Food Finds - New Orleans

We like to eat.  There's no getting around it.  I have a serious taste for sweets and carbs.  My 6' 4" husband has a love for spaghetti, meat, meat, nachos, spaghetti, and meat. 

A lot of what we do when we are in a new place involves the local cuisine. 
With around 20 more trips to New Orleans in our future, and two meals per trip, I'm pretty sure we'll have a good handle on the local flavors and the places not to be missed.

On our most recent trip we visited The Gumbo Shop on St Peters St. in the French Quarter  and Nacho Mama.

The Gumbo Shop is about a block from the cathedral in the Quarter.  They serve Creole food which is less spicy than Cajun food.  The dining area is simple, with a slightly old world feel, and is very intimate.  If only based on our wait I could tell you that this is a local hot spot.  We arrived around 9pm and had to wait in the alley like entrance for about 20 minutes before being seated.  When we were seated, we were practically sharing a table with the couple next to us.  For this first time I stuck with simple and had red beans and rice with sausage.  Will had the combo platter with shrimp creole, jambalaya, and red beans.  It was good food, but a pretty substantial wait, even after being seated.  I would recommend it, but don't be in a hurry.

Night 2, Will's prof took us to Nacho Mama, not far from the seminary.  It's a casual atmosphere with big screens and a bar.  Will completely scorched his mouth with the unexpected spicy heat of the pulled pork nachos and I had fish tacos.  We enjoyed it enough, but probably won't be on our list of places to return to. 

These two meals were eaten with Will's profs and classmates, so after class let out on Friday night we decided to have a little date, just the two of us.  We found our way to Sucre on Magazine St. in the Garden District.  I can't help but saying, this one takes the cake for the weekend!  Fancy, handmade confections for reasonable prices in a hip setting, what more could you ask for.  With about 25 gelato choices, about 10 gourmet plated desserts disguised as works of art, a case full of individual chocolates, and the coffee and hot chocolate to accompany, it was difficult to decide what to get.  But when I saw dark chocolate and raspberry, I couldn't think of anything else.  A match made in heaven.  Will went for a slightly unconventional pairing.  His apple pie was topped with a cheddar and bacon crumble and was served with a scoop of butter pecan gelato. 



How pretty.  You too, babe!



Sooo me.  Rich, creamy, decadent.



My thoughts exactly.  MmmAzing.  :)

 Unfortunately, Will was underwhelmed with his apple pie.  The cheddar and bacon flavor didn't come through in the topping, so it wasn't as special as it first appeared.  However, the gelato was very good.  They had a carrot cake gelato that I might have to try next time.  I can say with no uncertainty, we will be visiting Sucre again in the very near future. 

To round out the trip we stopped at Central Grocery in the French Quarter on our way out of town and picked up a whole muffaletta for the road.  This is said to be where the muffaletta was invented.  Somebody must have put the word out because the line this time was out the door and down the sidewalk.  In the three times I've been, I've always had to wait, but never that long.  But it's well worth it.  I'm not a huge green olive fan, but the olive salad is very balanced, quite chunky.  The cheese is delicious.  This time the bread was slightly softer than before, and for me, that really put it over the top.  I doubt there will be a trip that we don't make a stop at Central Grocery. 



That completes our food tour for this time.  Much more to come.

Jamie