A Tour of Food and Drink in New Orleans by a cheap ass but picky lover of food and beverage.
By Richard Furlong

My wife Heather and I just can't get away from the habit of going to New Orleans twice a year. We keep saying we have to explore new cities and actually get out of the country and go to Europe some time soon, but the big easy keeps drawing us back. Whats the big draw, there are several reasons. For one it's a cheap vacation, driving distance from Florida and great deals on hotels if you shop around. The French quarter and garden district have an old European feel to it, though I haven't been to Europe to compare it. The food is fantastic, and not too expensive if you know where and what to eat. I'm not talking about red beans and rice, I'm talking about serious Cajun and creole seafood. On this last trip I found out that there is some serious beer to be drunk, thankfully beyond Abita and Dixie.

For food, there are several favorites of ours, one being the Napoleon House. This restaurant/bar/inn was the building prepared for Napoleon's stay when Mayer Nicholas Girod offered him sanctuary after he was exiled. But just days before the departure of a rescue ship on the mission to retrieve Napoleon and bring him to New Orleans, Napoleon died. The building is from 1797 and looks like it hasn't been painted since. The food is inexpensive and great with a wonderful atmosphere. If you are looking for a muffaletta, this is the place to order one. They also have items such as avocado stuffed with shrimp remoulade, boudin " a famous New Orleans sausage" with creole mustard, homemade cannoli's, etc. They always have classical music on and waiters who have been there forever and never smile. The place is awesome, though the beer list is very limited. It is a great place to get by dirt cheap without the fried food, but still have great and interesting food with plenty of atmosphere. Another favorite of ours for dinner is Emril's restaurant in the quarter called Nola. Located diagonally from Napoleons, this is a good one to hit at dinner because they take reservations. If you have ever been in the quarter at dinner time without a reservation, you generally end up standing in line for overpriced, boring food at some franchise. Nola might sound expensive, but if you stick to the gourmet salads and appetizers, you might have room for dessert and get out of there for under 30 a person. The food is inspiring and fun, with the wait staff very friendly and accommodating without being annoying and overbearing. A new restaurant we found on this latest trip is Irenes on Saint Phillip. They do not take reservations but do have a nice lounge area that makes the wait for your table painless. When we went, we noticed a lot of locals there which is always a good sign. The menu was moderately priced but with items that the touristy places would have marked up an extra $10. I had soft shell crab with crawfish meuniere sauce over risotto as a main course for $17 which was absolutely amazing. The best place for breakfast is of course Café du Monde. The café au lait is done to perfection and the beignet's always come hot and puffy. Open 24/7, its always fun to sit down for coffee and beignet's at 3 in the morning.

If you enjoy raw oysters, Cassamentos on Magazine is a must. There oysters are huge and salty, and the kitchen is clean seeing that you have to walk thru it to get to the restrooms. The place looks very basic, everything done in white tile, but you are going for the oysters, not the decor. On your way back down Magazine heading towards the quarter, you might as well stop by Bulldog pub. This place serves Rouge Mocha porter and Dead guy ale on tap. They also have Chimay red on tap along with Hoagarrden. Prices are generally $3-$4/pt with Chimay being $10 per 23oz pint. Chimay is also served in half pint "Chimay glasses" for $5, no keeping the glass. If you are in the quarter, the place we recommend for oysters is Acme oyster house. They have great oysters, but that's all we can recommend to eat there.

If you go during crawfish season, then Franky and Johnnys on Arabella and Tchoupitoulas is a must. This hole in the wall with lots of colorful locals, serve crawfish that are large and spicy, by the time you have eaten your four pounds worth your lips are burning. The only time we had small crawfish served to us was this past May, but they didn't charge us for them. I am sure there are other places you can get good crawfish for a decent price, but we haven't found them yet, except for outside of New Orleans.

Pure drinking wise, there is of course the Bulldog, which I have mentioned before. If you take the street car all the way up to Carrollton Ave. and get off right when the car makes the 90 degree turn onto Carrollton, you will find Cooter Browns which has the largest bottled beer selection in New Orleans. We were able to order a bottle of Cantillon Vigneronne "lambic with grapes" for $12. Though I found out they were actually $15 when I went back up to the bar and mistakenly got a different bartender. Lesson learned, if the price seems good, keep to the same barkeep. They also had an Belgian ale brewed with figs and of course a plethora of micro brewed and imports that encircled the place. The other bar we went to was down Carrollton ave, following the street car tracks to willow street. There you turn left and fall into a bar called Carrollton station. They used to have more beers available, but now the most exotic thing you can get is Chimay white top 750ml for $7.50, which is pretty cheap for a bar selling it. In the quarter there is an Irish pub hole in the wall called Kerrys on Decatur near canal street. They sell the best pints of Guinness for $4. The other Irish drinking place to hit is called O'Flaherty's Irish Pub on 514 Toulouse st. They have live Irish music and a haunted courtyard that you can drink your Guinness or Frochs Heather ale "bottle only" in. For the best bloody marys you want to head to Mollys on Decatur. They actually mix Guinness in their bloody marys which are plenty spicy. The last stop in the quarter I will talk about is John Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop on Bourbon near Decatur. This bar is a must due to being the oldest building in the quarter. The bar is literally leaning, with burnt timbers showing thru the broken sheet rock inside. During the day and at night the inside is almost pitch black, and you can feel the history emanating out from its decrepit walls. The only decent beer sold here is Dixie blackened voodoo, so ambiance is the only thing to expect from this wonderful place. Even though you can't get a decent beer here, this is one of my favorite hangouts.

For lodging, I highly recommend staying in the quarter if you plan to spend a lot of time there. Stay away from the large hotels such as the Marriott, Hyatt, and Fairmont. The small ones offer you much more such as breakfast and most importantly courtyards. The Bienville house and Place de Arms are favorites of ours. Also look into the Provencal and the Cornstalk hotel for lodging. Expedia and discount hotels are ways to get decent rates on these small, comfortable, and romantic places.

Addresses

Irene's =539 ST.Phillip St. 504-529-8811
Napoleon House= 500 Chartres St. 504-524-9752
Nola= 534 St.Louis St. 504-522-6652
Casamento's = 4330 Magazine St. 504-895-9761
Bulldog= 3236 Magazine St. 504-895-2191
Cooter Browns=509 S. Carrollton Ave. 504-866-9104

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