342415 Mon Nov 13 20:19:35 -0800 2006 37 9 New Orleans 0 2018043 I moved from Los Angeles to New Orleans a few years ago, and I have to say - I miss the food. While there are some restaurants that serve very good regional cuisine, there's not much in the way of ethnic food available at all. No good Chinese, no Persian, mediocre Indian (very limited selection), no great Mexican, no Russian that I know of, etc.... There are thousands of Middle Eastern places, and a helluva lot of sushi spots, but I want more choice. I know Los Angeles is a much larger city than NOLA, and I know its more of a melting pot, so I guess a wider variety of restaurants is expected. Whenever I tell someone from LA I'm in New Orleans, they always respond with "you must LOVE the food", and I do - but I have to say, there's much more really good food in Los Angeles. Mon Nov 13 20:19:35 -0800 2006 52842 FishFood 1 2018152 I think that New Orleans is attractive to visitors(added emphasis)because restaurants there have mastered Cajun, Creole and seafood preparation and presentation. People travel to NO to eat richly, not typically diversly. Much like gamblers of all type, flock to Las Vegas because there's no better place in North America to gamble. Odd comparison, I know. You being a transplant, FishFood, may be victimized by the economic realities of the NO food scene. Mon Nov 13 20:43:57 -0800 2006 2018043 11361 Griller 2 2018187 I think the "richly not diversely" hit the nail on the head. I was spoiled by all the options in the bigger city, and have had a rough time adjusting my expectations. Anyway... it'll be tough, but I think I can make it through. Mon Nov 13 20:49:18 -0800 2006 2018152 52842 FishFood 2 2018204 I relate to some of your frustration -- the food here is really great, but some specific requests are just hard to come by....would I be hijacking your topic if I suggested that we try to compile some good ethnic options here? I love the Thai food at Siamese -- 6601 Veterans Memorial Blvd (which I think I originally learned about form this board) We also really enjoyed 9 Roses for Vietnamese - less hard to come by here, but we thought it was espeically good -- Hoa Hong 9 Roses. 1100 Stephens. 366-7665. If anyone does know where to get really good Indian, Russian, Persian or Mexican I'd love to hear it... Mon Nov 13 20:53:26 -0800 2006 2018152 11485 Adrienne 3 2019067 I am not an expert on Indian food, but one good thing about my evacuation to Baton Rouge was the discovery of India's Restaurant, 5230 Essen Rd. Everything tasted extremely fresh, and it didn't seem like they took one sauce and made a chicken dish, a lamb dish, a pea dish, a cauliflower dish, etc. I would almost make the drive just to go there. Almost. Tue Nov 14 00:49:58 -0800 2006 2018204 10559 JGrey 4 2019143 There is (or was?) a Russian/Ukrainian place out off Williams out in Kenner... Maximilian or Maxim. I don't know if it still exists; I only went once before It, and the food was okay but not remarkable. Our Persian places did not return, for sure, but after Tehrangeles, they would have been a disappointment anyway. If you find yourself in Houston, Garson in the SW is pretty decent. Indian is limited, too. I still have no word on India Palace, the only place in town that had any South Indian food. There are a couple of places in Baton Rouge that might be worth the drive, if you're not into cooking your own cravings away. Locally, Nirvana's best dishes are the few Goan selections. That tiny North Indian place on Metairie road used to be good, but my last meal there was so laughably awful that I haven't had the heart to go back. There’s a Pakistani place in the FQ across from Canal Place, with the unlikely name of Salt & Pepper. Zero atmosphere but pretty good Northern sub-continental fare. Our Ethiopian place is gone, but I think Benechin (West African/Camaroon-ish) is still running in the FQ...I know they reopened, but I haven't been since the spring. The spinach dish with coconut rice is very good. We remain in a culinary desert as far as (tex-) Mexican goes. There are several Central American (Honduran? Guatemalan?) places on the WB that are worth checking out. Pete Vasquez, of the late, lamented Marisol, does a weekly informal dining al fresco deal Sunday evenings at Bacchanal over in the Bywater where he cooks an eclectic menu that varies weekly. I don't know what the onset of winter means for that undertaking, but in the past few months, he's done Persian, Cambodian, Russian, Ethiopian, etc. It's not the perfect solution, since he might not be cooking exactly what you want, when you want it, but the offerings are tasty. The menu gets emailed out on a weekly basis; I’ll post the subscription info once this week’s menu posts. Plates generally run about $8-10 each, and I invariably want 5 or 6; go with a group so you can share in the bounty. Here’s