Just got back from 4 days in NawLins.

[flamin lib]

Have a real need to replicate the gumbos I had there. The best was from the hotel buffet--chicken & sausage with a light brown roux.

Any favorite recipes for gumbo out there?

For a humble rustic dish it is amazingly complex with subtle flavors and you've got to build it step at a time without being able to taste and adjust along the way. It's like an act of faith; do it right and the taste will be there at the end.

Yes, I can make a roux!

[cbayer]

1. I'm going in April and can't wait.

Gumbo is all about the roux, imo. Other than that, you use the holy trinity (onion, garlic, green pepper), good broth, spices and the best andouille you can find, in addition to the chicken and okra.

No specific recipe, but that's about it.

[guardian]

2. bananas foster ... yummmmmm

nt

[cbayer]

3. Really easy to make at home and guests are generally very impressed.

[guardian]

8. Very true.

Guests always seem to be impressed by any flambé dish. I could probably flambé a pop tart and get raves. But my big problem is that I will eat way too much of it. So I make it rarely. But whenever I'm in New Orleans I visit Brennan's for a dish.

[cbayer]

9. Ah... Brennan's. Haven't been there in forever.

I like the smaller "boutique" restaurants, often found uptown.

I will be going to Jazz Fest and will do a lot of eating there. I will also be driving in, so plan to pick up meat pies, boudin, cracklins and sausages on the way in. And there will be a big crawfish boil at some point.

I am already drooling.

[guardian]

10. I like the "boutique" restaurants too.

Though Brennan's tends to be my turista stop. Maybe some cafe au lait and beignets at Cafe Du Monde if the weather is nice and I feel like walking. I like boutique hotels too. I like to stay at the Hotel Monteleone when in town.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

12. have you picked any places to eat. We are going on April 6th and I have

been scouring menus and places. I like the smaller places too. Didn't you tell me you were gonna be in riverbend.

I like Mat and Naddies near Oak and Dante's Kitchen.

[cbayer]

15. Dick & Jenny's is my #1 place. Poboys from Domilise's, pecan waffle at Camelia Grill,

raw oysters at Casmentos, grilled oysters a Drago's, maybe a stop a Pascals Manale, and I really am going to try to organize a trip out to Mosca's in Avondale. And if there is any time or money left, a dinner at Upperline or Sunday brunch at Galatoires is always great.

OMG, every time I write one down, I think of another that I just can't miss!!

And Popeye's. There will be Popeye's!

Mat and Naddies is good for what it is. We will be having a boil at home, so I can probably skip it.

I have a house rented in the riverbend, but you can get to many of these places from downtown (where I assume you are staying) by way of streetcar.

Have a great time!!

[Laura PourMeADrink]

17. Love Dick and Jenny's - great food and vibe.

Gallatoires is such an iconic place - but we weren't overwhelmed with brunch there last year. Hope it was just an off day.

I made reservations at one of our favorites...Achafalaya Restaurant for brunch. Love the neighborhood and the place/atmosphere just so cool there.
http://www.atchafalayarestaurant.com/

But, I totally agree - SO many great places to pick from ! Your picks made my mouth water.

I don't really think one restaurant is perfect - think I am just like you. Go for the best of something at a bunch of different places. I had the best roasted garlic soup ever at Liuzza's by the Track - near the fairgrounds ! And, Emerils NOLA.....his garlic crusted texas drum with bacon butter sauce is just sinful.

[cbayer]

19. Love Atchafalya. Have some fried green tomatoes for me!

Oh yeah to Liuzza's - washed down with a big frosty schooner of ice cold beer.

[Le Taz Hot]

26. I have to recommend "Mother's"

Iirc, it's on Magazine and Poydras. It's just one of those down home, funky kinda places with the best damned greens I've ever tasted in my life. Btw, the residents refer to it as "Mudda's."

[Kali]

4. I thought it was onions, bell pepper and celery.

[cbayer]

5. You are absolutely correct. I've been away too long.

[flamin lib]

6. Well, yeah, but the proportiona have to bre right from the git go

and it can't be corrected later on. 2 parts onion, 1 part celery and one part bell pepper? 3 parts onion? Herbs and spices?

