Tag Archives: cajun

Cafe Du Monde – New Orleans, Louisiana

After that light lunch at MRB, I decided to check out the well oiled operation at Cafe DuMonde. I think the thing that makes it very easy to serve and DuMonde is the very small menu, which includes only beignets to eat and only a few things to drink. Of course, a powdery, sugary mess comes out after you order but it’s a good powdery, sugary mess. It is pretty clear that Cafe DuMonde was a very touristy place, but aside from that a great place to get a quick coffee and pastry in the morning. I especially like the operation of this place, servers basically run the show. They take your order, powder your beignet, get your drinks and finally act as your cashier. Of course lines can stretch really long throughout the day but they move very fast. There is no one hostess, you’ll just need to hunt for an open table and seat yourself. Someone will be along shortly to clean your table and get your order.

Cafe Du Monde
800 Decatur Street
New Orleans, LA 70116

The Chicory coffee is a new orleans thing. Here is a plate of beignets with a cafe au lait.

Crawdad Boil, MRB – New Orleans, Louisiana

Everyone kept saying, “You gotta go find a crawdad boil, it’s the best thing ever”. I’ve never heard of such a thing so I ask around and everyone is like “Oh, its too early in the season for crawdads”. So needless to say I wasn’t having any luck finding one of these things. I did some searching online which yielded no results and then one day, around lunch time, I stumbled upon this place advertising the boil. A quick search yielded some positive reviews so I decided to give it a whirl. MRB’s has a chill dark bar up front with a bar dog who saw my camera and quickly put his sunglasses on ran away. (much in the same way that Brooke Shields did a few days earlier when I stumbled upon her brunching it up in the French Quarter. I had my camera at my hip but little did she know I’d be more interested in shooting her plate than her face). In the back of the restaurant sits a partially shaded patio area with an outdoor bar and an area where this place does its grilling and big batches of crawdad boil. The crawdads themselves were spicy and juicy. I had a choice between 1 pound or 3 pounds. When asked if I could eat 3 pounds, the chef said, “Oh, yeah, no problem”. I was a little intimidated but like all good shellfish, more than half of their weight is their armor. It was more like a snack…or I guess a light lunch. Can’t wait to do it again!

MRB
515 St Philip St
New Orleans, LA 70116
(504) 222-5672

Crawdad Boil at MRB - New Orleans, Louisiana

Green Goddess – New Orleans Louisana

Located on a beautiful small alleyway of the French Quarter, lined with trees is a little restaurant with an open kitchen and a tiny inside dining area, called Green Goddess. Outside of the dining room is an quaint open-air dining area where the majority of the diners will sit. The food is fantastic, and the Chef, Chris Debarr, is a character, to say the least. To top off the amazingness of this place, they have an out-of-this-world, knock-your-socks-off Bacon Sundae! I wanted to eat a second one!

The Green Goddess
307 Exchange Place
New Orleans, LA 70130
504-301-3347

Preparation of the Creole Curry Lamb Baklava

Lafcadio’s Creole Curry Lamb Baklava – savory lamb & mirliton baklava baked in Jamaican coconut curry, with curried walnuts & local honey

“Notorious” Bacon Sundae – Pecan praline ice cream with a creamy bacon caramel sauce carrying a bit of both Pink Himalayan & Black Lava Salts, & micro-planed Nueske’s Applewood Bacon, layered with whipped cream

The Parkway Po’ Boy & other sandwich terminology – New Orleans, Louisiana

Baguette = a long thin loaf of French bread
Po’ Boy = Poor Boy = Sandwich on a french-like baguette
Dressed = Lettuce, Tomato and Mayo

It all just kind of comes down to fancy ways to make a sandwich. just a different name. In fact, there are at least 13 different names for a sandwich in the USA. The most recognizable Po’ boys are made with Roast Beef, Shrimp or oysters. However there seems to be limitless types of ways to make the sandwich. The one in the picture is a combination of shrimp and roast beef in gravy. Parkway Bakery and Tavern in Mid-City may lack in character of their establishment (plastic tables stretched across a concrete patio area) but more than make up for it in flavor. It appears to be a fan-favorite among residents in New Orleans.

Parkway Bakery & Tavern
538 Hagan St
New Orleans, LA 70119
(504) 482-3047

Parkway Bakery & Tavern - New Orleans, Louisiana

Roast Beef & Shrimp Po’ Boy, Dressed

Mr. B’s Bistro – New Orleans, Louisana

Welcome to the first of many blog posts on New Orleans. The French Quarter is littered with all sorts of restaurants. One thing is for certain, most of the places on Bourbon St. should be avoided, if not simply because most of them are overcrowded bars, but moreso that they are overrated creole/cajun knockoffs. Mr. B’s is located a few blocks from Bourbon on Royal, which on most days is a much quieter part of the district that is very popular among locals and tourists alike. It was quite busy the night I dined, so I sat at the bar, which gave me the opportunity to try a few cocktails, including Brandy Milk Punch. It should be known that the cocktail was invented in New Orleans so I made sure to try a lot of different cocktails…you know, for the blog! It was rough, but hey, I do it all for you people! Brandy Milk Punch is a favorite for brunch. Mr. B’s is made with soft serve ice cream (they have a soft serve machine under the bar). See the recipe below for my take on the Brandy Milk-Espresso Punch.

Mr. B’s Bistro
201 Royal Street
New Orleans, LA 70130
(504) 523-2078

GUMBO YA YA – A rich country style gumbo made with chicken and andouille sausage

SHRIMP AND GRITS – A sauté of applewood smoked bacon wrapped jumbo Gulf shrimp served with creamy stone ground yellow grits and red-eye gravy

HOT BUTTERED PECAN PIE – Topped with vanilla bean ice cream

Brandy Milk Punch – Brandy, Ice Cream, Nutmeg

Brandy Milk-Espresso Punch
4 oz. of Brandy
2 oz. of fresh brewed espresso
3 scoops of vanilla ice cream
3 oz. milk
a handful of crushed ice
dash of nutmeg

In a blender combine brandy, espresso, milk and ice and blend until well mixed. Poor into a glass and garnish with nutmeg. Enjoy!

Miss Lily’s: Soho, NYC

Miss Lily’s has a few different vibes going on. It’s got all the kitsch of an old diner, the flavor of a traditional Jamaican kitchen with a little cajun soul thrown in, and the heart of rock and roll beating from the sun-drenched entrance to the record covered walls of the back room. The shrimp was fresh and had some great kick to it. I didn’t try the rest of the dishes but they looked amazing! I noticed a little dj booth in the back so my guess is they are spinning some reggae in the evenings.

Miss Lily’s
132 West Houston Street
NY, NY 10012
646.588.5375

back room