last week’s menu as a sample: Spicy Korean Pork Rib and Kimchee Soup Pumpkin, Coconut and Spinach Soup Longbeans in Sesame Sauce Spinach with Pineapple and Tomatoes Jamaican Meat Pies Crab Okonomiyaki Conch Fritters with Mango- Pepper Sauce Avocado Stuffed with Esalata de Bacalao Coconut Rice with Pigeon Peas Curried Oxtails Braised Lambshank in Black Bean Garlic Sauce Jerked Pork Shoulder Duck with Broccoli and Honeyed Walnuts Pineapple Upside Down Cake Son of Chocolate Homicide Tahitian Vanilla Flan with Key Lime Curd Tue Nov 14 01:18:39 -0800 2006 2019067 19502 foodmuse 1 2018313 Hey, you're not saying anything that's not true. But let's be fair: NOLA, even pre-K, had a teeny tiny fraction of the population of LA. So it's sort of like comparing the pitcher of the Carrolton Playground's 12-and-under team with the Big Unit...sure, one pitches more strikes, but they're not in the same league. Focusing on the positive, we do have extremely inexpensive & fresh & plentiful seafood, some very interesting local produce, and a real, living, breathing food culture that is intertwined with most people's identities. So the glass is half-full, no? Mon Nov 13 21:18:06 -0800 2006 2018043 12023 Hungry Celeste 1 2018580 I completely understand what you're saying! I like in Los Angeles and the food is really diverse. BUT, we travel to New Orleans at least once a year, and I plan our trips around the food and restaurants. I love the seafood, The rich creole and spicy cajun dishes, which I can't find in LA, for the most part. BUT, a few days before we come home, I really start craving Mexican food! Mon Nov 13 22:23:28 -0800 2006 2018043 44913 CEfromLA 2 2018923 I agree somewhat...I lived in DC for a year and really miss the great ethnic options, but we can focus on what we have... Vietnamese- Nine Roses (above) is terrific, so is Pho Tau Bay on the waetbank...there is a larger asian grocery on the westbank too that is bigger and cleaner than in Chinatown in NYC. African- Bennachin is great and cheap with BYO policy in the Quarter. Chinese- Try the dim sum any time of day at Royal China at the eginning of Veterans in Metairie. Cuban- Garces on Williams blvd in kenner (worth the drive). Mexican- Casa Tequila on williams as well is a mexican restaurant filled with mexican (i thought it was good, but not as good as san antonio restaurants, etc.). Taquiera Corone on magazine is a good taco place. Italian- Mosca's on the westbank, little far out, but worth the trip, and Sandro's on veterans in metairie kenner. Thai- I agree with Siamese's on vets. Tunisian: Jamelia's on maple in riverbend (on the right night you can get belly dancers for entertainment). Indian- I admit we are low on good Indian... taj mahal on metairie rd. or nirvana on magazine st. Argentine- La Boca steakhouse in the warehouse district. I hope some of these help...I would say La Boca, Nine Roses, and Jameila's would be the must go-to places of all of those. Mon Nov 13 23:57:31 -0800 2006 2018580 51787 bbares81 1 2018972 I don't have a problem with the premise. Celeste is spot on in terms of size contributing greatly to variety. But I think there is more to this thread that needs explanation. Namely, what have you tried? For example, most people could complain that NO is sorely lacking in south Asian fare, which is ubiquitous in, say, London. But those NO folks have likely not been to Salt & Pepper on Iberville. Its as good, if not better, than most of the curry joints I would frequent near Russell Sq. Likewise, I have had some of the best Cuban food of my life at Cristy's po-boys on the westbank. Whenever I hear people complain of the lack of good Cuban food in the city, invariably they have not been there. Ditto for Mexican food. Most have not been to the variety of places on the westbank. Sadly, Taq. La Mexicana is under new ownership, so the chilaquilles are no longer offered. But Jalisco is attracting a mob, there is a place on Airline that I hear is very good, Jazz tacos on Exchange Alley has excellent and interesting offerings, the Kenner grocery store on Williams packs central americans in on weekends (I haven't been lately though), and there are new places popping up every day (even excluding taco trucks). Have you tried any of theses places? Admittedly, it takes a little leap of faith to seek these out and walk through the door. Most don't have menus in the windows and they don't look like much. But Mexican and other central american offerings in NO don't begin and end with Taq. Corona. We are also blessed with excellent Vietnamese and Thai. I like Ding How for Chinese. Benachin is great for West African, which I prefer to any Ethiopian place in D.C. (I know the food is very different). In the end, as I sampled plenty of ethnic places on Ninth Avenue in New York recently, I was commenting how lucky we are in terms of ethnic food diversity