Sorry, will try that again. I started to write what would have been a much too long report and ran out of time. So I deleted and started again.
I am mainly a poster on the Ontario board, but we just did a trip to New Orleans last week. Because we are still COVID-nervous, we only ate on patios and did takeout, which limited our options significantly and prevented us from returning to some previous favourites. It’s a bit of a grab bag:
French Truck Coffee
- aromatic beans, great coffee, great cold brew.
Sobou
- lovely courtyard patio; Paris Between the Wars is an awesome cocktail; excellent frying on the crackling crusted boudin; surf and turf was a nice combo of fried oysters and tender suckling pig.
Fat Boy Pantry
- tried this because it was near where we were staying; great fried lobster po’ boy (do add the bacon and avocado)
Grand Isle
- very nice version of a Hurricane sans drink crystal mix; good char-grilled oysters and superlative fried smoked oysters; tasty blackened drum with a delicious crawfish cream sauce.
Mother’s (takeout lunch)
- still a tasty fried oyster po’ boy (nice crunch); red beans and rice were undersalted; jambalaya was a bit oversalted.
Herbsaint
- nice streetside patio on St. Charles; excellent Sazerac; nice Pimm’s Cup; chicken, tasso, andouille gumbo very dark and full of umami; fantastic lamb and mushroom pappardelle; amazing chicken fricasse with crawfish and celeriac puree; desserts were too sweet and unremarkable.
Cochon Butcher (lunch)
- muffaletta was served was and was very enjoyable, although the olive salad seemed more like slaw; sausage plate featured smoked deer, boudin, and andouille - all delicious.
Toup’s Meatery
- very casual, perhaps too casual (and not always helpful) service; cocktails sounded more interesting than they tasted; crispy turkey necks were too dry and salty under the coating; delicious headcheese; mustard-crusted venison loin was perfectly cooked over some yummy barley.
World Famous Corporation Bar and Grill (takeout lunch)
- catfish po’ boy - nicely fried and moist fish; crawfish pie - nice crust and a tasty etouffee-ish filling; good jamabalya.
Commander’s Palace (takeout due to rain)
- wonderful tasso-brined & cold-smoked corn fried florets of cauliflower with roasted garlic whipped Creole cream cheese; delicious crawfish tails with mirilton salad and fish fritters; prosecco-poached crab over pecan-crusted drum - amazing overall; miso seared hake was a bit too salty, but very flavourful; strawberry shortcake and pecan pie were both very good, though the crust of the latter tasted a bit of fridge.
Atchafalaya (brunch)
- strawberry mimosa and rum milk punch were both delightful; tasty crab and shrimp gumbo with toasted rice; interesting combo of duck confit, blackberry, and mango into a hash with a poached egg; breakfast risotto was a bit salty, but otherwise great combo of crumbled sausage and rice with a poached egg and hollandaise; peach waffle worked well as dessert.
Cochon
- Blacker the Berry and Smokey Sicilian (cocktails) had lovely layers of complexity; warm fluffy buns; crawfish pie with flaky pastry and a sumptuous filling; perfectly fried alligator; great combo of duck egg, morels, and bowfin caviar; decadent sausage stuffed pork should with a crispy rind of fat; strawberry “shortcake” (was really more a sponge cake) very good.
Gumbo Shop
- went for sentimental reasons (ate there years ago, have the cookbook); crawfish remoulade salad very generous with fresh-tasting crawfish; great versions of crawfish etouffee and jambalaya; OK macque choux corn; fine bread pudding.
Cafe du Monde
- same as 10 and 20 years ago.
Trenasse (brunch)
not the most picturesque patio, but it was available; mocha martini and ginger julep were fun drinks; fork-tender beef grillades in a luscious sauce over cheesy grits; flaky blackened pompano smothered in crawfish etouffee also excellent.
Hope this helps anyone else who is not quite ready for indoor dining yet.
