 70460

:)

[KamaAina]

37. Note: Those addresses are NOT in New Orleans

They are in suburbia. BIG difference. In fact, our friend would have a hard time even getting to Slidell (across Lake Pontchartrain), as there is no public transportation (that'd make it too easy for those people to get over there, you see :grr: )

Note that, unlike in other cities such as NYC, there is no comparable New Orleans address. There's a reason for that. Even Starbucks, faced with competition from tastier local chains such as PJ's and Rue de la Course, has been reduced to a couple of locations in hote lobbies and one "Yuptown".