given, both pre and post K, the relatively small size of New Orleans. Tue Nov 14 00:25:15 -0800 2006 2018043 23765 pilaf 1 2019116 New Orleans barely had one million residents before Katrina, and this was taking into account all of its metropolitan areas. The comparison that there aren't enough options is unfair, because clearly there will be tons more of every kind of restaurant in a city that's 10 times the size. However, as previous posters have said, there are options for non-Western cuisines here in New Orleans. Have you tried the Vietnamese? Most people who visit this city are so delighted by our unique cuisine that they don't miss what they can get in any big city in America, and that, I think, is our strength. L.A. has every kind of restaurant, but how good are the poboys and the oysters and the etouffee out there? I live in New York City, where--if you'll excuse me--the food is even better than in L.A., and I pine for New Orleans cuisine because you can only get it in New Orleans. Can't even get it up here. However, people in New Orleans who wander into Bennachin, Pho Tau Bay, Royal China, or Taj Mahal have little reason to be dissappointed either--these are all great restaurants. A tip: much of our best "ethnic" fare is in Kenner, Metairie, the West Bank, and (what's left of) New Orleans East. You have to go slightly farther afield to find it, but it's there. Tue Nov 14 01:08:33 -0800 2006 2018043 41985 HalfShell 1 2019216 For South American/Carribean/Mexican, there WAS a little place on Magazine (above Napolean, River side?) called Chapenlandia [SP?]. It was a small, family run store-front with about 6 4up tables. If it is still in operation (been many years now), they specialized in the cuisine from the entire Carribean Region. One could get 10 different tacos, Cuban, Mexican, Guatemalan, Nicaraguan, El Salvadoran... each totally different. Also, going back in time, Castillios, Uptown from Jackson SQ, about the center of the SQ, was funky, but had good Tex-Mex. It was better, when Carlos Castillio had his Mayan cook, but he left sometime back. If you can get past the time-warp atmosphere, the food WAS pretty good. Long gone, but the best Tex-Mex in the City was actaully a small chain out of TX. I am blanking the name, but there were two, one on Vets. Hwy, Lake-side, not too far into Metairie from Orleans Parish, and the other in Gretna. It seems as though the Gretna establishment was still open, but this was some years before Katrina. As far as the mix of ethnic food available, an area only has the food of the homeland of the people, who settle, or move to it. With the influx of Vietnamese over the past few decades, this segment has probably flourished. As for Eastern Europeans, unless immigration patterns have changed, one is not likely to see too many of their restaurants. Same for Indian, Ethiopian, Iranian, etc. Unless the folk move to an area, no one is likely to just decide to start up a specific ethnic restaurant, just because there are 500 successful ones in NYC. One, however, can do worse than some of the Creole/Soul/Carribean food found in a dozen different neighborhood store-fronts (pre-Katrina). I guess that a snide comment would be something like, "with all the great Creole/Cajun/New Orleans restaurants, the City don't need no Ethiopian joints... " But I will refrain from making it. It will be interesting to see how the ethnic dining scene changes in the City, with the new faces moving in. Trust me, when a large enough segment of one ethnic group populates the City, their restaurants WILL open. But first, the great restaurants of New Orleans need to re-open with full hours. Hunt Tue Nov 14 01:43:35 -0800 2006 2018043 11329 Bill Hunt 1 2019262 This has been a really helpful discussion! I've only tried about half of the restaurants suggested... Sounds like I've got a lot of eating to do. As a transplant, there's no way of knowing about a lot of the off the beaten track restaurants suggested - I really appreciate all the suggestions, and am happy to know that I didn't know everything! Tue Nov 14 01:56:59 -0800 2006 2018043 52842 FishFood 2 2020278 For Central Am. food, add Pupuseria La Macarena to your list (recently moved from Williams to a new location on West Esplanade, I believe), as well as Pupuseria del Dovino Corazon (westbank, Belle Chasse Highway). Taquerias are springing up all over town...I saw a new one on the non-elevated part of the W'Bank Expwy last weekend in Harvey (almost Westwego)...Durango? Will have to reconnoiter soon... And you should drive out to Dong Phuong Bakery, Chef Hwy a few miles east of I-510, across from the Folger's coffee plant. Check out the whole viet community in that area.... Tue Nov 14 15:12:37 -0800 2006 2019262 12023 Hungry Celeste 1 2022200 Being from California myself, I can sympathize with your plight. Personally, I have learned to