Anyone will tell you that New Orleans is a foodie town. Everything from your 5-star restaurant to your complete dive should be good. The biggest challenge is making the room in your stomach (and liver) for all of the food and drink.
These were the highlights:
Green Goddess
I was so hungry when we got to our hotel in New Orleans that when the doorman pointed to the Arby’s down the street, I almost considered it. He also recommended a French Quarter spot called Green Goddess that was in a nearby alley. We were slightly frightened but oh-so-curious. A few blocks and one wrong turn, brought us to the alley where we walked into a tiny restaurant that looked like someone’s ramshackle home.
There were no open tables in the miniscule front room and as we were led to the even smaller back room, our heads told us to turn around, but our bellies told us to stay.
Turns out the bellies were right.
Coming off of the meal at Wednesday’s Table, I was drawn to the Tofu Bahn Mi. There were plenty of non-vegetarian options – pork, shrimp, steak (no chicken though) – but I was ready for some spice. My sandwich had hints of a po boy but with all of the delicious Banh Mi flavors – radish, carrots, cucumbers and two huge patties of fried tofu covered in the familiar sauce. A small salad dressed with the same sauce. Where were we again? It was seriously transporting.
My dining companion ordered the completely different yet equally amazing brulee Fig chevre French toast. Sweet, tangy and rich - this chef can cook.
And might I add that this place is also easy on the wallet (well, they didn’t spend much on décor), less than $25 for two and we were fully satiated and ready for more adventures.
307 Exchange Place
New Orleans, LA
504.301.3347
NOLA
This was our only “planned” meal. You can’t go to New Orleans without one celebrity chef meal. Last time, it was David Besh at Luke. This time we chose Emeril.
NOLA is one of Emeril’s three establishments in the Big Easy, this one being the least fancy and the only one without his name in the title. It is a packed three-story crowd pleaser a few blocks into the French Quarter with a heavily Southern-influenced menu.
Shrimp and Grits was a must for me here. I had really loved the ones at Luke and I needed to try Emeril’s. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. The shrimp were well cooked and atop bacon-laced cheddar grits, with a large barbecue sauce drizzle. Really? Barbecue sauce? It threw off the whole flavor of the dish.
Other dishes were better like the New Orleans style Caesar salad and the local Drum, but messing with a classic – not cool.
534 St. Louis St.
New Orleans, LA
504.522.6652
www.emerilsrestaurants.com/nola-restaurant
Acme Oyster Bar
Acme is at the top of many visitors' lists. It is an institution of classic New Orleans food. It is a dive and it is packed. Even at 2:00 PM on a Friday in unseasonably cold and rainy weather, there was a wait outside. It went quickly and we secured our seats at the bar.
If this were a typical review (not part of a roundup) this would be a quicksie review. We were in and out in less than 30 minutes. They serve these classics up fast. Within minutes of ordering, I was indulging in their classic Red Beans and Rice.
This was not another vegetarian meal because in New Orleans, Red Beans and Rice also means Sausage and Cooking Meat. Cooking Meat, you ask? According to my waitress, it’s the meat they use to cook the beans – most likely it was sausage and ham, but she couldn’t be sure. No matter, it was just the fuel we needed to get us through the busy day.
If you need to order something you can be 100% definitely sure about its contents, I’d recommend the oysters. They looked pretty incredible.
724 Iberville Street
New Orleans, LA
504.522.5973
www.acmeoyster.com
MiLa
After many meals of Starbucks and swiping food from conference rooms, we had one final opportunity to enjoy the Crescent City. We opted to avoid the French Quarter and headed to a hotel in the nearby Central Business District. What appealed to me about MiLa (named for Mississippi and Louisiana from where the chefs hail) was that one of the chefs, Alison Vines-Rushing had worked for some of the best in NYC. Having worked for Jean-Georges and Alain Ducasse, I had a hunch that she knew her stuff.
Compared to the other boisterous joints of the past few days, MiLa was a respite of calm, quiet even. And we had no trouble getting a last minute reservation on Saturday night. Everything from the décor to the menu reminded us of a NY restaurant, but there were some nice Southern touches that reminded us of our locale.
Dinner started with sweet potato rolls, cornbread, sweet butter and a pureed lentil spread. The sweet potato rolls and lentils were our immediate favorite. An amuse bouche soon arrived of lobster tempura on a stick. I was going to like this place.
We opted to share a lobster starter that consisted of lobster meat on a baguette with meyer lemon, garlic and olive oil. A deconstructed lobster roll of sorts. While not the easiest to share, mainly because each of us wanted the whole things, we welcomed the taste of lobster after being in such a shrimp heavy environment.
Furthermore, for my main, I went for the standard seared ahi tuna over spinach. I felt as if I hadn’t had a vegetable in days. The southern touch here was the molasses sauce over the perfectly crusted and rare fish. We all ate in silence, happy to have such an elegant meal.
Dinner would not have been complete without dessert. A chocolate peanut butter tart was just rich enough for 3 people to share.
817 Common Street
New Orleans, LA
504.412.2580
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