Rum House

When I was 17 I went with a friend and her family to the British Virgin Islands. We chartered our own sailboat, the Fantasea, and every day we would sail to the different islands. We went snorkeling through the reefs, took the dingy ashore to sample some of the local fare, and at night we slept on the boat underneath the Caribbean star-studded sky. It was my very first time flying, my first time living on a boat, and up until then, that 2 week vacation was the longest time I had ever spent away from home. I have the most incredible memories from that vacation; the friendly BVI locals, gorgeous salty blue water and, of course, the amazing food.

So I was super excited when a friend suggested we go to the Rum House on Magazine Street last week while a bunch of our friends were in town for a wedding. The Rum House is a Caribbean Taqueria that serves up food with Caribbean, Latin American, and Creole influences. And as most of you already know, I am a huge fan of the Latin/Caribbean food here, so I'm always willing to try other places with the same cuisine.

We went on a Thursday night, so it wasn't too crowded, and while we waited for everyone to get there, we ordered the Conch and Sweet Potato Fritters. I remember enjoying them in the BVI, but perhaps my memory deceives me because these fritters were pretty horrible. They were sweet in all the wrong ways and had an odd texture and shape. Every fritter I have ever had has been round, so what were these odd-long things on the plate in front of me? The breading was really the only thing I tasted and they were a little too greasy. We ended up leaving a majority of them on the plate for the waitress to take away.

Since the fritters were a bust, we ordered the chips with queso blanco and griddle roasted vegetable salsa. We all agreed that the chips tasted stale, that the salsa was mediocre, and that Superior Grill's queso is definitely better. Although it wasn't looking too good at this point, I still had high hopes for my Taco Trifecta entree where you choose 3 of the 10 tacos and a side. I ordered the Chopped Shrimp taco, which came with black beans, roasted peppers, pico de gallo, onions, and queso; the Brisket taco with chimichurri, barbecue sauce, cilantro, and fried shallots; and the Flaked Fish taco made with charbroiled black drum, asparagus and creole tomato chutney, and a dill tarter sauce. The Brisket taco was odd because of the bbq sauce and the fried shallots, which were cold and chewy. The Flaked Fish was forgettable and the Chopped Shrimp was just one big let down. While my friends who ordered the same thing got lots of shrimp, I only got one half of a shrimp. It was even more upsetting considering that the shrimp taco had the best flavor of the three.

We skipped dessert since we were all pretty disappointed and vowed that we would only go back for nachos and drinks. My "Painkiller" drink was pretty darn good and it definitely reminded me of my time spent in the Islands. Other than that, I'm glad there are other Latin/Caribbean restaurants in the city that do a much better job of satisfying my constant craving for this wonderful cuisine. Because if Rum House were the only option, then my memories would be all I would have.


Conch and Sweet Potato Fritters with Spicy Remoulade Dipping Sauce


Queso Blanco and Griddle Roasted Vegetable Salsa with chips


Taco Trifecta (from left to right): Flaked Fish, Brisket, and Chopped Shrimp with a side of Coconut Mango Rice (which was dry and lacked the big flavor I was expecting)

Noodle Love

Every week I get an insatiable craving for Asian food. Usually I'll satisfy my craving by going out for sushi, which definitely isn't something I'd ever attempt to make at home, and depending on what you order, it can be very healthy. But sometimes I need a change and that's when I usually turn to Thai food.

