A and I had the distinct pleasure of spending a whole week in New Orleans over New Year's. It was a great opportunity to stuff my face at all of New Orlean's best restaurants. Believe me, I took advantage! In honor of my week in NOLA, I thought I would honor the restaurants who so deserved to be honored.
Best gumbo/new restaurant: Sobou
Sobou stands for South of Bourbon. This fantastic new restauant is in the heart of the French Quarter but away from Bourbon Street. We went there for lunch, 3 adults, 3 children. We really had no expectations at all. It just looked cool and a friend in Atlanta had suggested we try it. But he hadn't eaten there either, so we went in blindly. Boy, were we every surprised. Everything we had was outstanding. The kids announced that it was the best place they'd ever been. And the gumbo! Oh, the gumbo. I was a little gumbo'ed out by the time we went to Sobou, so I didn't order it. But, L had arrived that day and had a hankering from some good gumbo. It was cochon de lait gumbo with a dark brown roux. Man, it was good. Still haunts my dreams. We can't wait to return.
Best appetizer/prettiest restaurant: La Petite Grocery
A and I got to New Orleans on Saturday. L arrived Thursday. I had two babysitter nights arranged for Thursday and Friday. I picked La Petite Grocery for Thursday night. It's regularly listed in the Top 10 best restaurants in New Orleans, and in purusing the on-line menu, I noticed they had an octopus appetizer. I love me some octopus. This restaurant was just beautiful, white tableclothes, soft lighting, lots of windows. A charming place. The octopus was the best I've had in the United States (but couldn't compare to the dish I had in Portugal, alas!). Everything was great. In fact, we had dinner at La Petite on the same day we lunch at Sobou. Big food day!
Stupidest Name/Coolest NOLA Vibe: Feelings Cafe
My friend Gina has recommended this restaurant to me a few times. It's in the Marigny, a popular part of town, just outside the French Quarter. She kept telling me it was beautiful and we should go there. I couldn't get past the name, tho. So I put it off. But, for our last night in NOLA (and the remaining babysitter night), the four of us (Gina, her husband Malcolm, L and I) went to Feelings Cafe. It's located in an old house from the 1800's (perhaps older). It's one of those places in New Orleans that make ghosts seem totally plausible. It had so much charm and so much character that we instantly loved it. The food? It was ok. Not as good as either of the above, but decent. But you don't go there for the food. You go there 'cause it's cool as hell.
Best birthday lunch with my darling son: the Gumbo Shop
Nothing spectacular about this French Quarter tourist trap, but A & I had a lovely lunch there. It was my birthday.
Best Overall Restaurant: Herbsaint
I've blogged about Herbsaint before so I won't gush about it again. Suffice to say: that we arrived for lunch on a chilly, busy Friday. The restaurant was full and we strolled in, a party of 6, 3 kids and 3 adults. L was clearly underdressed: not showered, and wearing work-out clothes. The hostess was repulsed by us and told us she could not seat us for at least an hour. L asked if she could turn on the heat lamps and seat us outside. She relented. We sat outside in the freezing cold, shivering away and I said "this is how much I love this restaurant. I will sit in the freezing cold, be insulted by the hostess, if only to eat this magnificent food."
And finally, thank you to Gina & Malcolm, who put A & I up in their home for a whole week. Having guests is never easy, but Gina & Malcolm were effortless in their hospitality. We hope you had as good a time as we did!