lower the standard a bit... but for the most part, there have been several places that pleasantly surprised me. Being Chinese, I can at least recommend one restaurant: Imperial Garden on Williams Blvd (in Kenner). The roast duck there is delicious, some of the best outside of Hong Kong. They do prepare traditional Cantonese dishes (instead of the usual Americanized fare offer here in Louisiana). I usually order off the Chinese menu, but I am pretty sure there is an English menu available. Horinoya on Poydras offers pretty authentic Japanese food (most of the Japanese expatriates eat there). Korean House is not as bad as most people say, but again, I am just a big bibimbap fan! New Orleans East may be kind of far, but there are tons of great Vietnamese restaurants that are still running, despite the devastation. Also, I completely concur with the rest of the posters regarding Nine Roses. Oh, and for “Mexican” (it’s technically El Salvadorian), there’s a great little place called Taqueria Corona on Magazine. Hope that helps and happy eating! Wed Nov 15 00:23:12 -0800 2006 2018043 44027 angel816 2 2023379 Thanks for the Imperial Garden rec...I'm always on the lookout for better chinese options. Can you rec anything besides the roast duck? Wed Nov 15 15:13:45 -0800 2006 2022200 12023 Hungry Celeste 3 2023888 Their shrimp and walnut dish - where they deep-fried the shrimp and serve it with warm walnuts - is heavenly. Although not done in a very typically Cantonese manner, still a very enjoyable dish nevertheless. Also, any seasonal vegetable - last time, I had the pea sprouts, plainly fried with garlic - is top notch too. The waitress also said that the deep-fried intestine dish is quite popular too. It's a typical Cantonese dish, and if you are adventurous, you should definitely give that a go. I have yet to try it there (seeing that most of my friends here would not eat it even if it was free), but you might want to give that a shot. The prices aren't cheap by my standards (the shrimp put me back 16 dollars and the vegetables was 12 bucks), the serving size was definitely reasonable. I must forewarn you, there WILL be leftovers. Hope that helps. Wed Nov 15 17:57:20 -0800 2006 2023379 44027 angel816 1 2022528 As a native New Orleanian who lives in Los Angeles, I understand your lament however, I think it is unfair to compare a city the size of New Orleans to the L.A. megalopolis. You aren't gonna get San Gabriel quality Chinese, NoHo quality Thai, Fairfax Ethiopian nor will you get the quantity and quality of sushi found in California - period. L.A. is an economic hub that draws immigrants from practically every nation on earth - New Orleans is a city struggling to attract residents, even its own! I travel extensively for work and have a credo that works well, at least for me: concentrate on what is good about where you are and you won't be disappointed. So, instead of lamenting the lack of injera or chasu bao, celebrate the po-boys and bahn mi! Wed Nov 15 02:29:31 -0800 2006 2018043 11731 bodie 1 2030095 Yes, well as a fellow transplantee from Los Angeles, I miss the diversity as well. Good Chinese, Thai and Mexican in particular. But even in L.A. with it's countless restaurants it wasn't that easy to find great restaurants of any variety. It took time to ferret out the gems there, just like it will take you time here. People on the boards here are always helpful when it comes to finding great places. I might get slammed, but I happen to think the Mexican food at Superior Grill is delicious. We go for happy hour (3:30 - 6:30??), 2 for 1 margaritas, get an order of guac, split a giant plate of rib eye fajitas and leave extremely happy and stuffed, and not just because of the drinks! The guac is fresh, the chips are most often warm and thin, they make fresh tortillas in-house, they cook the rib eye perfectly medium rare, they have premium tequilas (Herradura Silver @ $7.50 for a double margarita during happy hour). Honestly I can't fault them on any front except for when they are crowded and the noise level is painful and the music is a bit loud. They opened their patio area outside, it is more comfortable there. Their seafood enchiladas, skirt steak fajitas, carnitas quesadillas are all delicious as well. I haven't tried any of their burritos. But I still miss things in L.A. (as opposed to LA): Big bowl of fresh chicken vegetable soup with tortillas at my neighborhood mexican place, Red Chili and Machaca Burritos at Burrito King, seafood salad and duck tamales at Sonora Cafe on La Brea, giant bowls of Chow Ma Mein on 8th street in Korea Town, the cheese selection at the La Brea Bakery store plus the fresh baked bread, fancy dinners at Campanile (oooh, the pumpkin raviolis with sage, bacon and browned butter), Argentine food at LaLa's on Melrose ..... Basically my eating list for visits back to California. I