Speaking of Asian… the original guy from restaurant Kin formed his own shop. Union Ramen. It’s INSANELY good (and not just ramen). I think I ate there 4-5 times when I was back last November.
If folks are looking for something more laid back, Barracuda has the best tacos in the city right now. And everything else on their menu, including the cocktails, rocks.
My cousins are huge NOLA fans, 2-3 visits each year for 2-3 weeks at a time. They freakin’ love GW Fins! I haven’t been there since 09 and always make fun of them when they go there.
Maybe I have to stop that.
Well it’s been around like what 20 years? You sure don’t need this forum to discover it. Very fresh seafood with some interesting preps. Very solid, nothing innovative. But I would eat there although I haven’t since before you. The main dining room in particular is very nice. Maybe tell them to try Seaworthy or Peche for a change of pace? (They would have to leave the quarter) ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
Jason when are going to give up this London nonsense and go back to being our full time, on the ground expert? Career you say? Overrated…
The Union app menu sounds great - way beyond the usual gyoza.
They have been to Pêche for sure.
Ox-Lot is very good but I would suggest Tchefuncte’s in Madisonville. People are referring to it as the Restaurant Revolution on the northshore, although I’m not sure that’s a compliment.
Tchefuncte’s on the River? What a place that is.
Michael- it’s been redone right ? I think that was open when we lived on the northshore in the late 90’s or it was something else on the River. Madisonville I’m sure has changed significantly.
Fred, It’s in the location which was previously “Friends”. Someone built a huge multi-story building on the property and reopened as Friends. It did not last very long and sat vacant for awhile. Then someone with very deep pockets went in and did a beautiful job with the upstairs, I’m sure to the tune of millions. It’s really fine dining and the only place on the northshore that comes close is Pardo’s. It’s a hot reservation but if you go I’m sure you will not be disappointed.
Hah! Well lucky for me I get back to New Orleans for a week or so each year to visit friends and check in on things. (And my wife gets back more often and is happy to check out new places that have caught my interest). It’s remarkable how much the scene has evolved just in the two years I’ve been gone.
Jim, funny you mention the apps at Union. That’s what originally drew me there. In fact first time I went my friend and I ordered I think 4 apps and then just split a bowl of ramen. The apps were fantastic, with the exception of the Spam Musibi which for me was an interesting idea that stumbled a bit on execution.
I think I actually worked my way through the entire menu when I was back last time and except for the Spam app mentioned above I’d gladly order any of it again. Their cocktail list is pretty cool too.
Went back and read through this thread for any final ideas.
Jim- didn’t remember how much you had contributed. good stuff.
I’m adding Union Ramen for lunch and going back and forth on either Toups where we’ve been many times and Paladar 511 which I’ve heard great reviews for our final dinner.
Quick trip update. Great to see music being played again in Jackson Sq and on Royal Streets. A fair amount of folks are in town and all the restaurants are doing a great job with protocols. We got lucky getting a table at the Ritz Lounge to hear Jeremy Davenport’s Band playing in the lounge. One of our favorites over the years.
So far Gabrielle has been far and away our favorite meal. Coquette and Pesche were good but menu’s are all a bit smaller so didn’t find as many dishes that caught our eye. Dishes at Gabrielle were BBQ Shrimp Pie, Trout with Crawfish Enchilada and Paneed Veal with Crabmeat Brie followed up upside down Apple Bread Pudding. Outstanding food and service and highly recommend. Happily paid $35 corkage to drink a Frogs Leap 2012 Rutherford Estate Cab.
Brennan’s Bar is back open and had a perfect Sazerac. We’re going back to catch the back 9 of the Masters before dinner at Paladar 511.
If you are planning a trip they are expecting a strong fall with both French Qtr and Jazz Fests starting the end of Sept. We’ve already booked our trip and hotel prices are up so book now if you’re going.