Really good gumbo is part recipe and part voo doo.

[cbayer]

7. Agree about the recipe/voo doo mix.

I might start with an Emeril recipe

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/chicken-and-smoked-sausage-gumbo-recipe/index.html

He doesn't use okra, which is always optional, but I like the way it thickens the gumbo.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

11. i am going April 6th for the NCAA Women's final four. Did

you go out and eat anywhere else? what hotel? I lived there for three years - it is really hard
to find bad food. You can even get great food in convenience stores !

glad you had fun.

[flamin lib]

14. Commanders palace, Court of two sisters, Redfish grill. Our hotel was the La Pavillon

about 5 blocks from the french quarter.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

18. Yummy. How was Redfish Grill ? My husband and I are escorting 6 seniors on our trip

The best place they have probably eaten is Red Lobster. So, I have been trying to find
a sit down, no-jacket, place that had seafood up some notches from RL where they wouldn't get too sticker-shocked but it was still nice and they would get the New Orleans "feel"

I was thinking about Redfish Grill

[cbayer]

20. It's pretty tourist oriented, but that may be what you need for this group.

Are you going to be downtown or elsewhere? Do you have transportation?

There are some places on the Lakefront that have excellent seafood at excellent prices and are totally New Orleans.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

22. May be. This should be a totally new experience. We are used

to just hanging at our favorite bar (Fahy's Irish Pub on Dauphine) and having great meals. But, it might
be fun just seeing their reaction to it all since they are all over 70 and have never been there before. Staying at Hotel Provincial in lower FQ. I booked long ago so got a good price - now everything is outrageous. We will take cabs since one of the ladies can't walk far - in fact may be pulling one of those rolling oxygen thingies. :&gt What do you like on the Lakefront?

[cbayer]

28. R & O's is my most favorite.

It's right on the lake with lots of local characters. Food is fantastic.

Not on the lake, but in Metairie, Drago's has the best grilled oysters on earth


Just looked up your hotel - great little place in a great location. And you are really close to Central Grocery, where you can get muffalettas, and if you haven't been to Tujaques, it's an experience quite unique to New Orleans.

http://www.tujaguesrestaurant.com

[Laura PourMeADrink]

35. thanks...if we have time, may check out R&O or Dragos. We have eaten at Tujaques...cool old

place but weren't loving the food. All I remember was meat and pickles on a plate. Maybe we didn't order right.

my apt was one two blocks up from Central Grocery - and I loved their muffalettas. That's a unique place too - standing in line kind of reminds me of the Soup Nazi place on Seinfeld.

[mtnester]

38. Hubs and I get to NO at least once a year, and have our own regular favs

Emeril's NOLA - as mentioned in another post, their drum is delicious, and you can never go wrong with his smoky grits. We still remember when their lead maitre'd came running down the street after us calling us by names because we left a bag of cheap beads under our table. We STILL love their service...always try their nightly cocktail special, it is usually yummy.

Royal House - you know, I love raw oysters, and am not normally a fan of cooked ones, but the charbroiled oysters here are to DIE for...ask for extra bread right away, then order more than one dozen..

Breakfast - OK, we love a few places...some are a TRUE diner experience, others are not. Clover Grill - you will get the best omelet of your life there (the secret to all omelets is to beat the crap out of the eggs ahead of time...they use a blender to do that, and I see liquid butter gold go into that blender as well) ...it is a locals breakfast hangout....a True diner experience. Ruby Slipper - yum all around. Elizabeths - OMG good, and eat there all day for other goodies. Nosh - yeah, hubs has the blackened redfish sandwich for breakfast and it is delicious. Their other breakfast food is also yummy. We never have decided what the vibe was in there, kind of Cuba meets Cajun.

Mollies on Toulouse is our favorite drinking hole, but we also still love Mollies at the Market

La Davina Gelateria - yep, tasty

In our opinion, Mother's ain't all that, neither is Pascal Manales (Liuzza's by the track is better)

Debris - Mahoney's. Mahoney's. Mahoney's. Did I say Mahoney's?