enjoy them when I get back, and then run home to New Orleans where my heart and my stomach are always the happiest. We tried La Boca for Argentine and it was excellent. My only complaints would be that the Entree's come without any sides. I am not fond of a plate served with just one thing on it. However, I ordered the grilled asparagas to go with my Milenesa Napolitano and it was fantastic, the best asparagas I have ever eaten. Perfectly cooked, simple and tasty. The Milenesa was perfect, just what I expected. Everyone else had the coconut cake and pronounced it delicious (I detest coconut). We brought a bottle of champagne to celebrate hubby's birthday, they actually ran around the corner to Rio Mar to get champagne glasses since they don't have champagne on the wine menu, hence no glasses. Now if they had just brought back some of the Flan from Rio Mar for my dessert I would have been thrilled. Next time we will just walk over there to eat dessert instead unless they put it on the menu. Thanks for the thread, I will try some of the suggestions for Thai and Chinese. Fri Nov 17 17:17:29 -0800 2006 2018043 53864 nosurndr 1 2036835 Yes, and this posits an interesting issue concerning cities and the cuisines offered one tha was discussed by my namesake, the famous Underground Gourmet, about 35+ years ago: namely, if you have an indigenous cuisine, it tends to keep the foreignors out. Let's face it, despite articles about "LA cuisines", therre is no LA cuisine to speak of, because there was no culinary tradition there...unlike here. And we didn't just import ours, either--we developedd it from the rich mix of ethnic groups--french, spanish, african, afro-carribean, italian, and by no means least, american indian...this has tended to keep out most "forreign restaurants", but let's face it, about 20 years ago or so, most of the examples of those cuisines in LA weren't that good, either. What we speak of when we speak of the cuisine down here is a restaurant that I just sampled for the first time a few days ago and am still high about--Pat's in Henderson, La. It's off the beaten track and down a little two lane road, but it's absolutely wonderful--mainly because the sort of people that eat in Henderson--edge of the cajun country--simply expect high quality. Let's not forget there are a lot of absolutely terrible restaurants in LA as well---I've eaten at some of them. (I'll review it separately another time, along with some good food in Dry Prong, La.) On the other hand: I love Indian cuisine, and certainly wish that we had more Indian restaurants--two of my favorites have not re-opened after Katrina and it looks like that's it for them. Mon Nov 20 21:05:03 -0800 2006 2018043 17677 underworld gourmet 1 2042113 New Orleans food is its own ethnic food. This is what we eat daily. This and Cajun food. Imagine going to Hunan Province China and complaining that there is no good Ethiopian food there. I don't think the Chinese there go searching for foreign dishes. Once at the New Orleans Grapevine I heard someone from California say that she would not eat anywhere without great wine. You can get great wine in Des Moines but only unique New Orleans food in New Orleans. When I read of the great food in Italy, they don't tout Persian dishes. Would you fo to Rome to eat great Mexican cuisine? Wed Nov 22 18:47:07 -0800 2006 2018043 16475 Panama Hat 1 2043871 I am from the N.O. area but have lived in L.A. for 24 years. Twice a year, I and half a dozen L.A. friends come to N.O. to eat. L.A. is like a candy store of ethnic choices but that's about where it ends. Compared to N.O., it's not about the food here; eating is more of a social event. When I say we come there to eat, I mean to say we come for the inimitable experience of participating in an exciting indigenous food scene that everybody's charged up about. It's about the heart and the soul, something almost impossible to find driving around the freeways of L.A. Thu Nov 23 17:06:35 -0800 2006 2018043 17591 jnc 1 2044835 jnc, You seem to understand what and how you eat in New Orleans and what New Orleans food is. If you like to live in a city and eat foreign food, fine, but where do you get truly great Los Angeles food in Los Angeles. Maybe you can find a real good Detroit restaurant there, or even better, some authentic Canadian food. jnc, let me know when you will be in and we can get a group to go to Mosca's (I guess that is being mean--make your mouth water?). Fri Nov 24 16:09:00 -0800 2006 2018043 16475 Panama Hat 1 2046165 We had the exact same experience. Moved there from Los Angeles in 1998 and left in 2004. I think if you moved to Louisiana from many parts of the country you would be excited about the local food, but the problem is you get spoiled in Los Angeles because you can get practically anything and the variety is endless. When we first moved to