La Thai, located on the corner of Robert and Prytania, is a great Uptown Thai restaurant that offers an extensive menu of starters, soups, salads, noodles, stir-fry, curry and other entrees to please everyone at the table. I'm fond of the Tom Ka Gai soup, which is a classic Taiwanese soup made with chicken, coconut milk, lemongrass, ginger, and mushrooms, and I also really like the Paht Woon Sen glass noodle dish with shrimp and veggies in a sweet soy-garlic sauce. My boyfriend particularly enjoys the green curry with chicken, which he orders spicy, but you can specify how much heat you want in any of the dishes. Personally, I don't enjoy spicy food, but I find that if I endure a little spice, I have an even bigger excuse to hit up Creole Creamery after the meal :)


Green Curry Mussels - Mussels were decent but the french fries were slightly disappointing (tasted too much like fast food fries)


Paht Woon Sen: Glass noodles, shrimp, scallions, baby corn, mushrooms


Green Curry with Chicken: Coconut milk, bamboo shoots, eggplant, basil

An Italian Tuesday

Ever since I had my first taste of John Besh's Lüke burger, I have been eager to try out his other restaurants that are scattered around the city's business district. Restaurant August and Besh Steak are on the pricier side, so this week we decided to go to Domenica, Besh's Italian restaurant, located on Baronne off of Canal Street in the CBD.

Domenica has everything from pizzas and cheese boards to large and small antipasti (no pasta) and primi (pasta) plates. They even have seafood, chicken, and red meat entrees. With all of this to choose from, I was glad that I had already done my research and knew exactly what I wanted to order. To start, we ordered the Calabrese and Wild Mushroom pizzas which were some of the best I have ever had. The Calabrese came with spicy salami, capers and olives and the Wild Mushroom had fontina cheese, bacon, and a cracked egg in the middle. I know, I know, an egg on pizza? Just trust me, it was fabulous.

Next we had the small Wood Grilled Shrimp antipasti plate, and the small primi Stracci plate. The shrimp dish was not my favorite. I found it hard to taste anything except for the burned, woodsy flavor, which kind of ruined it for me. Fortunately the Stracci made up for the disappointment of the shrimp. The Stracci was this beautiful torn green pasta topped with an oxtail ragu and fried chicken livers. I've never really been a huge fan of liver, but the rest of the dish was to die for. The oxtail ragu was tender and had the most incredible savory and comforting flavor that the pasta just seemed to soak up. I think next time I will have to get the larger portion of this dish sans the chicken livers and enjoy it with a big glass of red wine*.

After eating we took a walk through the Roosevelt Hotel to see the famous Sazerac Bar, which was surprisingly full of people at 7:30. It was neat to eat at a fairly new restaurant and then moments later step foot inside a bar that's been around for more than 100 years. Food + History = Just one of the many reasons why I love this city.

*You can bring your own wine to any of John Besh's restaurants and enjoy a waived corking fee.


Domenica was voted Best Casual Upscale Dining Establishment in January 2010


Calabrese Pizza: Spicy salami, mozzarella, capers, and olives


Wild Mushroom pizza with fontina, bacon, and yard egg


Stracci: Torn pasta, oxtail ragu, and fried chicken livers


My plate of the Stracci and Wood Grilled Shrimp with Calamari


Hanging house cured meats


Herb and sesame seed bread sticks that are placed in the center of every table


Entrance to the Sazerac Bar in the Roosevelt Hotel

French Quarter Festival 2010

The city of New Orleans and its faithful dwellers seem to always be looking for an excuse to have a party. Especially when those parties involve copious amounts of food, alcohol, and live music. From Mardi Gras season to Hurricane season and everything in between, this city has got it going on... all year long.

While I'm familiar with many of the parties and festivals this city holds annually, this past weekend was my very first time attending the French Quarter Festival, which has been boosting the city's spirits and revenue for over 20 years. The festival was held from Friday, April 9th to Sunday, April 11th, with food and music happening from 11 in the morning until about 9 o'clock at night. My boyfriend and I went with my parents on Sunday and spent five hours walking around the Quarter, eating from the local vendors, tapping our feet to Dixieland Jazz and Zydeco music, and we even slowed down long enough to relax, or in my dad's case, nap, under the shade of a Magnolia tree (with a bloody mary in hand, of course).

So what delectable goodness did I eat? Well, let me first say that choosing was rather easy, considering I had already printed and highlighted everything on Tom Fitzmorris' "Obsessive Eater's Guide to French Quarter Festival 2010" that had a high rating (like I said here, I am a huge dork). I didn't get around to trying everything that I wanted to, but I did manage to cross off a good number of things on the list.

