Recent New Orleans Eats

Thanks for the updates Fred.

We stayed near Saba for part of our late October visit and it seemed over run both at lunch and dinner, so whereas we walked in for lunch a year ago that just may not be possible for now. Domilise’s is definitely on the list for us. We had planned to get back to Carrollton Market last visit, but it just didn’t happen. Excellent memories though.

We had planned an extended visit in March, but unfortunately that is not happening (headed for a shorter trip to St. Pete and Sanibel instead).
Hoping to get back down there in May this year.

I’m just returned from a long weekend:

  • dinner at Galatoires. Pleasant, slightly boozy, reassuringly immersive;
  • lunch at Saba. Lovely atmospherics, good cocktails, delightful food, yummy Israeli chardy;
  • an evening at Bacchanal. Good jazz, a cheese plate and bottle of Langhe Nebbiolo. Who needs more?
  • breakfast at Croissant D’Or patisserie. Charming room, deeply disappointing product;
  • an afternoon at WINO. Disappointed I didn’t enjoy the format, strangely unsatisfying. Good cheese plate;
  • dinner at Maypop. Pretty good but not revelatory. Atmospherics a little lacking for me.

All felt suitably decadent though! A little drying out required. My thanks to others for their recommendations.

J- Il Ritorno in St Pete is one of the best restaurants in Tampa area. He really shows his best with his tasting meal. Al carte is very good but he really shows off the goods in a tasting format. Wine list is decent. I think corkage is one botte per table $30.

Dined there a la carte a couple years ago, very good. My dad is an extremely young 90. While mom is a few years younger, she would not have the patience for a 5 course tasting menu i’m afraid. If my wife and I end up going alone we will definitely do the tasting. But we are on Sanibel for 3 nights alone first, so time in St. P will be largely w/ the folks. Thought Brick & Mortar was pretty tasty last year. More casual/homey for sure, but tasty.
Anyway, sorry - don’t mean to turn this into a Tampa/St Pete thread.

We will be heading back in a few weeks. So far, only three rezzies, Gabrielle, Galatoire’s (again) and Doris Metropolitan. We have plenty of other free nights so I am still planning. New Orleans is booming once again and I am torn between old favorites and new establishments.

Cheers!
Marshall [cheers.gif]

Of what I think of as the 6 big French Quarter ‘classics’ (Antoine’s, Arnaud’s, Brennan’s, Broussard’s, Galatoire’s, and grudgingly Tujaque’s), Galatoire’s is the one where I have never dined.
I’ll have to fix that this year. Gabrielle is definitely on the list. Doris Metro seems fairly straight up steakhouse, but I could be convinced. Let us know your thoughts wherever you wind up…

Marshall- have you been to Carrolltown Market and La Petit Grocery ?


Cheers!
Marshall [cheers.gif]
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We will be heading back in a few weeks. So far, only three rezzies, Gabrielle, Galatoire’s (again) and Doris Metropolitan. We have plenty of other free nights so I am still planning. New Orleans is booming once again and I am torn between old favorites and new establishments.

Cheers!
Marshall [cheers.gif]
[/quote]

Still planning on going…may not be too difficult to get into most restaurants . We usually make more rezzies but this trip will be far more wide open.

Cheers!
Marshall [cheers.gif]

[swearing.gif] Well, cancel that idea! Rebooked for late September and early October. Hopefully, things wlll be resolved and life returns to (semi)normal. grouphug

Cheers! [cheers.gif]
Marshall

Lets hope for the best for New Orleans which exists largely on tourism, certainly many restaurants do.
Seattle had over 70 restaurant closures (many supposedly temporary but you know how that goes) and that was before going to take out only today. New Orleans is not quite there yet with restaurants closing at 9PM, but they’ll probably be there soon.

I’d order frozen gumbo right now from my favorite haunts in New Orleans. Cochon used to sell mail order but I haven’t looked lately after they stopped years ago.

I order stuff from Cajun Grocer now and then but find it to be hit or miss.

Does anybody else have a link to to good stuff down there…

Robert- I haven’t looked in a bit but their is a FB Page “Where New Orleans eats” that is listing pickup and take out. Some might be shipping.

