It is very important to not inhale when eating a beignet.
6 Likes
We couldn’t be the only one thinking as we do, so we looked around:
At ~2:35:
1 Like
My Mom used to make traditional Macedonian shortbread cookies( Gourabi) dusted with powdered sugar, so I know exactly what you’re talking about 
1 Like
This whole meal looks fantastic
1 Like
Yep. Inhaling while eating a beignet is illadvised. As is standing upwind of a friend who is wearing black. Even if she ordered the beignet.
1 Like
Commander’s Palace
For Sunday dinner I had a reservation for Commander’s Palace, the venerable Creole restaurant in the Garden District which has had a number of noteworthy chefs helm their kitchen, including Paul Prudhomme, Emeril Lagasse, Jamie Shannon, Tory McPhail, and current head chef Meg Bickford.
Commander’s has excellent service. And good record keeping - they remembered my last visit back in 2016.
The dining room. There is a dress code, this is a classy establishment!
I started with a Sazerac with Redemption rye ($14).
Garlic bread with whipped butter.
Food menu.
There was an amuse of a potato croquette on corn, topped with a remoulade, which was a nice crispy bite.
I had one of the three course dinners for $48, which includes a soup or salad and dessert.
Turtle Soup au Sherry
The authentic Louisiana favorite with veal fond, egg and crushed lemon
~Finished tableside with a splash of aged Sherry
I chose the turtle soup as the first course. The young man who served my soup was quite generous with the sherry, it was much more than a splash! This was a very good, almost beefy soup - turtle tastes a bit like ground beef to me - spiked with the fragrant flavor and slight tannic booziness of the Sherry.
Café Pierre Lacquered Texas Quail
Charred chili smoked pork boudin stuffed quail over tangy bacon and apple cider braised cabbage with rustic roots, Crystal hot sauce pulp and sticky Grand Marnier & Cognac jus
My main course was a lacquered quail stuffed with boudin, which is a Commander’s Palace classic dish. This was delicious. I love boudin, which is a soft and spreadable Cajun sausage made of pork, rice, trinity, and liver. The bird was a whole quail that was deboned except for some of the drumstick, and it was stuffed with boudin. The “lacquered” outer skin had a sweetish sticky glaze but was also still crispy. The cabbage on the bottom provided some acidity.
Creole Bread Pudding Soufflé (+$3.50 supplement)
“The Queen of Creole Desserts”
All the richness of Creole bread pudding whipped up into a light soufflé
~ Finished tableside with warm whiskey cream ~
I picked the bread pudding soufflé for dessert. This was like a bread pudding topped with a soufflé / meringue top onto which a crème anglais like sauce was poured at the table, with more sauce left to apply as needed. It was a warm sweet delicious dessert.
This was very enjoyable dinner, and also pretty reasonably priced.
11 Likes
Next time?
2 Likes
They only have that at lunch unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately 
) I did partake at a previous visit. I only had one that time though!
You should be so lucky to enjoy another endearing local tradition – an Antoine’s “personal waiter”. A friend really had one, called the restaurant at the last minute, got him on the phone, and made a reservation with a request: "They’re my guys, however rough around the edges – you know those out-of-towners . . . "
Tells us, “ask for Smitty, and let him order for you, because he takes care of you, and don’t make me look bad”
We get there – you have to knock on the door; we give name and ask for Smitty and notice our names written in hand at bottom of printed reservation list; “Please wait here.”; door closes and a few minutes later door opens to Smitty bowing and then leading the way . . . how much fun is that.
4 Likes
Toups’ Meatery
For lunch on Monday I went to Toup’s Meatery, a Cajun restaurant in Mid-City from chef Isaac Toups. I like the chicken and sausage gumbo recipe that he did for Munchies.
Lunch Menus
It was a nice day, so I sat outside. To drink I had a “You’ll Shoot Your Rye Out” ($15), which had pear infused rye, Calvados, orgeat, and Creole bitters.
To start, I had the Boudin Balls ($10), which are balls of Cajun boudin - the soft sausage made of pork, liver, and rice - that have been rolled into balls, breaded, and deep fried. Boudin is one of my favorite sausages. These were delicious and crispy, with some pickles to cut through the fat and a mustard sauce to dip in.
For a main I had the Gulf Seafood Couvillion ($35), which has Louisiana gulf seafood and crab fat rice. This was also delicious. It was kind of like a thick gumbo or soup with a very flavorful seafood stock base. There were perfectly cooked shrimp with the heads intact to suck on, crawfish tails, a piece of fish filet, and popcorn rice mixed with rich crab fat that gave it a yellowish tinge.