New Orleans we gorged on the usual suspects like po-boys and richly sauced seafood for the first couple of weeks, then we said, "where's the real food?" and discovered how difficult it was to find a non-iceberg lettuce salad, or non-fried food, or simply something different. Fresh produce was a huge problem. When we first got there I was shocked to find the sad, wilted produce carried by most supermarkets. I asked coworkers, “where are the gourmet markets,” and people told me to go to Langenstein’s, the uptown location. I couldn’t believe it – the place was tiny and their produce was no better. I also visited the Metairie Langenstein’s and wasn’t all that much more impressed, even though it is larger. Later I learned that Langenstein’s can be a good source of good meats and certain Louisiana specialties, but it wasn’t what I had in mind when I went looking for a good market. The Saturday farmer’s market was disappointing produce-wise, except for a brief period from mid-June to mid-July. We especially missed Chinese food (I don’t care what they tell you, the stuff they serve in so-called Chinese restaurants in that town is not Chinese) and Mexican food (same story). As for Italian, I was on a perpetual frustrated search for pasta that was not covered in heavy red sauce or heavy Alfredo sauce. The most disappointing discovery was that so many restaurants served mediocre or bad Louisiana food – jambalaya tasting of the bouillion powder in the mix; tasteless gumbo; gummy sauced seafood; crawfish etouffe with hardly any crawfish; long-frozen seafood from some foreign land. And often very underspiced! So many times people told us “I don’t eat in the French Quarter because the food there is too spicy” and we would say “where? Tell us where and we’ll eat there?” We love spicy food but we came to believe that many of the tourist-focused restaurants seasoned food for Midwestern visitors who think salt and pepper are too spicy (and in fact we often found restaurant food to be over salted). When locals told us they loved the city because of all the wonderful restaurants we asked “where do you go?” and many times instead of recommending a restaurant they just started talking about their mama’s cooking. That didn’t solve our problem. During the time we lived there, the restaurant scene changed quite a bit, and more upscale modern American-type restaurants opened. This may be a good thing or not so good, depending on your viewpoint. I appreciate the value of preserving the local cuisine, but some of the best new places started to use traditional Louisiana ingredients in new ways, getting away from the heavy sauces and using fresher ingredients. More international restaurants started opening, and the variety increased. Because we left before Katrina I don’t know how much of this new wave has survived, although from what I’ve read you can probably find some good Mexican food by now. In the end, our favorite restaurants were those that served non-traditional food, including Lola's (decent paella, really good garlic shrimp appetizer, garlicky aioli spread for the bread); Mona's for Middle Eastern, and Christy's Po-Boys on Stumpf in Gretna just north of the expressway, which is actually a little Cuban cafe that makes divine oxtail stew on the weekends. When Whole Foods opened their first larger location on Magazine Street (this one has not reopened, I believe?) I finally had a source of good produce, although it was expensive. There are really good Vietnamese restaurants in the area, because of the sizeable Vietnamese population. Our favorite was Tan Dinh on the West Bank. The fish market in Westwego was a wonderful source of fresh shrimp and other local seafood. Nor-Joe market in Metairie was a great source of Italian cheeses, pastas, etc. (and also made a great muffaletta). Then we discovered that Houston has outstanding Mexican food and Chinese food (we were in dum sum heaven on that first trip to Houston), as well as good Indian and other ethnic restaurants, so we made periodic treks to Houston to satisfy our cravings. And Houston has the fabulous Central Markets, where we would stop at the end of each trip and fill up our car with wonderful produce, cheeses, and all manner of fabulous things. And here’s a hint that might help you find the best food in the area: Pay attention to the recommendations and information posted on this board by Hungry Celeste. She is very knowledgeable about Louisiana food and history, as well as other types of cuisines. Whether local or ethnic, she will not steer you to inferior restaurants. Now that we live in Phoenix we have our fill of Mexican food and decent Chinese (not Los Angeles quality, but good enough to satisfy most of the cravings), but we miss the good Louisiana seafood. I can make good gumbo, red beans and rice and jambalaya, but sometimes we have to import ingredients like