RSVP is not necessary, but if you’re pretty certain you will be attending, give me a little wave in the comments section to help me plan accordingly. I want to make sure there’s enough sweets to go around. Hope to see you there!
Graphic design by long-time member, friend and artist/designer Windi Sebren
In dire need of a quick country fried steak fix, we headed to IHOP in Metairie for a late breakfast. As I got comfortable in my seat, I spotted two ladies walking to their table, dressed to kill in their Saints gear. I told my husband that I had to scope them out and get a picture of them. When I found their table, I was greeted by a whole group of gals who were happy to take me up on a photo op.
Thanks for the shot, ladies!
P.S. – IHOP has a pretty good cup of coffee.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Last week I was approached by Ashley Bond, the founder of nolaParent.com, to write a piece on romantic restaurants in New Orleans. I have also featured some great spots for sweet treats for your sweetheart. My article comes just in time for Valentine’s Day, so if you are looking for romantic dining options in New Orleans, check out the Weekly Highlights section in nolaParent.com’s Parenting Picayune. If you would like to go straight to the article, then just click here.
I know I left a few intimate dining options off the list, but these are just some of my favorites. If you would like to add more to the list, feel free to do so in the comments.
As a non-vegetarian person, I have been witness to about a million eye-rolls from vegetarians whenever sushi is mentioned. Thanks to Daniele’s great post about one Japanese restaurant’s vegetarian menu, perhaps one day we can all dine in peace and harmony.
I don’t get uptown very often, but I when I found out that Ninja on Oak Street had a special vegetarian menu I knew I had to make a special trip to go check it out.
My boyfriend and I went there for a late dinner on Friday night. The friendly staff seated us promptly and handed us menus. I eagerly flipped through to find the vegetarian section… but it wasn’t there! Did they discontinue the special menu? Had I hallucinated the pages of vegetarian options that I saw on the website? I asked our server, who quickly brought over a copy of the vegetarian menu. I was relieved, but also perturbed. The only reason that I asked for a veggie menu was because I knew they had one. If I had just walked in off the street I would have thought Ninja was just another Japanese restaurant with a paltry amount of vegetarian options.
After we ordered, the sushi chef presented us with a little starter of cucumber salad in a mayonnaise sauce. I was about ¾ of the way done with it before I realized that the stupid thing had fish in it. Super. I thought about pitching a fit, but I am not really the fit-pitching type. And my tolerance for accidental meat contact has increased exponentially since I moved to New Orleans. Sad, but true.
Okay, so I wasn’t off to such a good start at Ninja. But things began looking up once the food came. I split a tempura appetizer with my dining companion and got two sushi rolls for myself: the shiitake and the tempura sweet potato. The shiitake roll was okay. As it turns out, I am not that big of a fan of rolls that have the Japanese mayo in them. The tempura sweet potato was great! Once I had it in front of me, I grew a little skeptical about how well sweet potato would work in the context of the rest of a sushi roll. You know: rice, seaweed, soy sauce, pickled ginger. As it turns out sweet potato goes amazingly well with these things. Who knew?!
Now that I have learned two important things about Ninja (ask for a veggie menu; don’t eat the cucumber salad) I think my next meal there will go much more smoothly than my first.
I think it’s obvious that king cake is A Pretty Big Deal in the New Orleans area. I’ve seen them loaded with babies, shoes and other trinkets, but never keys, let alone “Keys To The Court” — the Windsor Court, that is. I received this press release last week, but there is still time to snag these perfectly giftable cakes. To make things more interesting, there is now more than one winning king cake that could be delivered to a lucky recipient.
In honor of Mardi Gras 2010, the Windsor Court Hotel in downtown New Orleans is offering a limited supply of 100 Windsor Court Miniature King Cakes. Prepared by the pastry chef of the hotel’s award-winning Grill Room Restaurant, Shun Li, these delicious, four-inch cakes will feature traditional colors and a cream-cheese filling, accompanied by a set of special Windsor Court Mardi Gras beads. Several of the 100 cakes will contain a set of “Keys to the Court” that will allow the recipients to enjoy a complimentary two-night, weekend stay at the Windsor Court and dinner for two in The Grill Room.
The 2010 Windsor Court Miniature King Cakes can be ordered by calling The Grill Room at 504-522-1994. Cakes are $20 apiece, including shipping and handling. Orders will begin shipping this week.
*sigh* I have been sitting on this blog entry for almost two weeks now. I have been super busy planning the NOLA Eats king cake party, and then I got sick, blah blah blah…so, here we are. I’m still backed up from taking time off to get well, so I apologize for the lack of detailed commentary on the food. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment or email me. Thanks!
Ahhh, Sunday. Universally the laziest day of the week. Us New Orleanians know how to make the most of a lazy Sunday, and it’s called brunch. My husband and I took our children to Stanley, a smart soda fountain/diner mash-up for brunch a couple of weeks ago, and while the atmosphere is more casual than Chef/Owner Scott Boswell’s Stella!, the dishes remain creative and thoughtfully put together.
As you can see from the photos, the dishes are obviously beautiful. I am pleased as punch to report that they were as delicious as they were pleasing to the eye. Stanley is a great spot for lunch, brunch or an early dinner (they close at 7:00 pm daily), and excellent for people-watching in the Quarter.
If you are interested in a more in-depth review of the ice cream, check out Lindsay’s review over at her blog ScoopAdventures.com. Unfortunately, I share her opinion of the frozen confections served at Stanley. It was the one thing I felt was a tad disappointing.
One more thing I wanted to add: My daughter had just turned the big “1-0″, so I wanted a candle to stick in her banana split. Our server told us that they did not carry candles for birthdays, so I ran — literally — all over the Quarter searching for a pack. None of the stores carried them for sale, so I followed my instincts and went to Muriel’s Jackson Square right across the street from Stanley. The server that assisted me was happy to give me one of theirs and refused a tip. Bonus points for Muriel’s!
Oh, yeah. It’s that time of year again. Living in New Orleans, a city that relies on tourism for a large percentage of its revenue and a major provider of employment, I look froward to TripAdvisor’s Dirtiest Hotels list every year. I can’t recall any of the city’s hotels/motels ever being listed, but it always gives me just a touch of meany-pants, schadenfreude-ish pleasure to see just how terrible these “winners” are. View at your own risk!
I am still in a daze with a lingering cold, but I received a press-release today that perked me up, if just long enough to type this paragraph. It is for a food and beer pairing at one of my favorite restaurants, La Côte Brasserie. Chef Chuck Subra has laid out a nice menu for the evening, incorporating ingredients that are sure to create some excellent aroma and flavor combinations. The date of the event is still two months out, but I would recommend you reserve your seats for this dinner.
Chuck Subra, Executive Chef of La Côte Brasserie, has crafted a 5-course menu in harmony with two regional brew houses, Lazy Magnolia and Heiner Brau. Each brand will feature several of their varietals, one with each course. This Southern Beer Dinner will be held on March 24, 2010 at 7:00pm and is $60 per person, exclusive of tax and gratuity.
Southern Beer Dinner Menu: Reservations are required and can be made by calling the restaurant, 504-613-2350.
I
Red Fish Ceviche – Bechnel Farms Myer Lemon, Red Naval, Pear Tomatoes
We’ve touched on Lazy Magnolia here at NOLA-Eats.com a few times, so it’s no surprise that I call it one of my favorites. Heiner Brau has been brewing in Covington, Louisiana since 2005, but it’s hardly a new label.
Now, if I could just shake this bug that I have, maybe I can make it to enjoy the dinner. Yes, I’m a ninny.
