New Orleans Dining 05: Cafe Maspero

On Thursday, my trade show let out early and I had a chance to wander the French Quarter during the day. Before the sun goes down, it's a vibrant exciting area. After dark, Bourbon ST and maybe Decatur ST are really the only places that seem "safe". The rest of the area is dark, all the stores are shuttered, and there is a thick desolation on the streets.

After wandering the neighborhood during the day, I stumbled across Cafe Maspero on Decatur. Like many inexpensive places in the Quarter, it's a bar with a restaurant. If you go, bring cash. Because they don't take American Express. Or Visa. Or MasterCard. Or Blue Cross/Blue Shield.

Fortunately, a good meal doesn't require much cash. For my late lunch, I ordered Red Beans & Rice and a Muffaletta.

Red Beans & Rice is a traditional New Orleans dish. Despite the name, of course, it is not a vegetarian dish, and includes sausage or other meat. It was good, but not outstanding. If I go back here, I will probably skip this dish.

I also had a Muffaletta. Fortunately I didn't read the description ahead of time. All I remembered was that a Muffaletta was a popular sandwich in Louisiana, and that I should have one if ever I go.

The Muffaletta is a giant sandwich. The bread is round, instead of submarine style. The heart of it is the olive salad in the bread. I generally don't like olives. Sure, I appreciate a good olive oil, but I still pick them off my frozen pizza.

In addition to the olive salad, it was loaded with meat, including pastrami. In some respects, it reminded me of the giant pastrami sandwich I had at Roxy's Deli in New York.

I planned to have a decent lunch and later go out for a light dinner. But this lunch kept me full until I got to the airport the next morning.

I enjoyed the decent sized Red Beans and Rice and the giant Muffaletta sandwich. I was there in late afternoon so there was plenty of space. No one looked at me strangely when I pulled out the notebooks computer on the ancient, deeply gouged wooden tables. Service was good as well.

Over all, the food was good, but not great. But it was cheap and plentiful. So it may be worth a slot on the latter part of your New Orleans itinerary.

New Orleans Dining 04: Cafe Du Monde

After dinner at LA Bayou, I headed to the legendar Cafe Dumonde for dessert.

Cafe DuMonde is a legendary New Orleans tradition. The original location in the French Market opened in 1862 and now is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The menu is simple, featuring little beyond coffe and beignets. Beignets are light, fluffy pastries that are deep fried. Then, because that's just too healthy, they cover them in a couple inches of powdered sugar.

I stopped by the outdoor cafe at about 11:00 PM and it was still hoppin'. I ordered a Cafe Au Lait (chicory coffee with milk) and, of course, Beignets. For $6, including tip, I had a great late night snack. I sat there reading my book and taking in the atmosphere in the moist, warm air of a February New Orleans night.

I enjoyed the coffee (I know, you're shocked) but wasn't blown away by it. It's still a great pairing with the pastries. The sugar covered Beignets are a must have. They were fluffy and just slightly gooey inside. With the soft and crisp fried skin, I knew the AMA must be telling people, "DO NOT EAT" but I don't care. When you go to New Orleans, you have to fnd time for the Beignets.

New Orleans Dining 03: LA Bayou

Last night I got to the French Quarter a little early. I was there by 9:40. Most nights, after about 10:00 PM there are few restaurants open. By that point, the tenor of the party has changed and Bourbon ST is buried under the strains of live music -- everything from Blues and Country to Twisted Sister covers -- and "representatives" from the dozens of strip clubs Gentlemen's Lounges trying to entice all visitor to surrender all those stray Washingtons, Anthonys and Sacajaweas.



But as I said, I was there a little early last night and made it to La Bayou before the closed for the night. It seemed lively, but not obnoxiously so. There was no band. And, though I arrived just about 20-30 minutes before closing time, they still made me feel welcome.



I sat at the bar next an ice encased Vodka Tap. I'm not sure why you need a tap for vodka. It's not Guinness. In fact, it's about as far opposite from Guinness as you can get and still be called alcohol.


I had a cup of gumbo and a craw fish pasta.

The Gumbo was excellent. It was almost as good as the gumbo I had at Remoulade. But not quite. I still should have just ordered giant bowls of it and called it good. I have now concluded that I have not had enough gumbo in my life. The rich smoky taste is a flavor I will forever associate with New Orleans.


Next I had the craw fish pasta. It was pasta with deep fries craw fish meat in a Creole cream sauce. It was also quite satisfying, but didn't quite blow me away. And I don't thing I could tell the difference between deep fried craw fish and popcorn shrimp.


Actually, I'm not sure I could tell the difference between uncooked craw fish and uncooked shrimp. I'm pretty sure they're the same animal and Emerill had been lying to us all these years. The french bread they served with pasta was warm, fresh, and the butter just oozed down my arm.

