Round two--Nawlin's

So this was my second trip down to the Crescent city. The first time was three years after Katrina, and even though the city was getting back on its feet they still had a way to go. That said my girlfriend and I had a great time. Even after a disappointing trip to Emeril's restaurant Delmonico. This time is was just the boys. The Salt and Time crew. That just amounted to more drinking, not late nights per say. Just copious amounts of booze, hooch, liqueur, whatever we drank it.

 We also got around to some great food in Nawlins. We stopped in on our friend Morgan Weber at his market, Revival Market, in Houston. Had a great B.L.T & very excellent asian coleslaw. I couldn't get enough of the slaw. BLT was great. Made with house bacon that was perfection. Passing though Lake Charles I always have to stop at Steamboat bill's for the Boudin Balls. Not as great as i remember but still good. The surprise goodie was the pistolettes stuffed with etouffee--crazy good. Chased it down with 5 pounds of boiled mudbugs, and several beers.
The next day we got into Nawlins, and went right to Cafe du Monde for beignets and coffee. This was pretty much every morning. Went mixed it up between Cafe Beignets and cafe du monde. Last day i pass on the beignets for croissant breaky sandwich, wise choice. I will say one thing about breakfast in Nola. Really good coffee is hard to find. Im not against chicory, I like it. It just got old. We did seek out some better coffee options down Magazine st.
Lunch was easy both days. First stop was Cochon butcher shop. My 2nd trip. I love this shop. I went for there salami sandwich and was very pleased. Also the first of many La 31 Beere pale--excellent brew.

We got to meet Steve Stryjewski this year James Beard winning chef for the south. http://www.nola.com/dining/index.ssf/2011/05/cochon_chef_stephen_stryjewski.html

Very nice, jovial guy who treated us very well for us cold calling. We talked about dry curing a bit and about Cochon 555. We made reservations for Cochon dinning room for diner. Sadly i took no pictures, but i can tell you we ate a good section of the menu between 5 people. I was one of the best meals of my life. So many great items; fried alligator, meat pie, rabbit dumpling, smoke ham hock over beans and rice. All was fantastic. Do not miss this place if your in New Orleans.
Second day we headed for the classic Po'boy. Domilises was the objective, after having a hard time getting there it was closed. So we headed to Liuzza's by the track, not a bad back-up. Cause I got my Po'boy. Fried green tomato topped with sauteed shrimp, OMG. I also enjoyed a nice bowl of gumbo too. They also surprised me by serving beer in frosty fish bowl beer goblets. In Texas we call them Big O's, and we fill them with cheap light beer. Not sure if big o's are common in Louisiana, it was the one and only time I saw them. Liuzza's had a really great vibe and is a guaranteed return visit in the future. 

We had dinner at Felix's Oyster bar on bourbon st. It was ok. I had turtle soup and fried calimari. The chargrilled oysters were defiantly worth getting. Chargrilled oysters are severed all over in Nawlin's. We had them a Dragos the first time here and they were better than at Felix's. I'm sad to report Oysters Rockefeller have dodged me once again.

We had a light lunch (I had to judge food later) at a tapas bar we found out of the quarter down Magazine street. I went super easy with Pimenton crudo. Good flavor, simple. I was really jealous of the chargrilled burgers that made it to the other 2 place mats. Some sort of chorizo burger with amazing texture, almost like it wasn't ground. To quote the other guys, reaction. It was served with Yucca root fries. These I did try these and I'm defiantly going to make at home soon. Great texture and taste.

I'm saving my finale, food at Cochon 555, for another post. Cheers!