Enough of my opinions. We are rediscovering NO every time we go. I will be curious to go into the new Whole Foods that we saw being built into a large manse style home on the Canal Street line over in the Garden district area when we were there last February. Now I am starving and it looks like we need to book a weekend.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

39. Thanks so much for sharing. Going in 2 weeks.

Emerils Nola - Another cool thing to do is to go on a slow week night and sit at the chef's table/bar looking at the kitchen. When I worked there and was alone, that was my favorite place for nights no one on our project wanted to go out - because it was filled with loners and great conversation. I wish they would bottle that smell of the wood in the big oven ! I have to say, dining on a crowded and maddening Sat night felt like a totally different restaurant and we felt more like a number.

Clover Grill - Great late night too....just to see the amazing display of characters

Mollies - Great bloody Mary's. One morning my husband and I decided to have a "healthy day" for a change. We walked the Riverwalk down to the convention center and back to the quarter and all around it. Stopped at Molly's for juice. Oops...the BMs looked so good we succumbed - and so went our healthy day.

Debris - Mahaoney's One thing I don't think I have had -- debris. Is it shaved pork?

Pascal Manales Glad you said that...I'll take it off my list. kind of reminds me of our trip up Canal to Mandina's...a local favorite. We decided that it was a favorite much more for the homeiness and the fact everyone knew each other than for the food. I ordered one of their specialties - spaghetti. the sauce was burnt..and had a bitter taste. Not a single other person had complained. It reminded me of eating your mom's dinner and how you wouldn't complain.

I have always been curious about Jaques Imo's in Carrollton though - always lined up there. I like Elizabeth's too for the hangover brunches...grillades and shrimp and grits outstanding !!

Yes, book ! Summer is so much cheaper. Of course you are covered with sweat two seconds after a shower.

[mtnester]

42. Debris sandwich - you normally have to ask for the debris, which are the tasy bits that fall off

while beef is slow roasting. It is like a juicy roast beef po boy with those tasty bits. At Mahoneys, you get the debris

Clover Grill is the BEST - some folks might be scared off a bit by the interior, but we LOVE it. And I agree with the characters and ambiance of it.

I have never sat at the chef's table at Nola..we will try that next time. Even on a crowded night (and we have been there during them) we felt pampered and special. Of course, like any other restaurant, some nights are better than others.

Pascal Manales - we went there to see the ambiance of the BBQ shrimp as written by Anne Rice. It was just Meh. I was disappointed. That was a couple years ago though.

Go to Cafe Adelaide for cocktails...seriously . We ordered the pork chops and cassoulet, and switched plates halfway through. LOVED it. And their mixologists are second to none.

Central Market - just go and get a sandwich or mufalatta. You know you want to. And buy other stuff to take home or snack on in the hotel.

Breaux Market - just because.

Dooky Chase & Willie Mae's - tie, seriously. If you want authentic southern soul food and fried chicken, tie (Willie Mae's closes really early though)

We did stop in Cochon/Cochon Butcher last trip- I was just meh (and it was pretty pricey for meh)

Jaques Imo's in Carrollton - we MUST go now that you said it had a line (see locals taking food out in bags below)

Our travel thoughts are..anywhere you see locals leaving with To Go bags of food...eat there.

We always get the 3 or 5 day transit pass..VERY handy when you do not bring a car. We have also rented bikes and had a ball! We just cannot get enough of the beautiful architecture. And I swear (woo alert) I have been there before in my lifetimes.

We are looking at the food scene in Memphis as well...and it looks VERY interesting. I think we need a trip there as well!

[flamin lib]

21. I had an issue with my fish. It had scales on the filet side that didn't belong with

the kind of fish I ordered. All the restaurants had very comparable pricing - - $25-35 per entree.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

23. Ok...you convinced me...no Redfish Grill ! I am shooting for somewhere $29 or less since

they may be remembering WW2 prices. :&gt

Is Commander's Palace still fabulous ?? I haven't been there in years - but I remember when we did go...sat down at the table and my sister started laughing hysterically. She said "turn around". I did, and on the wall was a plaque that said "Ronald Reagan sat here."

[flamin lib]

24. CP is absolutely fantastic. Was greeted by name based solely on reservation time.

Seated immediately and every member of the wait staff addressed us both by name. Food was flawless, service spectacular and the ambiance was perfect.