13 Likes
La Petite Grocery
Dinner on Monday was at La Petite Grocery on Magazine Street, a restaurant from James Beard award winning chef Justin Devillier.
Menus
MAKIN’ GROCERIES ($15)
Los Siete Misterios Mezcal, Tequila, Combier, Amaro, Strawberry Balsamic Shrub, Citrus & Bitters
To drink, a Makin’ Groceries - a fruity and refreshing cocktail that was a tad bit sweet for me, named after the New Orleans lingo for “grocery shopping.”
BLUE CRAB BEIGNETS ($21)
malt vinegar aïoli
To start, the Blue Crab Beignets, which are a signature LPG dish. They were perfectly fried and filled with a lot of sweet blue crab in a creamy preparation. Great!
ALLIGATOR BOLOGNESE ($34)
tagliatelle, sherry, parsley & fried soft boiled egg
And for a main, I had another La Petite Grocery signature dish, the Alligator Bolognese. I believe they are actually known for their turtle Bolognese, but I guess they switched to another reptile. The sauce had a ground beef consistency with a hint of seafood since it’s alligator. It was a delicious meaty sauce. The tagliatelle were nicely al dente. I think the sauce to noodle ratio was a little skewed towards the sauce, it was a very saucy pasta dish. There was also a deep fried soft boiled egg with a jammy yolk. I would happily order either of these signature dishes again.
Yolk Closeup
LEMON POSSET ($11)
gin & herb compressed strawberries
hazelnut-oat crumb & LA strawberry sorbet
For dessert I had the Lemon Posset. This had a creamy and custardy lemon posset on the bottom that was nicely balanced - a little tart and not too sweet, with a refreshing sorbet on top and some granola like bits for some crunch.
This was a very enjoyable dinner at LPG.
14 Likes
Oh man, you missed out at Toups by not getting the smoked turkey necks appetizer–it’s one of the best plates of food in the city. And shame on you for ordering a fish dish at this place…I’m sure it was fine, but they call it Toups Meatery for a reason!
2 Likes
I saw that turkey neck on the menu and was trying to figure out how you would eat it. Do you gnaw the meat off the neck bone like chicken feet (féng zhaǒ?) at a dim sum restaurant? Or is it deboned somehow?
If it is a gnaw it off sort, it must be a messy treat!
It’s on the bone and you gnaw it–but they’re so well cooked that the meat pretty much falls off the bone into your mouth. Unbelievably tasty. We get them every time we go to Toups, and everyone we’ve ever taken there raves about those turkey necks forever afterwards.
6 Likes
The first time I ate at Galatoires, when we went in the host said “do you have a waiter?” Umm no. I didn’t get what he was talking about, we had just rolled into town. I later learned about the tradition.
1 Like
Maybe next time!
I did get the boudin balls 
2 Likes
Another local insider, who didn’t cop to having a personal waiter at Galatoire’s, swore by Friday lunch. Good call – we revel in the buzz (and eggplant sticks and souffle potato starters with a proper Sazerac).
1 Like
Porgy’s Seafood Market
I was flying back home on Tuesday evening and had a bit of time for lunch in the city, which was at Porgy’s in Mid-City. Porgy’s is where Bevi Seafood used to be, which I had visited the previous year but has since shut down.
Like Bevi Seafood, Porgy’s is a seafood market that also has prepared foods available to order. To start, I had 2 pounds of crawfish at $6 / pound. These were some good sized crawfish, and a bit spicy from the boil.
I also had a 5" Oyster Po’Boy ($13), which was on a Dong Phuong Bakery roll and dressed with with lettuce, red onion, tomato, pickles, and mayo. This was pretty good, though not the easiest sandwich to eat. The roll was airy inside with a crackling crust.
And also a cup of Seafood Gumbo ($12), which was great! There was lots of seafood flavor in the thick broth. It had some just-cooked shrimp, some blue crab, and two fat oysters, as well as a small scoop of white rice. It was a delicious gumbo.
Angelo Brocato’s
I walked a few doors down to Angelo Brocato’s again for dessert. This time I had a lemon ice, which was like a very smooth sorbet that was sweet, tart, and lemony. It was very refreshing. I also had an espresso with a pignoli cookie, which is a pine nut studded cookie made with a light almond flavored meringue-like dough.
And that’s the end of another New Orleans trip report. Until next time!
16 Likes
Your trip reports are always so rewarding. Thank you!!
3 Likes
