Trip Report
We just returned from a wonderful stay in New Orleans and are eating only salads to try and recover from stuffing ourselves with so much delicious food. Here is a report of what we ate and what we thought.
Atchafalaya Restaurant- This was the surprise of the trip. We were celebrating a Bachlor/Bachlorette party and the bride to be picked this place after walking by it the day before. What a great find! For appetizers we had crab cakes that were good and fried green tomatoes that were not so good. My husband had the lightly batter fried catfish. Both he and I agree that it was the best we have ever had! It was amazing. I had a special of the night- grouper stuffed with crawfish. It was also delicious. The restaurant was absolutely wonderful to our group of 12. We were seated in a seperate room at a table next to an open door where we could be rowdy and enjoy the lovely evening weather.
Parasol- My husband had the roast beef Po'Boy and I had the catfish. Both were amazing! My husband has placed this sandwich in his top ten sandwiches of all time. I don't know if that was because we were both a bit hung over from our bachelor/bachelorette doings on Bourbon St the night before or if it truely was the most oustanding sandwich ever. (Probably it is just the most outstanding sandwich ever.) The catfish was also huge and excellent.
Luke- Dinner at Luke was such a relaxed and enjoyable experience. My husband started with the housemade amber beer-WOW! It was one of the best beers I have ever had and everyday I wish I could have another. We had the flamenkuche as an appetizer. I must admit at this point I fell off the vegetarian wagon. I haven't eaten beef, pork or chicken for probably 10 years and the bacon on this made me want to cry it was so delicious. Outstanding! I had the ravioli of crabmeat which was good but seemed to be lacking something. My husband had the cochon de lait and again I could not resist taking a bite. It was a little taste of heaven. We both loved that sandwich. Dessert was the black forest pot de creme. MMMMMMM brandied cherries. This was rich and delicious but I would have liked a few more cherries in it.
Mr B's- Started with gumbo ya-ya. Very tasty. My husband liked it better than I did. He had barbequed shrimp. This is his favorite dish of all time since having it at Mr B's on our honeymoon in 2001. I had the catfish meuniere. Maybe it is just my tastebuds but this dish was all too sweet for me. The fish was prepared well but the pecan crust and sweet potatoes had me reaching for my martini.
Emeril's- Unfortunately between the afternoon martini and hurricane and the evening mint julep and champagne by the time dinner arrived things were slightly fuzzy. I will say we loved the corn bread. An appetizer of main lobster pierogi seemed only so so. My husband had the bacon salad and the ribeye which he enjoyed. We both really loved the banana cream pie. The service was exceptional.
French Quarter Fest- We sampled-
Eat's Shrimp and Grits were awsome. We both loved every bite. Can't wait to come back and eat at the restaurant. Plum Street Snowballs-had a nectar cream with condensed mik. I have never had a snowball before and now I will never come to New Orleans without having one. It was amazing! Muriel's Louisiana Crawfish and Goat Cheese Crepes were okay. I had read so many good things on this board that our expectations were high for this dish. The sauce was good but it seemed like a lot of goat cheese for the amount of crawfish (and I love goat cheese). I would give it another shot but it didn't live up to the hype.
All and all we had delicious food and an amazing time in New Orleans. Thanks to everyone here who gave advise on where and what to eat. We are sad that The Green Goddess did not open in time for us to sample their food but it gives us an excuse to go back to New Orleans again soon. Yum.