andouille and tasso. I wouldn’t mind having a good shrimp po-boy once in awhile, but I can’t say I really miss them. I do miss the crawfish boils, which are wonderful social events and a source of truly spicy Louisiana food. I am glad that we spent those years in NOLA, because we got to know the city as it was at the end of an era. However, I think that transplanting an adventurous food-loving Californian to New Orleans may be an impossible fit. Sarah C Sat Nov 25 14:40:57 -0800 2006 2018043 10380 kittyfood 1 2046332 Kittyfood, You obviouly hung with the wrong people. Ever try Galatoire's, Antoine's, Broussard's, Mandina's, either Liuzza's, Domelese's, Cafe du Monde, Drago's, Central Grocery, Tujague's, Andrea's, Bozo's, Sid-Mar's, Mosca's, Bon Ton, Bourbon House, Brunnings', LaProvence, Tony Angelo's, Jacques-Imo's, Ralph's, Manale's, Irene's, Morton's, Commander's, Mr. B's, Quarter Scene, Uglesich, etc. etc. etc. As I said earlier, I couldn't believe I couldn't find a great Ethiopean restaurant in Florence, Italy. I mean, like all they had was Italian food. I would rather have been in Los Angeles. Sat Nov 25 17:10:22 -0800 2006 2018043 16475 Panama Hat 2 2046604 Yes, we tried almost all of those places -- Jacques-Imo's and Uglesich would be the ones that we liked best. Sarah C Sat Nov 25 20:14:31 -0800 2006 2046332 10380 kittyfood 1 2046449 chef4hire, You are right. Always notice that he best pizza you ever had was at least 1000 miles away. But also in answer to kittyfood concerning markets and produce--ever go get a quart of unwashed oysters from P&J's and eat 6 before you get them home, ever drive to LaPlace and stack up on andouille, hogs head cheese,and smoked sausage, ever go to Dorignac's during the summer to get real Crole tomatoes from the lower parishes and watermelon from Washington Parish, ever go to any roadside truck and get 5 pounds of fresh shrimp, ever go to Bucktown and get fresh speckled trout, jumbo lump crabmeat, and pompano, ever have friends who bring you so much homegrown okra that you have to freeze most of it, etc. etc. ect. Here in South Louisiana we eat our local produce in season and don't rely on Mexico or California. From you reply you obviouly had noone to show you the real New Orleans or Cajun food. Too bad you missed such a unique experience. Sat Nov 25 18:33:30 -0800 2006 2018043 16475 Panama Hat 2 2046607 As I said before, I do miss the local seafood and I now resort to ordering the andouille from Jacob's. There are definitely things that Louisiana does best, and Louisiana food does not translate well to other areas. That was not my point. Sarah C. Sat Nov 25 20:16:47 -0800 2006 2046449 10380 kittyfood 1 2079265 I have to take exception with the "I think that transplanting a Californian to New Orleans may be an impossible fit." Difficult, not impossible since I was a life-long Southern California girl who's heart always belonged here in New Orleans. The only problem was that I didn't come here until I was 48 years old! But it only took a couple of steps on the ground that first day, an unbelievable oyster po-boy and walking on the street drinking a delicious bloody mary to make me realize I had somehow found my real home, my complete heart. The food played a part, but you can't separate the food from the culture or the culture from the food - a uniqueness you can't get anywhere else. I will trade a little wilted lettuce for a box of gold any day. New Orleans is a place you either love or hate, you can either live here (and I mean REALLY live!) with all the problems (pre and post K), or not. Yes, I mosey back to California once or twice a year, eat myself into a stupor with those unique and particular tastes I love that I can't get here "exactly" the way they are in L.A. They have a bowl of mussels in New York that are to die for, I have never found those in either L.A. or New Orleans. But, I LIVE here because it is the only place I can identify body and soul as my home. Nothing else matters. People who can't take it move to Phoenix or Houston, places that would surely kill me even if they had food better than here, which I know is impossible. But, hey guys, take a breath! Starting to deteriorate from what was a helpful thread. I do miss some ethnic foods, your suggestions for the out of the way places we have trouble finding is just great. Take pity on us poor transplants, we missed so much by not growing up here and having this wonderful culture all our lives. For those of us who make the leap you can believe we only do it because we love it as much as you do. At least we have that going for us! And one of my favorite things? New Orleans is the only place I have ever been where people sit around talking about the last, next, best meal they have, will or remember eating WHILE they are eating a meal. Gotta love that. Thu Dec 07 19:36:39 -0800 2006 2018043 53864 