Voted top restaurant in NOLA 23 years straight.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

25. Yes, I remember. When they serve, don't they have all the

waiters simultaneously deliver the food. Something Emeril picked up on from working there.

I see they still have my brother's favorite appetizer. Back when he was single and in the chips he ordered 3 of these ! Said "Keep em coming". Haha ...now he is married with eight kids !
Shrimp & Tasso Henican
Wild Louisiana white shrimp, tasso ham, pickled okra, sweet onions,
5 pepper jelly, and Crystal hot sauce beurre blanc 11.50

[cbayer]

29. Commanders is great but really expensive.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

34. yep....just for very special occasions.

[sir pball]

43. It's an institution, and an experience, but I usually spend the money at August instead

This year we're eyeing up R'evolution. And can't forget Cochon and Cochon Butcher!

[cbayer]

44. Love August. I once had the great honor of sitting at the kitchen table at Commanders.

It was when Jamie Shannon was still alive and one of the highlights of my life.

I have been away since Katrina, so I'm not familiar with some of the newer places. Will try to check some of them out while I am there.

[Jenoch]

37. We were in NOLAZlast year.

We spent most of our time on Canal St. And the French Quarter. Although there are more expensive seafood places, and cheaper places, we really liked Deanie's at Iberville and Dauphine. You could take the street car from your hotel with only about a one block walk at the beginning and end of the trip.

[locks]

36. Great eating in NOLA

One place your senior kids might like is ZEAs on St. Charles, they are all over LA. Great seafood, duck, barbq pork, chicken, sweet potato fries. One special entree each day; you look up the menu ahead of time to see what it is. It's not cheap but then nothing in NOLA is.

The other place I love (but kids might not) is La Thai on Prytania uptown. Heavenly but entrees alone run $16-24.

Few places in US have so many choices for great food (to empty your wallet.) Have a wonderful trip.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

40. Thanks for the leads. Agree on Zea's ! I heard there were 800 restaurants before

Katrina and 1100 since then

Do you live there?

[locks]

41. NOLA restaurants

Don't know how many restaurants before or now. But there sure are a lot and it seems like most of NOLA eats out and enjoys all of them! I don't live there but get to go once or twice a year because my daughter and grandchildren have lived there a long time. It's a great place to visit and enjoy food. That's if you can afford the prices and the weight!

[Le Taz Hot]

27. I've stayed there!

Did they show you Napoleon's bathtub? Great hotel.

[Stinky The Clown]

13. Get a copy of River Road Recipes.

It is a community sourced recipe book published by the Baton Rouge Junior League. As the book was published starting in the 60s, it is quite authentic and based on the old ways of doing things with unfancy ingredients.

On edit: turns out there are now four in a series of books. I only know the first one and my copy is 30 years old. I still use it a few times a year.

http://www.juniorleaguebr.org/?nd=recipes

http://www.amazon.com/River-Road-Recipes-Textbook-Louisiana/dp/0961302682

[cbayer]

16. These are very good. The first was my go-to book when I first moved to New Orleans.

[pinto]

30. After reading all these suggestions, I think I'll join BIL for lunch at Bon Temps Cafe, local spot.

No clue to how closely they hold to traditional New Orleans cooking or how they may have altered recipes for CA palates, but the owner is a New Orleans native and cut his restaurant teeth there. Breakfasts are great.

Plus, they are sworn to secrecy. My BIL is on a diet yet I know he and his poker friends meet there once a month for lunch. None mention it within my sister's earshot at their house. And restaurant staff never make small talk about seeing him "just last week" if my sister stops in for lunch with her friends.

[cbayer]

31. Just looked at the menu and it looks pretty authentic.

I would be tempted to get some gumbo and a poboy - probably andouiille or catfish.

Enjoy!

[pinto]

32. LOL. Just spoke with my BIL. He called about dog sitting. (I'm the second home for their dachshund.)

I mentioned Bon Temps. He recommended gumbo and catfish poboy. We have a brodate set up for next week.

[cbayer]

33. Wonderful! Hope the food is good.