I had an Abita with dinner and spent less than $30 total. Casual, simple, fast, and open. It's a tough combination to beat.

Next up --

DESSERT

New Orleans Dining 02: Tropical Isle

Last night I got back from the trade show and promptly fell asleep. When I woke up, it was 11:00 PM and I was starving. So off to the Internet I went to try and find a French Quarter restaurant open late. I didn't have too much luck; there were a couple possibilities, but many of the websites haven't been updated for a post-Katrina world.

But careful reading eventually paid off. The most important thing I read that night was the sandwich board outside the Tropical Isle that said "Food Now Being Served"

The Tropical Isle apparently has several branches in the area. They are best known for their Frightening beverage "The Hand Grenade." They carefully protect their trademark and keep the recipe a secret. Rumor has it that it contains copious amounts of Everclear.

So for dinner I had a Shrimp Po Boy and fries, along with a Corona (I'll save the hand grenade for a time when I don't need the next few days). A Shrimp Po Boy is basically a small hero sandwich with deep fried shrimp, lettuce, tomato. Here's a sample recipe.

The bread was a little over toasted. And, of course, the sandwich was almost impossible to eat with my hands. I made it work though. The plastic knife and fork couldn't quite cut it, and besides, I was reading a book at the time. (The trick to eating out alone is to bring reading material. The trick to reading while eating is to order things that do not require a knife). The shrimp was good, and overall, the sandwich was good, solid, late night bar food.

The fries were great. They were the thinner-than-normal fries I am seeing more of these days. They were hot and crisp. Just what you want in a fry.

Tropical Isle, like most Bourbon ST bars has live music. The singer/guitarist sang John Denver, Eric Clapton, Johnny Cash, and others. He was talented and did a good job even though there were only 3 or 4 customers in the bar.

The food wasn't as wonderful as the dinner I had the night before, but for simple, late night fare and good bar food, The Tropical Isle is a fine choice.

New Orleans Dining 01: Arnoud's Remoulade

I stumbled across this place on Monday night. There aren't many places to get a good meal in the French Quarter after 10:00 PM. This is one of them.

Located right in the middle of all the insanity and debauchery that is Bourbon Street, it's around the corner from the world famous Arnoud's and Arnoud's jazz kitchen (where I once had an awesome turtle soup). Though I didn't realize it at the time, it is actually part of the Arnoud's family.

I sat down to eat at about 10:30 and was ready to devour the silverware after a long day on the trade show floor at HIMMS. I couldn't decide what to have so I just ordered "A Taste of the Bayou."

First came the File Gumbo in a metal plate/bowl. It was amazing. It had a rich smooth flavor with just a little heat. I could have eaten another gallon of it.

Next came the Craw Fish Pie and Jambalaya. The portions were respectable, but not ridiculous like you sometimes see at the Cheesecake Factory.

The Craw Fish Pie was, well, a craw fish concoction with the texture of warm tuna salad. It was baked in a pastry -- kind of like an old school Hot Pocket. But it was so much better. The creole flavors were great and the warm texture made it something that would be perfect on a winter's day. Though I don't think they have many of those in Creole country.

The Jambalaya was good, too, though I didn't enjoy it as much as the other two items. It was a little drier that I expected.

If I hadn't had the Gumbo first, I probably would have enjoyed the Jambalaya more, but the Gumbo set the bar incredibly high.

Top it off with an Abita draft or two, you've got a fantastic New Orleans late dinner.

A not so Lazy Sunday

What I did on Sunday:

3:15 AM PDT
Go to Bed.

4:15 AM PDT (or so)
Fall Asleep.

5:30 AM PDT
Wake up.

06:00 AM PDT
Leave for airport.

06:30 AM PDT
Check in at the airport. The check in agent weighs my bag and informs me that since it is 53 pounds, and three pounds over weight, I need to take out some stuff or pay $25. I pay $25.

07:30 AM PDT
Watch Continental Gate Agent call for first class and Continental Elite members to board the plane. Watch and smile as she chases away several people who tried to board before their group was call. Watch and smile when a few minutes later, when she moves on to the next group she again chases those same people away because it wasn't their turn to board.

7:45 AM PDT
Board with my group

7:47 AM PDT
Lean against the aisle armrest in my seat while the passenger in the middle and window seats sprawl out. They are apparently travelling together.

11:45 AM PDT
Land at Houston (IAH)

12:15 PM PDT
Finally find the Regional Jets gates and IAH.

12:30 PM PDT
Find the President's Club at IAH.

12:35 PM PDT
Spill coffee in the President's Club at IAH.