We started the day by camping out in Jackson Square and the first thing I had to have was Jacques-Imo's Slow Roasted Duck Po Boy, which I had once before at the James Beard Benefit I went to in March. For the record, it was just as fantastic the second time around. Then we hit up Muriel's for the combo plate of the Louisiana Crawfish and Goat Cheese Crepe and the Shrimp and Eggplant Stuffing. The crawfish had great flavor in the creamy sauce poured over the crepe and the stuffing was a savory mixture of plump shrimp and soft eggplant... cornbread stuffing ain't got nothing on this stuff! Next we got the Oyster Bonne Femme over Bow Tie Pasta from Antoine's, which may have been my favorite thing we ate. Because the oysters are cooked in their own liquor, the sauce is like eating one big melted oyster topped with Romano and Swiss cheese. Fabulous! We started craving something sweet so we resorted to Desire Oyster Bar's Bread Pudding with Whiskey Sauce. Even my dad, who is a self-proclaimed bread pudding connoisseur, said that it was "very, very, good".

After listening to the Panorama Jazz band for a while, we decided to move to Woldenberg Park, where we camped out underneath a Magnolia tree. There I had Audubon Nature Institute's Crawfish Bread, which was more like a crawfish pie, boasting a hot and spicy crawfish filling inside a flaky dough. Then it was Emeril's Delmonico's Crawfish and Veal Sausage Po-Boy with Smothered Peppers, which I only had one bite of because I found it to be a little dry. My boyfriend got the Cajun Meat Pie from Mrs. Wheat's Pies, which I snagged two bites of because it was excellent. And to end the eating frenzy I got some of the Gumbo Shop's Chicken and Andouille Gumbo. I was happy it had okra in it, but unhappy that some of the rice grains were not cooked. All in all, once I added a dash of Tabasco sauce, the flavor was pretty darn good.

With the sun beaming down and the cool breeze blowing in from the river, my first French Quarter Festival experience was an incredibly enjoyable one. It was a perfect Sunday full of streetcar rides, live music, food, and most importantly, time spent with family. So until next year New Orleans, thanks for the free music and the long-lasting memories... I'm sure we'll be in touch.


Jacques-Imo's Slow Roasted Duck Po Boy with a Southern Comfort sweet tea


Muriel's Louisiana Crawfish and Goat Cheese Crepe and Shrimp and Eggplant Stuffing


Antoine's Oyster Bonne Femme with Bowtie Pasta. Bad picture, excellent dish.


Desire Oyster Bar's New Orleans Bread Pudding with Whiskey Sauce


Local art at the Pedestrian Mall in Jackson Sqaure


Big crowd at the Abita Beer stage at Woldenberg Park


Audubon Institute's Crawfish Bread


Mom with her strawberry Plum Street snowball


Great Zydeco band outside of Rouse's on Royal


The Gumbo Shop's Chicken and Andouille Gumbo


A sweet end to the day: Café Au Lait and beignets from Cafe Du Monde

Friday Sweet Treat

Once the weather starts warming up in New Orleans, everyone seems to flock to the nearest snowball stand or ice cream shop. Of course, with ice cream shops as good as this one, New Orleanians tend to enjoy the frozen treat all year round. But in an effort to mix it up a bit, I recently paid a visit to La Divina gelato shop on Magazine Street. Their gelato's smooth, creamy consistency makes it a joy to eat, while flavors such as crème brûlée and bourbon pecan make it completely addictive. I even spotted Blake Lively there, who was enjoying an afternoon treat and chatting with some friends. With a menu that offers paninis, salads, coffee, and gelato, I guess even movie stars have trouble fighting the urge to indulge.


Gorgeous baked goods


Two "Bambino's" and an almond cookie


Decisions, decisions...


