Cobalt: If I was forced to choose, this was the best meal I had on these trips. I started with “Yesterday’s Soup” which happened to be a sweet potato soup. No cream, just pureéd sweet potatoes – wonderful. Next I had seared rare tuna with a goat cheese tamale and black bean sauce, which was also very good; perfect crème brulée for dessert (and I’m a bit of a crème brulée snob). The wine list had a good selection under $30, and the service was terrific. Very nice space, and a jazz combo playing background music.
Upperline: We had the Reveillon menu here (seems like ages ago!), a four course dinner. Turtle soup, warm foie gras (wonderful), roast duck in a plate-licking red wine sauce, and topped off with a glass of port, a slice of Stilton, and pecans for dessert. It was a fabulous meal with great service. The owner, JoAnn, is a whirlwind, and came around to see how everything was. Very nice space, nicely lit (lighting in a nice restaurant is so important to me) and a romantic corner table.
Galatoire’s: My first time here, and I finally did Friday lunch! Little did we know at the time, but the two Fridays before Christmas are their busiest, and people wait on line at 7:00 in the morning! We got there just before 11;00, and were told it would be a 1-1/2 to 2 hour wait. We had nowhere to go, so we figured why not? Well, it was 3 hours! But worth it. We met a local at the bar, who told us tales of his Friday lunches at Galatoire’s, and how, during Mardi Gras, people will pay someone to wait on line for them the night before. It really was an experience, and we were happy that after the long wait, we got to sit downstairs, which is just wild. Hustling and bustling, businessmen and ladies wearing hats, exchanging as many Christmas presents as air kisses. I got the sense that there were lots of people there for their traditional holiday lunch. The service was impeccable, which was no easy feat given how busy they were. I had crabmeat maison to start, and the trout meunière, recommended to me by a local. It really was a prefect piece of fish, crisp on the outside, moist and flaky on the inside.
NOLA: My second time here. The food was very good, but the service was just off on the night we were there. Cream of garlic soup to start (fortunately, I came here on the girls’ weekend ;-)), and a vegetarian entrée: portobello mushroom en croute. Very good, although the garlic soup at Bayona is much better, imo. We asked them to bring something special for dessert since it was our friend’s birthday. The waiter brought a half-melted scoop of vanilla ice cream with a candle stuck in it. ? I guess we should have been more specific...
Café Sbisa: My second time here for the Sunday jazz brunch. The music was great, but a bit too loud to have a conversation. It really should be background music during a meal. Anyway, I loved my crawfish crèpe to start, and the jambalaya and eggs. Tom had a wonderful flash-fried oyster appetizer, but the grillades and grits he had for an entrée were pretty bad. I’ve had them at places where the veal melts in your mouth. This was tough & stringy. And the grits could best be described as gummy. The service was friendly and they have good Bloody Marys.
Winnie’s Artsy Café: On the 3400 block of Magazine. I need to thank someone on the board for recommending this place, but I can’t remember who. Sweeneygirl? Lyn? Anyway, we had some wonderful soup and sandwiches here for lunch. Cute space, too; very “neighborhoody.”
Old Dog, New Trick: I had heard so much about this place and I finally tried it. I had a tofu sandwich with peanut sauce, which was very good, and Tom had a great polenta napoleon with roasted vegetables. We also ordered the watermelon mimosas, which I highly recommend – great way to start a day in NOLA.
Coops: This time, I was here at 11:00pm, eating the Cajun pasta, another good dish at Coops. Again, not haute cuisine, but good, simple, and a great value. The Beaujolais Nouveau had just come out (I know, all you oenophiles, this is not “real” wine, but I prefer to think of it as a party in a bottle, and I look forward to having fun with it every November) and they were charging two dollars a glass. The waiter left the almost-full bottle on the table, and only charged us for two glasses. Very inexpensive meal.
Louisiana Pizza Kitchen: I love this place. We go here quite often. This is the first time I ordered pasta, though (lasagna), and it was very good.
Acme Oyster Bar: Nothing like a quick dozen between meals!
Port of Call: I had yet another religious experience here. Maybe it’s the waiting on line that works up one’s appetite, but I just devoured that big ol’ cheeseburger and loaded baked potato like it was my last meal!
Dana’s Café: This is in Bar 625, at 625 St. Philip. I had the “sloppy roast beef po’ boy” which was decent enough, but Tom’s blue plate special of corned beef and cabbage was good – nicely spiced. We spoke to Dana for awhile, whose son bartends at the Chart House, and tries to send her customers. Nice woman, just trying to make a buck in the Quarter.
Johnny’s Po’ Boys: I know, it’s touristy, but sometimes I just have to try places for the sake of saying I’ve been there. For me, the bread makes or breaks a po’boy, and this tasted day old, at least. I’ve had much better po’ boys at Quarter Master, a little deli on the quiet end of Bourbon, and certainly at our local watering hole, Pappy’s, here in Lake Charles (that was for you, Rod. ;-)).