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Monthly Archives: May 2014

Tommy’s Cuisine (Warehouse District, NOLA)

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Learning from our experience in a long distance relationship for 5 years now, “The Chef” and I have learned to make sure we make time for date nights and even romantic getaways even if it’s a “staycation”.  This was one of those weekends and of course, we love to eat…

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Amuse Bouche: Bruschetta. MmMm this was delish! VERY close to my favorite bruschetta ever…

 

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Sesame bread. Not my fav, but a good change up from what I’m used to.

 

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Oysters Tommy: Romano cheese. Pancetta. Roasted bell pepper.

Oysters Rockefeller: Spinach. Herbs. Herbsaint.

Oysters Bienville: Crawish. Shrimp. Herbs.

Of the three choices, my favorite had to be the Oysters Bienville. It was savory and melt-in-your-mouth!

 

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Crabmeat Maison. Iceberg lettuce. Jumbo lump crabmeat. Maison dressing.

 

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Sweetbreads. Pan sauteéd. Beurre blanc. Capers. Eggplant. 

 

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Duck Tchoupitoulas. Roasted crispy & deglazed duck. Raspberry reduction. Wild rice. Fresh spinach. Toasted pecans. Bacon.

The meals were a great blend of mostly Italian influence with a pinch of New Orleans and French. There was a hominess to the dishes with a touch of sophistication. Nothing too frou-frou. Loved it!

Afterwards, we stayed at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside. Good view, great food at Tommy’s right around the corner, and excellent company!

 

Tommy's Cuisine on Urbanspoon

Chef, the movie

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I was so excited to watch this movie! For those who have never been in the service industry, you really don’t realize the time, skill, and commitment that chefs make to their food. I learned this when I first started dating “The Chef”. Working late hours. Holidays=work days. It’s like a whole new world! I even learned some chef talk! I learned so much about food, the restaurant industry, and mainly, I developed a passion for food…

So when I heard about Chef, I couldn’t wait. Chef, the movie, was true to everything from chef talk, the skills, and even portrayed the stresses of maintaining relationships associated with the lifestyle! I love how the movie showed such a strong reverence for what New Orleans brings to the culinary world…a city that’s predicated on food, fun, and life. It represented the city well, directly from a New Orleanians point of view…walking down Frenchmen, soaking in the uniqueness of the city…

Chef is about a chef who realizes his true passion and starts his own food truck…The movie tackled different relationship dynamics…a love story, a father-son relationship, kitchen camaraderie, and mainly a chef’s love for his food. Aside from all that, let’s not forget to mention the food porn…Check out the trailer above!

 

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 NEW ORLEANS LOCALS

Now, if you’re looking for a dinner & a movie kind of place, check out The Theatres at Canal Place: click here for website. The theatre was revamped and there’s now seat side service. The restaurant, Gusto at Canal Place, is owned by partnership by Chef Adolfo Garcia. He is chef and restauranteur with relationships in RioMar and La Boca. Now, I haven’t tried the food at Canal Place yet, but I definitely plan to so look forward to that post! What I do know is that I love La Boca…my favorite “steak” restaurant in the city!

St. James Cheese Company (Uptown, New Orleans, Louisiana)

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My friend and I had been waiting for the right moment to get together for a “foodventure” and what better moment than to celebrate our graduation from professional school. 8-9 long years of delving into stacks and stacks of notes and textbooks. It’s graduation time and whether you’re graduating middle school, high school, college, or any graduate/professional programs…Congratulations to everyone in the Class of 2014!!

After every graduation there’s the lingering question of “What next?”.

If you ask me, it’d be food!

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Menu. 

 

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5 Selection ( 3 meat/2 cheese) Plate. There’s a wide variety of different meats and cheeses so we decided to let them surprise us!

 

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Bread.  Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Perfect choice for the meat and cheese plate.

 

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Tangiers Torta. Two Run Farms Lamb. Feta. Pickeled Fennel. Harissa & Cilantro. Ciabatta.

This was on the special’s menu. It looks deceivingly heavy, but the ciabatta as well as the protein portion was light and satisfying.

 

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Hooks Cheddar. House smoked turkey. Avocado. Basil. Tomato. Mayo. Ciabatta.

Setup almost like a california turkey club, but the touch of basil made it even more refreshing. Loved it!

 

I can’t lie…these are actually photos from two visits to St. James Cheese Company. Two visits…within one week’s time. I enjoyed my first meal so much that I had to return and that’s when I tried the Hooks Cheddar!

Great deli meats and a wide variety of mouth-watering cheese choices! The only downside would be the limited space, although there are quite a few tables. Due to it’s growing popularity, I’d expect a wait for a table, especially on weekends.

If you like mouth-watering, melty goodness in your tummy, I’d suggest you try St. James Cheese Company!

 

St James Cheese Company on Urbanspoon

Fulton Alley (Warehouse District, NOLA)

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In “Bar Hopping Down Fulton St.” (Click here for blog post.) I mentioned Fulton Alley and I usually do my blog reviews on restaurants and bars, but guess what? Not only is Fulton Alley a modernized bowling alley, but they have great bar bites!