A beautiful afternoon in beautiful New Orleans

Old Dog, New Tricks

I love it when restaurants get creative and update their menus. I had sort of forgotten about Reginelli's pizzeria until recently, when we received their new menu in the mail, along with some coupons. I immediately noticed some new things that I was eager to try, and I have to admit that yesterday marked my third time eating there in the past week and a half. Pretty intense, huh? Sure, it might be, but I'll let the food speak for itself.

They have expanded their menu beyond pizza, Caesar salad, and calzones and now offer more options for everyone on every diet. Since I have been trying to makeover my breakfast and lunch options to include more veggies and lean proteins, I especially love Reginelli's Chicken Salad, Mad Capper sandwich, and Hummus Pitaco. The Chicken Salad comes with mixed greens, Roma tomatoes, pecans, Gorgonzola cheese, and sliced green applies with a balsamic vinaigrette. The Mad Capper doesn't just have an awesome name, it also has two portabella mushroom caps that are seasoned, cooked, topped with dill aioli, grated fontina, and a cold salad of roma tomatoes, basil, red onions and capers. And although I love the hummus sandwich here, Reginelli's does their own version by topping grilled pita with hummus, cucumbers, tomatoes, alfalfa sprouts, and serving an asparagus and artichoke salad on the side. I could eat this six dollar sandwich at least once a week.

So if you haven't been to Reginelli's in a while, I highly suggest paying a visit to this neighborhood eatery. I'm sure I'll be back soon, considering there are a couple of appetizers I want to try, $2 pitchers of Abita Amber on Mondays and Tuesdays, and $10 bottles of wine on Wednesdays. Now that's what I call eatin' (and drinkin'!) good in the neighborhood...


Tomato Basil soup


Hummus Pitaco: Hummus, cucumbers, Roma tomatoes, and alfalfa sprouts on grilled pita with an asparagus and artichoke salad on the side.


Chicken Salad with Gorgonzola cheese, pecans and green apples.


I went mad for the Mad Capper sandwich... I think you will too!

Fast Food, Nawlin's Style

I love being a tourist in my own city. Sometimes spending a day perusing the shops in the French Quarter, going for a ride on the streetcar, or making a trip to Cafe Du Monde for beignets is as necessary for us New Orleanians as it is enjoyable. Doing these things reminds us how different and special our city is and, for me, puts into perspective just how lucky I am to live here.

So in order to kick off our Easter weekend, my boyfriend and I woke up early on Friday morning and waited in the 50+ person line at the Audubon Zoo. And after spending two hours walking around (dedicating most of our time to watching the hilarious monkeys), sharing some strawberry Roman Candy, and visiting the "Embraceable Zoo", we decided that we had officially worked up an appetite. As soon as I suggested a trip to Bud's, my boyfriend's eyes lit up and an enthusiastic "yes!" was given.

Bud's Broiler has been serving up fast-food burgers since 1952 and with eight locations spread around the city, most New Orleanians consider it the one and only choice for a no-fuss, great tasting burger. First of all, it's cheap. I treated both of us to a burger with all the fixings, cheese fries, and a drink and it ran me a mere 17 bucks. Second of all, it's local. So if you're willing to wait in lines at McDonald's or Wendy's, then you should be more than willing to sit at the picnic benches inside Bud's and wait for your number to be called. Money spent locally is money spent wisely!

The burgers at Bud's are a far cry from those at Lüke, Port of Call, or even GB's, but the smokey charcoal flavor and house-made hickory sauce definitely sets them apart from all the others. I especially love how their hot dogs are butterflied and served on hamburger buns... it has always made choosing between a #6 with onions or a #9 with cheese difficult!

In a city like New Orleans, where history and food are so important, it's hard to deny just how awesome it is to have a place like Bud's. Everyday they prove that food doesn't have to be pretentious in order to be delicious, and, well, I'm down with that.


Two #6s with onions, cheese fries, and a Barq's Root Beer


I love watching the elephants, even though they never really do anything...