nosurndr 1 2080997 Why is there a very popular cafe in the L.A. Farmers' Market called The Gumbo Pot that has lines waiting to indulge in wonderful Louisiana cuisine? Because our cuisine is very unique and loved by many people. As a native of South Louisiana who now lives in Washington, DC, I have a very similar problem as you. Good ethnic food exists here; however, it is impossible to find authentic Louisiana dishes. So I have to cook them myself. My friends love them and always say that it reminds them of their trips to Louisiana. The problem is, it is very difficult to find the ingredients. I have to order tasso, andouille, etc, through webites. Oh well, whatever it takes to get the real thing! So, bottom line is local, fresh ingredients cooked in dishes inspired by the people in the area always seem to be the best. Laissez les bons temps rouler, cher! Fri Dec 08 05:19:58 -0800 2006 2018043 31211 kdbroussa 1 2081507 Interesting... sorry if it's off the finding ethnic resto's point... because I never thought about New Orleans that way, since I go to chow down on the Creole food and the crawdads... Fri Dec 08 14:59:25 -0800 2006 2018043 52499 ChefJune 2 2082094 That's our point. New Orleans food is our ethnic food. You don't go to Italy to find Chinese food. And as the Italians and Chinese do, we eat our ethnic food daily. Fri Dec 08 17:50:13 -0800 2006 2081507 16475 Panama Hat 3 2084608 But if you were to move to Italy, don't you think you would miss New Orleans style food? I think that some of these comments have sortof devolved into personal attacks or whining about the food here... I think it's always legitimate to miss food you enjoyed, even while acknowledging that there are plenty of (obvious) reasons that certain things are not available here, and that the regional cuisine is excellent. Maybe I am just projecting but I assumed that the original poster was hoping that other transplants who had felt the same way might help direct him or her to ethnic restaurants that are more comparable to those in L.A. I have to disagree with the person who said that there is good Chinese and Indian here, though, in terms of what you said about how the people working at these restaurants would be offended if you questioned their authenticity -- I think if you asked them whether they eat the same food they serve, most of them would tell you no. This is equally true in the Northeast -- they are making what they think we want to buy, which by definition varies by region of our country. However, at some places if you ask really nicely they will serve you what they make for themselves, i.e., off-menu. For anyone seeking really authentic food, I would give that a try (maybe by calling ahead and speaking to a manager). Sat Dec 09 15:22:06 -0800 2006 2082094 11485 Adrienne 1 2140877 Just to bring the thread back to the original posted theme... how about natives/transplants/tourists/etc... list their favorite spots for any particular "ethnic" cuisine or maybe just plain old reliable favorites? I'm sure post-K, there must have been beaucoup changes in New Orleans and the eatery scene so suggestions and reccommendations would be sooo nice. =) Also, I must admit to my own selfish motives. I'm a native that was transplanted to the Bay Area/San Francisco for a while now (7years) and would like to be updated on where the great eateries are!! Sun Dec 31 04:16:38 -0800 2006 2018043 63064 SumoSizeMe 1 2140999 The one thing that has not changed and has been a sustaining force in the city's recovery are the restaurants. Granted they all had their problems opening, but almost every restaurant that was here before the storm is back and we have several new ones.Go to www.nomenu.com and you will find a list of all the restaurants open. Many of our chefs did heroic things in the aftermath to help those who were trying to help us. They were our first responders. Sun Dec 31 05:35:37 -0800 2006 2018043 19636 Tonto 2 2141046 Here here! Good post Tonto! Sun Dec 31 06:21:53 -0800 2006 2140999 13328 Spencer 1 2144488 You might try the West Bank for Vietnamese food, especially 9 Roses and Kim Son. I also found good tamales and a Salvadoran pupuseria over there. I lived in N.O. pre-Katrina for about ten years, and have been living in Southern CA about half as long. There's a lot about both places that the other just can't substitute for. If you spend weekend time driving around exploring new neighborhoods and restaurants, I think you'll find some new irreplaceable favorites. With the influx of re-construction workers, I bet there are now good places for more authentic Mexican food. Tue Jan 02 02:48:26 -0800 2007 2018043 63460 Trere8 1 2144907 HECK YES, Los Angeles! Roscoe's Chicken & Waffles Johnny Pastrami Titos Tacos Musso and Frank! mmmmmmmmm. we be needin some of dat in new orleans! Tue Jan 02 11:52:29 -0800 2007 2018043 52084 cajungwailo