let the eatin’ begin
arrived in new orleans tonight around 7pm or so. this has got to be one of my favorite places on earth. how i landed a job that sent me here more times than i can remember i don’t know. and this weekend is, as they say, my last hurrah.
started thinking back to the last time i was here, i wrote a list of things i wanted to do when i came back, and the only thing i could remember off the top of my head was zydeque (cajun bbq—what’s not to love?). suggested it to phill, he was game, location was perfect—right in the french quarter.
definitely take a look at their menu (pdf)—it’s very simple. i suggested we get a little of everything. that meant: ribs, pulled pork, chicken, andouille sausage, brisket, and 5 sides! holy shit. the waitress was kind of like wtf? she suggested we get less than a full rack of ribs—like a 1/4 rack. we caved. we split everything, though i think i got one rib and phill got two.
heck i’m kind of from texas, i know smoked pork ribs are damn good. but phill couldn’t stop talking about them all night! everything else was pretty good too, but those ribs. damn. phill made me promise that we’re going back before we leave. i couldn’t agree more.
Mmmmm I love foodie posts. I have never been to nawlins but I reckon it must be like the best of france and the best of america with a little bit of the orient thrown in. Before anyone starts hating for my use of that word, we’re allowed to use the word oriental in french – it’s a very Good Thing and means anything not occidental (western), which is a Bad Thing. So Latin america is oriental. As is Africa. But not, say, Dubai. Actually, most french blogs are foodie. Since eating well is the most important part of their culture naturally everyone in france feels the need to pontificate about it. It’s pretty cool.
I love NOLA! Here’s the one thing I say you must do while you’re there: go to Donna’s. It’s a small bar on Rampart Street right across from the entrance to Louis Armstrong Park (near Saint Anne or Queen Anne or some street like that).
The place is owned by an interracial couple. Charlie makes the barbeque, Donna runs the bar. They have great (mostly local) brass brands and jazz music every night. Very laid back, very diverse.
It’s one of the only things that will get me to come to the touristy French Quarter these days.
Also if you’re a beer fan, there’s the trek across Lake Ponchartrain to the Abita Brewery. Have fun and eat some crawfish for me!
Gabrielle or Christian’s–best food we had last time. Christian’s is the one in the old church, and Gabrielle is a really unassuming, delicious French/Creole place.
Damn, are you ever coming back to town? How many cities have you been to lately?
How was the pulled pork? I am, of course, interested.
I’m fond of the almond croissants at Croissant d’Or, myself.
courtesy of rayza, we have a reservation at gabrielle’s tonight. we’re spoiled.
the pulled pork was nice, like what you’d expect at a red hot and blue, some parts were soft and some of the edges were more crunchy.
ruby, we may not have a chance to get out across the lake or even to donnas. tomorrow i think we’re slated to hit a swamp tour, which i think should be great fun, followed by the d-day museum, which is supposed to be excellent.