01:45 PM PDT
Leave President's Club at IAH

01:50 PM PDT
Arrive at Gate 77 for 2:35 flight to Baton Rouge (BTR)

02:35 PM PDT
Notice that door for my 2:35 flight is still closed

02:40 PM PDT
Gate Agent announce s slight delay to due to mechanical issues.

02:42 PM PDT
Start looking for comfortable places to bunk down in IAH.

02:55 PM PDT
Gate agent explains the mechanical issue was a tray table that wouldn't stay up. Since that's a safety/evacuation issue, they had maintenance replace it.

03:00 PM PDT
Board plane.

03:02 PM PDT
Observe that the 40 minute maintenance delay gave them plenty of time to apply plenty of duct tape to the offending tray table.

It was probably 1 minute to apply the tape and 39 minutes to have the paperwork signed off.

03:15 PM PDT
Leave IAH.

04:15 PM PDT
Arrive BTR

04:25 PM PDT
Pick up rental car paper work

04:30 PM PDT
Watch luggage from my flight come out.

04:40 PM PDT
Observer that my baggage was not among the luggage that came out.

04:55 PM PDT
Pick up my luggage at the check in counter because it came in on an earlier flight. And they thought people were more likely to look for their luggage at the check in counter than at the baggage carousel.

05:55 PM PDT
Leave BTR airport to drive nearly 90 miles to New Orleans.

07:45 PM PDT
Arrive at Loews hotel in New Orleans to turn in rental car. They tell me they can't take returns on Sundays so I need to bring it back tomorrow.

08:00 PM PDT
Reach my hotel room at the Doubletree in New Orleans.

The best thing about this article...

...is that the only reference link at the end is not to LA state resources, federal references or other official sites. It's to the group that perpetrated this hoax. That, plus ABC News does not know that Imposter is a noun, not an adjective.

Impostor Speaker Dupes La. Officials

NEW ORLEANS Aug 28, 2006 (AP)— A man claiming to be a high-ranking federal housing official addressed a conference Monday on public housing in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, claiming the government was reversing its policy.
...
The Yes Men: http://www.theyesmen.org

Taco!

The Gaslamp District in San Diego in a great place to eat. Restaurants line the streets for blocks around my hotel. They set up outdoor dining in front of each restaurant.

In the evening, they move the hostess stand outside as well. The hostess (never a host) is in her 20s and talks to everyone that passes by to try to draw them into the restaurant. This happens at every store front. I've only seen that once before, and that was in the French Quarter in New Orleans. And that was an entirely different type of hostess.

The point is they take food seriously down here. Or at least they do most places.

On Wednesday night, and a fairly short day at the NECC trade show, my team and I went to Dick's Last Resort for dinner. They pride themselves on their...um...Unusual service.

Inside it looked like an inexpensive sports bar. We ate outside in a former parking lot. They set up a bunch of picnic tables and umbrellas.

We sat down, and our server came over. He gave us sheets of butcher paper and some utensils, and he told us to set our table. The then introduced himself with great enthusiasm as Taco. He said, "If you need anything, just yell, 'Hey, Taco!'"

So you don't forget their names, most servers usually wear name tags. And some "fun" places, they will write their name on the butcher paper with a crayon at the table. Not at Dick's. Taco introduced himself, and then flipped up his T-Shirt to show us the giant TACO tattoo on his belly, like some sort of large frat boy Buddha.

When he was ready to take drink orders, he just yelled to us from across the restaurant, or parking lot, or whatever. We shouted our selection back at him, and he keyed everything right in. He took dinner orders the same way.

Later when one of the people at my table ordered dessert, Taco brought the dessert and about a dozen spoons. He then called out to all the other dinners and asked if they wanted to see a magic trick. He whipped the crowd into a frenzy and began his trick.

He held out the spoons and told Tim to pick one, as though he was about to do a magic trick. Tim chose a spoon. Taco held it up for all to see...

...and then licked both sides like a dog who just stumbled across some old meat. He then shuffled it with the other spoons, dropped them all on the table, wished Tim luck, and walked away smiling.

He then came back with a clean spoon for Tim.

He did other routines like that at tables throughout the evening. A bunch of diners asked to have their picture take with Taco's tattoo. I passed on that one.

It was a good routine. The food came in buckets rather than plates and was great.

If you're looking for a quite dinner, are shy, just want to blend into the woodwork, and sort of disappear, Dick's is not for you.

If you want good, reasonably priced food in a fun environment, and want a bit of an irreverent show, get on down there.

CNN.com - Nagin wins nail-biting New Orleans election - May 21, 2006

CNN.com - Nagin wins nail-biting New Orleans election - May 21, 2006: "NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (CNN) -- New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin fought off a challenge from Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu to win re-election Saturday night."

I love democracy. Under what other form of government can you follow stories like this?