N'Orleans Y'all (Part 2)

The eating saga continues… For more of our faves see Part 1!

Port of Call (838 Esplanade Ave, French Quarter)
Ben had been to Port of Call once before, and insisted that we visit them again so that Allie could refuel with burgery goodness after running her marathon earlier that day. We showed up that night around 5:30, and already faced a 45 minute wait. We put in our names, ordered some Monsoons (their version of a hurricane), and drank them on the street (I love this town!) until they called us in. They may have had some other options on the menu, but all of us went right to the burger section, and none of us were disappointed.

What we ate: Cheeseburger (medium rare, covered with a pile of shredded cheddar) with a baked potato (loaded). Cheap and beyond delicious, this place is well worth the wait, just make sure you hunt down the hostess with the notepad to get on the list.

Best dish: Cheeseburger. We wouldn’t waste time with anything else, except of course the loaded baked potato that comes on the side.

Domilise’s (5240 Annunciation St, Garden District)
This is another joint that Ben’s parents frequented when they went to Tulane, and one which he’s visited every time he’s been in town. It’s a tiny, hole-in-the-wall place run by a family who lives in the same building as the restaurant. They have a massive menu of Po’ Boys, and all of the ones that we had were amazing. We were particularly intrigued by the menu item which read, “Rest in peace pepper weiner.” They spelled it wrong (not us!), which is weird, because it’s spelled correctly above… it only adds to the mystery…We don’t know what a pepper weiner was, but we were all a little sad we missed it.

What we ate: Roast Beef Po’ Boy (above) , Fried Shrimp Po’Boy, Zapps Chips. The “Voodoo” flavored chips are AWESOME!

Best dish: Too hard to say. They were all so good. Had a bite of Kim’s Catfish po’boy, which was outstanding. Make sure to get any sandwich “fully dressed.”

Commander’s Palace (1403 Washington Ave, Garden District)
That night, we had an amazing experience at Commander’s. See our previous blog post, "The Waist is a Terrible Thing to Mind." We also hear that they have a pretty mean 25¢ martini lunch special. Yes, 25¢ martinis!!!

New Orleans French Quarter Historical/Dive Bar Crawl (Um…French Quarter)
On Tuesday afternoon/evening, we met up with our bartender friend Dawn, who took us to some great bars in the French Quarter. We ended up visiting an amazing mix places: everything from century-old established bars to much newer dives. Over the course of a few hours, we went to:

• Napoleon House (500 Chartres St.)
• Opened since 1797, it’s one of the oldest places in New Orleans. We had the Pimms cup, but later returned for a Bloody Mary.
• Flannigan’s (625 St. Phillip)
• A great Irish-inspired bar, complete with a fireplace and old wooden floors.
• Alpine (620 Chartres St.)
• Right off Jackson Square, they served up a good Bloody Mary.
• Sneaky Pete’s (135 Chartres St.)
• We walked by here at 6:00 am on the morning of the marathon and saw that they were packed. We decided we had to come back and have a drink there, mostly because we loved the name. The drinks were cheap, but we were a little disappointed by the bar. It didn’t have much in the way of character, however the characters at the bar ranged from sketchy to certifiably insane.
• Old Absinthe House (240 Bourbon St.)
• While walking to the next bar we wanted to visit, we cruised right by this place. They had fires burning, which drew us in, and we ended up downing some pricey drinks (not cool) in a building that had been around for 200 years (pretty cool).
• Three Legged Dog (400 Burgundy St.)
• This was one of the first bars Ben had been to in New Orleans, and remains one of our favorite off-Bourbon places. They have some good cheap pub food (highly recommended: tater tots), video poker machines, and a permanent 2-for-1 happy hour special (they put the second bottle on ice until you're ready for it). We ended our crawl here. We actually stayed for a few hours due largely to the bartenders and their awesome/hilarious service. Plus, they let us pick the movie to show in the bar… and the winner was… The Hangover (how fitting).

K-Paul’s (416 Chartres St, French Quarter)
We’d originally had reservations at John Besh’s restaurant August, but we changed our minds at the last minute after we met one of the cooks at Paul Prudhomme’s restaurant K-Paul’s the night before. We didn’t regret our decision for a second. We enjoyed more food than we could eat (or should have eaten for that matter). Although we didn't doubt the deliciousness of anything we ate, we were amused when we got home and watched Food Network’s “Best Thing I Ever Ate,” and saw that they highlighted a dish from K-Paul’s!

What we ate: Turtle Soup, Fried Green Tomatoes with warm shrimp remoulade, Shrimp Etoufee (above right), Blackened beef (above, left), Banana Foster Cheesecake, and Chocolate Hill Dessert (courtesy of the kitchen).

Best Dish: Fried Green Tomatoes. Allie lucked out by ordering this appetizer on a whim. The remoulade was warm, well-seasoned and creamy, and the tomatoes were firm and tart on the inside with a crispy crust. It would be well worth a visit to K-Paul’s for this dish alone.

Other Things We Did…
In addition to the amazing food and drink mentioned above, we thought of a few other events worth mentioning:

• Music at Preservation Hall
• We got here at the end of the show (which meant that we were able to sneak in for free), and caught some great music.
• Hurricane at Pat O’Brien’s
• Dishonorable mention to POB’s. The hurricanes that night were terrible, and the weather was too gross to go on the patio (That part isn’t POB’s fault, but the patio is the coolest part of the bar). Imagine Robitussen mixed with off brand cherry Kool-Aid, and you’ve got a pretty good idea of what we tried to choke down that night. You know it’s awful when BOTH of us abandon an $8 drink half-way through. We’re chalking this up a fluke though. Every other time we’ve been here, the hurricanes have been tasty, and the patio is a fun place to hang out, weather permitting.
• Cooking Demonstration at the New Orleans School of Cooking
• Our teacher was adorable (think Paula Dean meets Dr. Ruth) and the food was pretty tasty. On the menu that day were biscuits with cane syrup, jambalaya, gumbo, bread pudding and pecan pralines. Not an amazing experience, but it was a fun way to spend a morning when the weather was cruddy, plus beer was included.
• Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop
• This bar was right across from our friends’ hotel and was the first bar we visited. Only then did we find that they claim to be the oldest continually occupied bar in the country! It was definitely a fun place with a chill atmosphere, and a lot of history.