In NOLA for sports, and my favorite sport is food, please help

[stuffin]

I will be in Nawlins for the NCAA basketball games at the Arena/Superdome. I need a good lunch spot now that Uggies is gone. Please help me find the good, cheap, local stuff. My fall-back plan is always Serios or Mother's (love them, of course), but I would like something closer and/or different. Thanks.

[wadelit]

You are not going to find anything closer than Serio's and Mothers. If you want to venture out a bit, I would suggest Mandins's or Parkway Bakery. You can take the streetcar to Mandina's. Johnnie's Poboys in the Quarter is also pretty good, especially the roast beef.

[paz5559]

The Store
Nola Grocery
Couchon Butcher
Lil' Dizzy's
Allegro Bistro
J'anitas @ The Avenue Pub

[kibbles]

+1 for The Store. its a league above Mother's and Serio's, both of which i think are not worth visiting. at The Store you can great a good poboy w/ large shrimp and house-made sweet potato fries. best cobb salad ever. and if its thursday a most excellent crawfish-squash risotto w/ grilled asparagus.

[stuffin]

Thank's for the posts. I would have loved to try The Store, but could not get there because of timing issues. I see why the downgrade of Mother's. I was not pleased with the food on this trip.

However, I was really impressed with Cochon Butcher. Great grilled cheese pastrami. The bread was a really nice whole grain rye. The pastrami, sauerkraut, and cheese melted in my mouth while the butter-crisped bread crackled on the teeth.

Likewise, the pork belly with mint cucumber sauce was a decadent delight. The toasted white bread seemed a bit uninspired, but who cares when the juice from a slab of pork belly is running down your chin. The sauce was a great counterpoint to the pork's richness.

Similarly, the Cubano included a really tasty slab of cochon du lait (roasted baby pig) in a nice crusty pressed french roll. Yet, I was a bit disappointed in the overall flavor. Granted, it was delicious, and anyone who is not particular about their Cuban sandwiches would love it. For me, it lacked enough of the finely-balanced counterpoints which a Cuban must have. I say that coming from living for many years in Miami. The roasted pig must be balanced with salty ham, melty cheese, and tangy pickles and mustard. The Butcher's version needs a few more of those ingredients to balance the great roasted piggy.

Likewise, I thought the Gambino also lacked balance. I thought the house-made meats (cotto, sopresatta, and copa) were excellent. But, I could hardly taste them thanks to the overwhelming vinaigrette. Way, too strong. It was so powerful that it was hard to tell what was going on. I think it was raw garlic (and, I LOVE garlic)

Overall, Cochon Butcher was fantastic. I would eat any of the sandwiches again. They are first class, and run a really nice shop. You can tell that a master chef (Donald Link) is behind the scenes.

Other highlights from another NOLA sojourn:

Rabbit Fricassee at Jacque-Imo's- I like eating at the tiny bar to avoid the crowds. How do you beat stewed rabbit?

Roast beef po' boy at Parasol's on St. Paty's Day was just as I remembered- a lot of beef, beer, and breasts (in that order).

Pascal's Manale for oysters. Order a beer and tokens for 6 or dozen oysters from the bar, and then go stand at the oyster bar for the best gulf oysters and conversation to be had in the Crescent City. Repeat until you can no longer see straight, talk, or stomach any more oysters. (For me, that never happens, so I repeat until my money runs dry, and that is usually when the lagniappe kicks in. You gotta love this city because they are very politely clear about whether they want you to stay, or want you to leave.)

Music: Little Dragon at One Eyed Jack's, SF's Lazer Sword at La Maison (upstairs, where the cool kids hang) , and MuteMath at Howlin Wolf.

Can't forget basketball!
Notre Dame out of the gate flat. Were they in the Irish Channel for St. Pat's the night before?... hmmm. The professional team known as The Globetrotters masquerading as the University of Kentucky (John Wall is that good). Baylor showing that the Big 12 runs deep and tough. And, of course, Wake's last second miracle shot to cap Texas' historic nosedive.

Wow! Thanks NOLA. Can't wait til the next time.

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Cochon Butcher
930 Tchoupitoulas, New Orleans, LA 70130

One Eyed Jacks
615 Toulouse St, New Orleans, LA 70130