Thanks for the thought Fred, alas I don’t have Facebook. If anyone sees anything please yell out. I did look today on Cajun Grocer and saw that they now have Crawfish Monica! I had to order that plus extras of course. I always have at least 2 bowls at Jazzfest and while it turns out Ok at home, it’s just not exactly right for some reason.

nomenu.com

Planning on buying some gift certificates from the Dickie Brennan group. We can use them the next time we get to the Bourbon House. Need to help out my favorite shuckers!

Cheers!
Marshall champagne.gif

This thread seemed so long ago. We’re starting to do some travel now that we’re vaccinated. So far we have dinners planned at Saba and GW Fins but a lot of planning left to do. I was really sorry to see Carrollton Market close. I think we’ll see the Chef/Owner in the future but can see how much of a break was needed trying to maintain their restaurant during Covid.

I’ll be sure to post some updates from the trip.

cheers

Looking forward to any notes Fred, as unfortunately we won’t get there until November. We are not vaccinated yet (not eligible in WA state until later this week), not planning to fly at all this year, and already committed to a long drive to New England in late June or early July, depending on vax. So November 1st it is, accommodations already booked.

We did make a 2 week trip in early November last year that I never wrote up until now. New Orleans had recovered pretty well from it’s horrible summer. In the less touristy parts of the city (we stayed in Uptown again) people took masking and distancing seriously. The quarter, particularly Bourbon St, not so much, but we did not go there. Our local friends had recovered from Covid by late July, and we did have one meal at their home, one of the best of the trip - my friend is a retired chef. The AirBnb/VRBO scene was a disaster, of course and we rented a 2000 sqft, double parlor, 2 bed, 2 bath duplex for the price of a 1 bedroom. With a large kitchen and deck with a gas grill, we cooked in half the nights. Did a bunch of take out (including Saba), and did dine out a few times, all in Uptown.

As you probably know, a number of places from this thread are no more, or doubtful to return. Yes, Carrolton Market is a real loss, I will miss Oysters Goodenough. Maypop has been closed the entire time, may reopen in April, but that remains to be seen. Same with Upperline. DTB, Bar Francis, and Rockrose are all gone. Bordeaux long gone as well, replaced by a place called Misa. We did not eat there, but were staying nearby and it seemed to be doing okay with it’s very large outdoor space. Compere Lapin was closed during our stay, but has since reopened.

Takeout

Saba - with their ample outdoor space they have been open for dine-in most of the time. They recently announced a return to their full menu from the family dining/take out oriented one implemented last summer, so you should be able to have the whole experience when you visit. We had a great harissa roasted 1/2 chicken, along with excellent Lamb kabab, hummus, ‘israeli’ salad. Very organized, seamless pickup.

Piece of Meat - was in the process of opening for outdoor dining. But we just stopped in and stocked up on charcuterie that lasted us well over a week. They also sell interesting cuts of beef, pork, etc. But we had already bought from Whole Foods and Rouse’s (fyi the uptown Rouse’s near Napoleon sells good dry aged beef they custom cut).

Domilese’s/Guy’s/Mahony’s - we were staying about 2 blocks equidistant from Domilese’s and Guy’s. You mentioned the shrimp PoBoy at Domilese’s I thought the oyster was just the best i’ve ever had. Roast beef was very good too. Guy’s had excellent shrimp, and btw they have good gumbo on Fridays. These were both take out only. Mahony’s has a porch and is quite a bit larger, so has tables though we did takeaway only. They have a pretty broad menu for a PoBoy place - if you’ve never been to Domilese’s there is literally nothing other than PoBoys, chips and sometimes fries, and well, beer. And when not take out only, mixed drinks too. Mahony’s Peacemaker was every bit as over the top as described at the end of post 115 above. My wife had non-Poboy stuff…

Dine-in

Clancy’s - this is a large, 2 story restaurant and they did a good job with distancing. They have an extensive wine list which is worth spending some time with, and I believe it is mostly online. I’m not a huge Patrick Jasmin fan, but thought the 2004 Cote Rotie at $85 was a pretty damn good deal and it showed very well. They are known for soft shell crabs which were not in season, but lots of delicious choices. Fried oysters with Brie is pretty over the top, but worth indulging in once anyway.

