Eating in The Big Easy

When we go on vacation we rarely have a plan when it comes to meals, which has resulted in more than one fight as we wander around a strange city looking for a place that doesn’t require reservations and serves food that we (read: Mrs) will eat. Well, Mrs. took the reins this time and made reservations for both Friday and Saturday night of our New Orleans trip. And we thought it might be fun to document our culinary adventures in The Big Easy:

Day 1

Dinner: Dickie Brennan’s Bourbon House Seafood

Our first night we actually didn’t have reservations. After arriving at the hotel around 5pm, it was almost time for us early birds to eat. We considered the Acme Oyster House near our hotel, but the line was out the door so we called an audible and walked up the street to Dickie Brennan’s Bourbon House Seafood.

What we got:

Two glasses of Malbec
Two house salads
Mrs. – 8 oz. filet and garlic mashed potatoes
Mr. – Pork brisket with cornbread dressing
Flourless chocolate cake
Two teas

What we thought:

Considering we were just wandering around looking for a place to eat, it was a pretty good introduction to the New Orleans culinary world. Mrs. went safe with steak and potatoes, but the pork brisket was a bit of a gamble. It paid off though because it was delicious, with a peach glaze and spicy mustard on the side. The dressing was a bit sweet, but also good. And it’s hard to go wrong ending a meal with chocolate cake, right?

Side note: Mrs. didn’t get carded when we ordered wine and was a bit put out by this. It was a common theme as we never got carded the whole trip. I had to break it to Mrs. that we're in our thirties.


Day 2

You’ll note we didn’t go anywhere for breakfast because (as Mrs. mentioned in her previous post) we had free continental breakfast at the hotel each morning. Big plus on any vacation.

Pre-Lunch Snack: French Market

What we got:

Alligator on a stick

For some reason Mrs. was excited about the possibility of eating alligator. We thought we’d find some deep fried bites, but instead we had to settle for gator sausage. It tasted like a really greasy bratwurst, and I can’t say I’m planning on eating alligator again.

Lunch: Subway

No, this isn’t some underground New Orleans eatery. We “ate fresh” at the sub chain.

What we got:

Mrs. – 6-inch BMT on flatbread with sour cream and onion Baked Lays
Mr. – 6-inch Chicken and bacon ranch on wheat with sour cream and onion Lays
Two iced teas

Our conclusion was that Subway in Louisiana tastes pretty much the same as Subway at home.

Dinner: GW Fins

What we got:

Two glasses of Pinot Noir
Crab Cake
Mrs. – Red Snapper with mashed potatoes (she really does love her potatoes)
Mr. – “Scalibut” with sugar snap peas and lobster risotto
Chocolate molten lava cake
Two teas (of course)

What we thought:

First, we both agreed that this was by far our best dinner on the trip, and we would highly recommend this place for anyone traveling to New Orleans. A seriously great choice by Mrs., who picked this place out and made reservations prior to us leaving for vacation.

The "Scalibut" was a halibut filet grilled together with thin sliced scallops, and it was delicious by any name. Mrs. loved the etouffee sauce that came with her fish and kept raving about it. But the real highlight was the warm sweet biscuits they served and kept bringing throughout the meal. I think we each had four. And I haven’t even mentioned the cake yet, which came with vanilla ice cream and I’m getting full just talking about this. We both were ready to lie down like beached whales after this meal.


Day 3

Lunch: Tracey’s

After doing a cemetery tour we had to find a place to eat in the Garden district. Out came the iPhone, and after deciding the first place we walked to looked a bit shady, we ended up at Tracey’s, which turned out to be more of a bar. And the big negative was that it was college football Saturday and the place was packed with Michigan fans (I guess a lot of people make the move from Ann Arbor to New Orleans). We did see a signed photo on the wall from Guy Fieri who apparently stopped here to film Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. Tracey’s fits in the “Dive” category.

What we got:

Half Muffaletta (to share)
Order of fries (to share)
2 cans of coke

Healthy eating at its finest. We went with the half muffaletta because after originally ordering the whole sandwich, the cashier looked me up and down and advised against it. I pointed out that I’d be sharing with Mrs., but this obviously didn’t alter his opinion. It turned out this was the right answer since the half sandwich was enormous (Mrs. ate roughly half of her half).

Pre-Dinner Snack: Café Beignet

We had to get some beignets in New Orleans. Fried dough covered in powdered sugar is a win for everyone. This place was close to our hotel and when we got there we noticed it had been featured on Food Network’s The Best Thing I Ever Ate as a selection of none other than Alton Brown (yes, two Food Network sightings in one afternoon). We ordered two iced teas (can you tell we’re addicted to caffeine?) and an order of the beignets. An order contained three huge beignets, but we still managed to scarf down one and half each. And yes, we did gain a few pounds over the trip.

Dinner: NOLA Restaurant

We were excited about eating here because it was one of Emeril’s restaurants and we had high expectations. Mrs. had made reservations before we left, and the only available times on Saturday night were 6pm or 9pm (guess what we went with), so we figured it was popular.

What we got:

Mrs. – Raspberry Mojito
Mr. – Abita beer
Fried green tomatoes with citrus poached shrimp
Wood oven roasted pocket bread
Mrs. – Buttermilk fried chicken with bourbon mashed sweet potatoes and sugar snap peas
Mr. – Shrimp and grits

What we thought:

Off the bat I’ll say we were pretty disappointed with this meal. It didn’t live up to our high expectations and was unfortunately the worst dinner of our trip. It wasn’t all bad as we enjoyed the biscuit and cornbread they served in lieu of a bread basket, as well as the fried green tomatoes. We could have done without the second appetizer (I’m not sure what we were thinking). Mrs. wasn’t terribly impressed with the fried chicken, and my shrimp weren’t cleaned well and there was too much bbq sauce, which mixed with the grits and sort of ruined them for me. You know it was a loser because after all this, we didn't even want dessert.


Day 4

Lunch: Oak Alley Plantation

What we got:

Mrs. – ½ roast beef po' boy with a side salad and iced tea
Mr. – ½ fried shrimp po' boy with a side salad and coke

Lunch on Sunday was at the Oak Alley Plantation restaurant. We weren’t expecting much, and we got what we expected. I wanted to have a po' boy while in New Orleans, so this was my opportunity. The most exciting aspect of the meal was that the restaurant was attached to the gift shop.

Dinner: Broussard’s

We weren't sure when we'd get back from the plantation on Sunday so we didn't make reservations anywhere for dinner. We ended up making a 6pm reservation (again, the early bird special) at Broussard's. Of course when we got there the place was almost empty, so I guess we didn’t really need that reservation.

What we got:

Mrs. – Bottle of iced tea
Mr. – Glass of house cabernet
Fried calamari
Mrs. – Redfish Broussard’s
Mr. – Creole spice-crusted ribeye
Profiteroles au Chocolate Marion

What we thought:

Despite a near empty dining room, we both really enjoyed the meal. I’m sure our ringing endorsement will have customers lined up outside by next week. The calamari had a spicy olive relish that was a nice touch. I enjoyed the spice on my steak, and Mrs. made short work or her large piece of pan-fried fish, although I "had" to eat the shrimp and crab that came with it.

Mrs. hadn’t been feeling well (she didn’t even finish her tea), but oddly enough she miraculously recovered when the dessert menu arrived. On our waiter’s suggestion, we ordered the profiteroles to share and scarfed down the Italian pastry cookies sandwiching vanilla ice cream and covered in chocolate sauce. A nice way to end our New Orleans trip.