Giving the goats at the petting zoo some love

Sunday Funday

Before my boyfriend and I made the big move to the Big Easy, I constructed a list of all the things I wanted to do during our first year living in NOLA. Things like "Take a walk in Audubon park", "Eat a po-boy", and "See at movie at Prytania Theater" were crossed off the list quickly, but there are some that we still haven't gotten around to doing. With May 31st quickly approaching, I look at every day off work as an opportunity to complete something on the list.

Sunday just so happened to be an absolutely gorgeous day, so we decided to grab an early breakfast and then spend the afternoon at the Riverwalk, which I hadn't been to since before Katrina. I knew I would want to reminisce about going to the Riverwalk with my family as a kid, so instead of going to my favorite childhood breakfast joint (written about here), I wanted to commemorate the day by eating somewhere different. And nothing is as fun and different as Surrey's on Magazine Street. Their menu is quite extensive, offering everything from Scrambled Eggs with Salmon and the Tofu Breakfast Platter to Bananas Foster French Toast, Corned Beef Hash, and Biscuits with Sausage Gravy. They also have fresh squeezed vegetable and fruit juices that you can mix to make your own delicious and healthy concoction.

I have been to Surrey's a few times and seem to be pretty fond of the Migas, which are scrambled eggs with red onion, peppers, tomatoes, and cheese folded into corn tortilla chips, then topped with pico de gallo. And while I tend to sway towards breakfast dishes with eggs and veggies, instead of those covered in syrup, I have tried Surrey's Pain Perdu (french toast) and it tastes just as good as my dad's, if not better.

After filling up on eggs, boudin, cheese grits, and biscuits we went for our promised walk along the muddy Mississippi and shopped in some of the stores. The Riverwalk certainly isn't as great as it used to be, but it's always fun going to the places you loved so much as a kid and reliving those moments.




Eggs benedict with creamed spinach


The Migas with chorizo and cheese grits

BBQ Shrimp Done Right

So I'm sure that most of you remember a not-so-nice piece I wrote about Slice a few weeks ago. Well, not too long after I had my terrible barbecue shrimp po-boy there, I made a point to go somewhere in the city and have the real thing. The "real thing" being authentic New Orleans style barbecue shrimp. After all, some classic New Orleans dishes just cannot be replicated. You either shell out the cash for the real deal or pay little money for big disappointment.

The good news is that there are many places in the city to get great barbecue shrimp. You can go to Pascal's Manale, located Uptown on Napoleon Avenue; or take a walk off Canal Street to Deanie's Seafood, located on the corner of Dauphine and Iberville in the French Quarter. Deanie's offers barbecue shrimp for a reasonable price (under $20) and they also have a barbecue shrimp pasta dish with peeled shrimp (for those of you who don't like working too hard for your food). But my personal favorite place to get these tasty critters would have to be Mr. B's Bistro, located on Royal Street in the French Quarter. At $24.50 (for eight shrimp), their shrimp dish is one of the more expensive ones, but worth every penny. Pascal's Manale's shrimp are also around $24, and while they are very good, I found that their sauce was a tad too oily for my liking. Mr. B's, however, has this recipe perfected. The shrimp are large, easy to peel, and perfectly cooked. Their sauce is a beautiful blend of butter, pepper, spices, and lemon that creates a tangy and savory combination you will never forget.

Barbecue shrimp is a quintessential New Orleans dish, so if you're visiting the city you definitely don't want to miss out on the opportunity to try it. Just please don't be tempted by hole-in-the-wall places claiming to have "the original" or "the best" in the city. My advice? Go to Mr. B's and grab a seat at the bar, order a drink and the barbecue shrimp, say "yes" to the bib, and then go to town on one of the best seafood dishes this city has to offer. In that order... and you can thank me later.


Baby spinach and goat cheese salad: Baby spinach tossed with a warm bacon vinaigrette and topped with a goat cheese medallion... and it's not served on a Styrofoam plate.