When you come to town if your looking to buy a few bottles of wine stop by Keife and Co. Outstanding selection of wines especially Italian and Burgs. Stumbled upon their remaining 2013 Brovia Cru Barolo. They’ll be coming back to Tampa with us along with a bunch of Sazerac Rye.
Herbsaint, Toups and GW Fins all on point. I give the Boudin Balls at Toups the nod over Conchon. They are just outstanding. Heading to Saba tonight. If you’re coming in the next month or so make sure to check restaurant hours. Many places are closed Mon/Tues and some ever more. I do think that will change soon.
Thanks for the comments Fred.
Gabrielle, Brigtsens, and Upperline (if she reopens) are the ‘modern’ old school restaurants on my priority list for November.
Saw an article that Maypop is targeting to open on the 22nd if all goes well - good news.
Unfortunately we are not going to make it until November (but staying 3 weeks), so hopefully things there and most everywhere else will be much better then.
But it sounds like you’ll be back before I get there.
Keife & Co is on the street car line by Lee Circle right? Haven’t been yet, but will check it out. They seem to also sell prepared food, like Martin Wine Cellars?
In uptown I can usually find some things at Spirit Wines on Magazine a few blocks from Louisiana.
I wasn’t expecting much at NOLA Wine Merchant, across from Whole Foods (near Saba) but found a nice selection of beaujolais, burgundy, and champagne there.
They also had other, less expensive stuff I like, like Ameztoi Rubentis.
A shop i’ve never been to but eyeing is Faubourg Wines on St Claude in the Marigny. We’re staying a week in Bywater this trip so i’ll definitely check it out then.
NOLA wine merchant was Hopper’s. Ric was a long time wine guy at Martin’s. He left to open his own shop. Retired after Katrina, then reopened this shop. He re-retired a couple of years ago. His strength at Martin’s was always Burgs and Champagne. Thus the strength at this shop. I have only been there once since Rick retired. We’re overdue for a trip back. Tried to get my wife interested in going over this week.
Faubourg is nice. Also worth checking out (though not in that area) is the Independant. Both though have the ability to either purchase retail or consume there, and I believe both have small bites.
never seen anyone say Coquette and Pesche as “good”. I think both are excellent and among the best in the city, “short” menu or not. Certainly superior to many places more highly frequented. Props to you for getting out of FQ, though.
I’ve been to both several times over the years. They’ve never been my favorites. To each his own. I generally return to the top spots where I find many dishes to my liking not just 2-3. We ate at Toups twice this trip. I was sad to see Carrolltown market close. It was one of our favorites. Good to see Maypop reopening though.
That’s the place Jim. Right at Lee Circle at the corner on Howard. They gave me a shipping box so i could take everything back on the plane. They don’t have prepared foods though.
Paladar 511 in the Marigny definitely worth checking out. Good food and solid wine list. Not too far from Bywater.
About 20 years ago I ran across a Thanksgiving recipe for Andouille Cornbread Stuffing. To be honest I don’t remember where I read the recipe. It was not this one ( Andouille Cornbread Stuffing Recipe | Bon Appétit ) from Frank Brigtsen, although this is a reasonable version. The important part of the story is the first time I made it, I searched the web for ‘andouille’, and largely by chance ended up ordering some from Jacob’s World Famous Andouille in La Place Louisiana.
I was interested in the recipe I suppose because by that time I had made a number of trips to New Orleans, and had eaten andouille and other smoked sausages in gumbo, jambalaya, red beans and rice, and so on. But I had never really thought specifically about the andouille itself, and to that point had never attempted to purchase andouille sausage at retail. I was busy with work at the time, and Jacobs offered other products of interest - smoked sausage, tasso, black eyed peas (was planning hopping john for New Year), so I ordered. The product I was shipped by Jacobs was marvelous - very high quality, meaty, large visible chucks of pork butt, deeply, deeply smoked with pecan wood - some fat, but no tripe, so the antithesis of it’s french namesake. This was as good, or better than the andouille I had been served in all those great dishes in New Orleans. And as it turns out Jacobs and the other smokehouses in La Place provide andouille and other products to most restaurants in New Orleans.