The feel is much like a bar and I’m sure it’s much more crowded on the weekends, but “the Chef” and I chose a slow hour of the day for comfortable bowling…especially since my bowling arm is a little rusty!

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Pictured food: 

Cured Meat Board. Salme Toscano. Bresaola. Prosciutto Di Parma. House Pickles & Accompaniments.

Smoked & Fried Chicken Wings. Crystal-Blue Cheese & Ranch.

Fulton Alley is among the other Fulton St. gems and is very close to Harrah’s. Maybe you’ve spent too much time in Harrah’s or you’re just looking for something new to do, Fulton Alley is fun, hip and there’s food! As you can tell, the food was impressive especially in comparison to your usual bowling alley! From a foodie perspective, I really enjoyed it. The cured meat and pickles were delicious and the wings were perfectly cooked and juicy. I have no complaints on the food, BUT as far as bowling, the rates are little more pricey so going with a larger group would be more cost effective. You’ll get more bang for your buck and it’s more fun! Happy bowling!

 

Fulton Alley on Urbanspoon

Bar Hopping Down Fulton St. (New Orleans, LA)

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After working up an appetite after a great round of bowling at Fulton Alley (post coming soon!), we decided to go bar hopping. What better than to go on a “foodventure” down Fulton!

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Our first stop…..

 

GRAND ISLE

Grand Isle on Urbanspoon

Fulton St. has been growing with new businesses, bars and restaurants. I do a lot of research on upcoming restaurants and must-eat places, but hadn’t come across Grand Isle. Am I glad I did! I’ll let some of the pictures do the speaking…

 

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Marinated Crab Claws. Sweet, Seasoned, and delicious! These crab claws were refreshing and left me wanting more…

 

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Hoghead cheese. This surprised me! It’s different from hoghead cheeses that I’ve tried…more moist and great flavor!

 

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Raw Oysters. I could never have enough of these!

 

The seafood quality was superb! Fresh, fun, and left us wanting more…

 

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Not full yet! Our next stop…

MANNINGS EAT-DRINK-CHEER

Manning’s Eat Drink Cheer on Urbanspoon
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Spinach & Crab Dip. Baked focaccia chips.

Louisiana Crab Finger Bordelaise. Lemon. Garlic. Parsley. Butter.

Natchitoches Meat Pies.  Chili garlic aioli.

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Close-up of the meat pie. mMmm dripping with goodness!

So the feast above definitely finished us off! Yes, we did order more crab claws, which were good, BUT Grand Isle’s was definitely better. If you know me, I love me some crabmeat so the spinach dip was LOADED with the stuff. All in all, Manning’s was great! We sat at the bar and it was a weekday so it was slow, but we prefer it that way.

I’ve read tons of reviews saying that Manning’s lacked in service, but I have to differ. We sat at the bar and had awesome service! The area is a prime location so weekends will definitely be crowded so if you can avoid it, great! If not, grab a drink and enjoy yourselves! Cheers!

Cafe Adelaide

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Cafe Adelaide is one of the newer Brennan’s family additions to the city…and the Brennans know what they’re doin’! I’ve had great experiences at Commander’s Palace, Sobou, among others, and I did not expect any less at Cafe Adelaide…

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Rum Swizzle. 

 

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Vesper. Inspired by 007 Casino Royale. A solid, strong, and sexy martini!

 

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French Bread & Butter. One of my favorite parts of any meal!

 

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Crispy Gulf Oysters. Bacon & Parmesan crust. Citrus & Fennel salad. Bacon Vinaigrette. Smoked Creme Fraiche.

The bacon vinaigrette was a wonderful touch on top of these crispy oysters! It was subtle, but came through smoothly.

 

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Melon Mojito Salad. Mint & rum cured melon. Spiced Pecans. Bacon Molasses vinaigrette.

 

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Cracklin Crusted Duck Confit. Applewood smoked bacon. Onion glazed brussel sprouts. Creamy white bean puree. Charred Jalapeno pepper jelly.

 

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Cast Iron Baked Blue Crab Gnocchi.  Louisiana Crab & Semolina gnocchi. Roasted garlic, Exotic mushrooms. Corn-leek veloute. Lemon-Parmesan crust.

 

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Bananas Foster Sundae. Cinnamon-dark rum ice cream. Bananas. Crispy Plantains. Ordered without Chantilly cream.

WOW..What an amazing meal! The chef and I really enjoy ordering a bunch of menu items and sharing them so when it comes down to the very last bite, we like to save our favorites. The chef enjoyed the duck as his last bite and I finished with the crab and gnocchi dish…That most definitely didn’t mean it was our favorite, because dessert came out and we were just blown away! This Sundae has to be the best we’ve ever eaten. Fried bananas foster…how can you say “no” to that?!
Café Adelaide on Urbanspoon