Bistro Daisy - is a smallish place, and was the only one that gave us a bit of pause and thinking we should have done take out. But our rez was a little on the later side and several parties left by the time we were served appetizers. Same apps as last visit - julienned apple & endive salad, and oysters poached in herbsaint cream. I would not miss the oysters if you dine here - terrific. Last time we had meat (beef and lamb) this time duck 2 ways, and a great saute of gulf fish. They still had the Gimonnet Cuis 1er Cru at $70, this is $45-$50 at discounted retail in Seattle, and $50 in NO. Seemed like similar markup elsewhere on the smallish list. Corkage is now $25.

Apolline - we arrived here about an hour before the start of a Saint’s night game and apart from one table that left hastily, we were the only customers inside. They do have a couple outdoor tables that were occupied. This was very solid neighborhood, New Orleans fare - shrimp and grits, roasted gulf fish. Charbroiled oysters and fried quail for apps. I wouldn’t call it a destination place, but if I lived in this area of Magazine, I could see dining regularly. Big brunch place for the yelp kids, but we rarely do brunch.

Coquette - another 2 story restaurant, we dined at 1 of maybe 5 tables downstairs, all spaced a good 12 feet apart. Excellent tasting menu again, totally seasonal fare, no standards from the last visit. Price is up a bit at $70 with $35 wine pairings, but worth it to us. They also have a 5% surcharge for ‘employee wellness and sick leave’. I’ve never seen this in NO before. A number of places in Seattle tried this when the minimum wage was jacked a few years ago, but I only know of one that still has it (or had it pre-pandemic anyway, Edouardo Jordan’s Salare).


New/Newish places - don’t know if you have been following along, but there are some new things that have happened. Michael Stoltzfus from Coquette closed Thalia in the Warehouse District, but he also took over the restaurant at the Columns Hotel up on St Charles. Have not heard much other than that. Pluck, a new wine bar just opened near Herbsaint, chef is from Mimi’s in the Marigny. Probably not ready when you go, but the new Four Seasons is supposed to open in the old World Trade Center with restaurants from both Alon Shaya and Donald Link.

Enjoy!

Wow Jim you really know the local scene. Are you originally from the area ? I thought I was keeping up but well done.

Right now we have the following lined up for dinners

Coquette
Clancy’s
Herbsaint
GW Fins- we have friends who invited us for their anniversary. Interested in giving it another try
Saba
Oxlot 9- in Covington. We have friends on the Northsore were we lived for many years

We have Sunday night open and a few lunches though we’ve learned to cut back on lunch as a full lunch then dinner when we visit is overdoing it.

It does look like Maypop is still closed. New Orleans has such a great Asian culture and dining options. This is a new one from BRG that looks very good https://www.chothairestaurant.com/

I’ll be back posting updates later in April.

Cheers

Never locals, although my wife’s family was there from the 19th century until a couple generations ago. We’ve been trying the place out, staying 2-3 weeks at a time. But that’s not a decision we expect to make any time soon really. I relo’d my wife for work 3 times (NYC, San Francisco, Seattle) so i’m letting her call the shots on this one. So far she seems to prefer her house in Seattle.

Line up sounds great, will happily dine at the first 5 again. I haven’t been to GW Fins in years but have a high opinion of the place. Know nothing of the Northshore i’m afraid. Last Nov was our first trip driving, but with the pandemic, and after the long trip, we didn’t get quite that far afield. (we did get to La Place and the Andouille Trail, and that’s probably worth a post - i’ll work on that) Agree, we can’t do both full blown lunch and dinner anymore, just too much.

Now that you mention it, I do remember an announcement on nola.com or elsewhere about Cho Thai. We have friends in Algiers who swear by his original place in Gretna, Banana Blossom. So one or both should probably be in the cards. Don’t know if you have caught any of the pbs series Kitchen Queens of New Orleans ( https://www.pbs.org/show/kitchen-queens-new-orleans/ ) They have featured some Vietnamese, Thai, and ‘chinese’ places on the series.

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Fred I never made it to Oxlot 9 as I moved from NOLA before I had the chance. But it was definitely on my list. Looked legit and the reccos from my friends up there indicated it was worthy. Not to say it’s on the level of the other places on your list but if you have North Shore friends that’s a great place to dine with them. After that the drop off in quality on the North Shore is…steep.