NOLA

I spent a little time in NOLA last week...by little time I mean a quick 48 hours, but I was able to eat my way through the town and boy did we have some great food. If you are ever headed that way and looking for a few places to grab lunch or dinner, consider these places.

Fried oyster salad

The Palace Cafe was directly beside our Marriott hotel on Canal Street. We ran over there for a quick lunch and had a great soup of the day starter with crayfish and mushrooms. I had a fried oyster salad and Susan had an Andouille Crusted Fish and we shared a piece of the cheesecake as our reward for an early flight that morning!



Crusted fish





For dinner that night we went to Mr. B's Bistro which is about 2 blocks from the Marriott. Mr. B's reminds me of a Chicago style steakhouse because it was dark and intimate. We had a big group at the table and everyone had something unique and different, but this was my first bowl of NOLA gumbo and it was awesome. My entree was the fried soft shell crab and where it was good, there was an oil at the bottom of the bowl that made it unappetizing so if you are craving soft shell crab then ask for no oil.

Gumbo at Mr. B's



For lunch the next day we went to Deanie's Seafood to grab some lunch and they greeted us with a bowl of red potatoes boiled in Creole seasoning. I continued my gumbo sampling...this gumbo was good with a lot of crab, so I continued the crab obsession from there with a crab duo that was awesome...Crab Dressing Balls are amazing!

Deanie's Gumbo



Crab Sampler

For my final meal in NOLA, I went and had a good ol' steak...yes I know I was near the sea...but I was in need of red meat. We dined at Dickie Brennans Steakhouse and allowed the waiter to select our menu. We had the McIlhenny Oysters, Crabcakes, and the Fillet with asparagus on the side. AMAZING. Plus we ate in the bar and the staff and bartender were super nice!

Not to be trumped by the awesome food, we also got a great tip from our wonderful carriage driver (highly suggest going to Jackson Square and taking a carriage ride through the French Quarter, especially after dark!) that Pat O'Brien's Hurricanes will give you a headache, you need to get Hurricanes from Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop. It is a little off the beaten path, but with no lights only candle light to illuminate the bar, it was a cool experience and the Hurricanes were awesome.

A happy girl on a carriage with her Hurricane!