The andouille cornbread stuffing was a hit with my extended family and remains so today, so it was a no brainer for the next and all subsequent years. However, the next year I was busier than ever with work and failed to order in time for the holiday. This led to a time wasting, sad journey through what is called ‘andouille sausage’ in other US cities. I was living in San Francisco at the time, not a bad place to source many, many ingredients, but what I found was either tasteless precooked (boiled) products (Aidell’s, Hemplers, etc, and later in Seattle, Uli’s), or local, ground raw pork sausage with ‘andouille spices’ added. From experience I can tell you these are not a substitute at all, and far inferior to sourcing a decent smoked sausage from a local BBQ restaurant or smokehouse which, while better is still definitely not cajun andouille.
Early last November we spent two weeks in an uptown New Orleans rental within blocks of Rouses, Winn Dixie, and Whole Paycheck. With the pandemic and all, we were cooking more than half our meals and also looking to source some andouille to take back home for Thanksgiving. So we spent a fair bit of time shopping these venues and more. While what we found (mainly at Rouses vs the others) was better than elsewhere - think products you can order from the Cajun Grocer - but all of it still fell well short of authentic andouille. I am told Cochon Butcher sells a reasonable facsimile, but I have not yet experienced that first hand. Clearly what was needed was a quick, 30 mile road trip to the mecca of cajun andouille, La Place Louisiana.
For me, La Place Andouille can be summed up pretty quickly as Jacob’s World Famous, Bailey’s, and Wayne Jacobs Smokehouse and Restaurant (no relation to Jacob’s WF). Jacob’s WF and Bailey’s are just store fronts essentially next door to each other on Airline Highway, the main commercial drag in La Place. Jacob’s is especially tiny, with room for maybe 3 people to stand, shoulder to shoulder, 4 if you really really like each other, and the service can be a little brusque probably because there is so little room for customers. While they both have similar smokehouse items, Baileys being a bit larger has a broader product selection overall. WRT the andouille itself, Jacobs is much smokier than Baileys, thus both have their fans. Wayne Jacobs Smokehouse is located just under 2 miles away, off the commercial strip and differs in that it is a lunch restaurant (11-2) that also has food cases with longer shopping hours. Wayne Jacobs andouille is a little bit spicier while still nicely smoky.
So depending on how you feel about driving 60 miles round trip just to quickly buy andouille out of a deli case, you may want to plan a lunch or other related excursion. The weekday crowd at Wayne Jacobs Restaurant is largely tradespeople, so while it was full when we arrived, the place had pretty well cleared out by 1pm. Good southern fare here, and huge portions.
Be aware that in the last few years an ‘Andouille Trail’ trade association has popped up. This revolves around the 3 smoke houses, and consists almost entirely of restaurants which may well be of interest for a better junket, and local markets which I didn’t really appreciate as the couple we stopped into didn’t seem to have any more andouille related items than we found at Rouses in town. As we had already had lunch at Wayne Jacob’s, the only restaurant we stopped at was the Frisco Deli on the main drag near Bailey’s. It seemed pretty nondescript but had killer chicken and seafood gumbo. We bought a container of each and really enjoyed them both over dinner that evening.
If you make the drive, on the way back i’d recommend a short side trip to the Bonnet Carre Spillway. It’s about 7 miles down river towards NOLA on backroads vs the interstate. This drains the Mississippi into Lake Pontchartrain during extreme high-water, so i’m sure it is more exciting to see in the spring. We were there during low water, but it was still pretty fascinating to me anyway. You may want to read up on it a little first to understand what is going on there, or risk finding it quite dull. Farther down river towards the city is the Destrehan Plantation Museum which might be of interest depending on your thoughts about antebellum Louisiana. We did not bother, though I did tour the place once about 40 years ago.
Anyway, La Place Andouille, it is definitely a thing.