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La Boulangerie (Uptown, New Orleans, LA)

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Ham & Cheese Croissant.

 

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Almond Croissant. 

 

I first heard of La Boulangerie years ago from my high school French teacher. She was originally from France and raved about this place! I decided to go back for brunch today. We ordered The Ham & Cheese croissant and the Almond Croissant. It was pretty busy for a Sunday morning. After I ordered I asked the cashier if  the drink on the counter was for me and a tall, dirty-blonde barista or whatever she is aggressively butted in and said “Ma’am! Just listen for your name because there are at LEAST 4 drinks before yours!”. I asked ONCE. I don’t know what her deal is, but it makes me regret leaving that tip. Just the way she said it was SO rude. Besides that, the croissants were pretty good and so was my Americano. I wish the croissants were warmer, crispier, and flakier. The ones I got were cold and somewhat soggy on the inside. I’ve definitely had better croissants, but there’s something homey about these croissants too. I will definitely come back again, but customer service needs some improvement.
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Rating: 3/5 spoons
La Boulangerie Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

District Donuts (Lower Garden District, New Orleans, LA)

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I decided to pick up donuts for work and who better than to go to District Donuts? It’s a local restaurant and donut shop that serves fresh and homemade donuts as well as breakfast and lunch sandwiches. What’s interesting on the menu are the Croquenuts. They are Donuts grilled to sandwich perfection. Trust me…if you’re looking for healthy, go elsewhere.

I ordered a Miso Praline Bacon Biscuit to go for an on-the-go bite and a few donuts for my girls at work. This has to be the most amazing breakfast sandwich EVER. The biscuit was extremely buttery and reminded me of a homemade-style Popeyes biscuit. I don’t know how you like your eggs, but it was overeasy and always makes the best breakfast sauce! As a whole, the miso praline bacon tied it all together. It’s a tad bit messy for on-the-go, but I’d do it all over again!

If you’re looking for a place for an epic, awesome breakfast, District Donuts is where to go. If you’re looking bland and healthy, you’re in the wrong place!

 

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Donuts: Wedding Cake, Glazed, Coconut Creme

 

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Miso Praline Bacon Biscuit. 

 

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Rating: 5/5 spoons

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Cafe Du Monde (Veterans, Metairie, LA)

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I’ve always been a bit biased towards ONLY going to the French Quarter Cafe Du Monde location since I’ve had such bad experiences with the mall locations in the past. I haven’t tried the Veterans location until now. It’s a lot cleaner and the inside actually looks very similar to being outdoors in the French Quarter.

It was nice not having to worry about downtown parking and it wasn’t packed with tons of tourists! The beignets were good, but maybe not as crispy as I’d like on the outside. I like the crispy outside and the soft breading on the inside and the French Quarter location never fails with that, but overall, I liked it here. Next time I’m in the area and I’m craving beignets and coffee, I know where I’ll stop! Here’s another plus, they have a drive thru!

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Cafe Du Monde, Metairie. 

 

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Beignets outside. It was a nice day!

 

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Rating: 4/5 spoons
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Compère Lapin (Warehouse District, New Orleans, LA)

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Chef Nina Compton is Caribbean native that was one of the top Top Chef contestants on the Bravo TV Channel. Although she didn’t get the top spot, her success lead to her recent endeavor: Compère Lapin. With her Caribbean roots and background in French cuisine, she’s created a menu that’s unlike any other in New Orleans. My fiancé and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary at Compère and it was impressive!

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Refreshing cocktail. 

 

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Chive Biscuits. Honey Butter. Bacon Butter.

 

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Conch Croquettes. Pickled Pineapple Tartar Sauce.

 

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Marinated Shrimp. Roasted Jalapeno Jus.

 

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Beef Tartare . Matsutake mushrooms. Cured egg yolk.

 

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Roasted Beet Salad. Ricotta. Pistachio.

 

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Left: Pici Pasta. Lobster. Summer squash.

Right: Curried Goat. Plantain Gnocchi. Cashews.

 

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Roasted Banana Zeppole. Rum Caramel.

 

First, the bread was a chive biscuit that was flaky, buttery, and flavorful. To top that it came with two butters: a honey butter and a bacon butter. My favorite was the bacon butter. It’s amazing how they were able to infuse such a pure bacon flavor. I felt like I was eating a really good breakfast sandwich. Now, that’s just the bread!

For our appetizers, we ordered:

  1. Conch croquettes: these were delicately crispy on the outside and saucy on the inside.
  2. Marinated shrimp with Jalapeño Jus: I’m not the biggest fan of shrimp, but this was so well done. The shrimp was very fresh and nicely cooked and the sauce had a nice kick to it. What I love in Chef Nina Compton’s dishes is that she’s not afraid to spice things up! She chose the perfect city for her restaurant.
  3. Beef Tartare with Matsutake mushrooms and cured egg yolk: Smoky. Savory. Goodness. The tartare was one of my favorite dishes of the night.
  4. Roasted Beet Salad with Ricotta: This salad was no salad. It was so good it was like dessert to me. The Beets were sweet and perfectly roasted. Next, was the ricotta which was blended into a sweet icing-like texture.

For our entrees:

  1. Pici Pasta with Lobster and summer squash: The pasta was homemade and delicious. I loved that there were clear chunks of lobster throughout the dish.
  2. Curried Goat with Plantain Gnocchi and cashews: This was definitely the finale and I almost wanted to stop here and just savor that last bite of gnocchi. When you think about certain elements complimenting a dish, this has to be the perfect example. The savoriness of the goat curry coated the little gnocchis. Once you bite into the gnocchi, there’s this instant of a billion flavors all at once! First you get the savory curry, then you get a hint of white wine, then unexpectedly there’s the plantain sweetness. I’m so amazed.

Dessert:

  1. Roasted Banana Zeppole: This was a great treat in the end, but I definitely could’ve stopped with the gnocchis.

Everything was phenomenal! I love the Caribbean twist on the classically French cuisine. Chef Nina isn’t afraid of adding a lot of spice and I love that. We’re going to have to go back to celebrate our 10 yr 1 mo ! If you’re considering a dinner option this weekend, Compère is a MUST!
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Rating: 5/5 spoons

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Lotus Xpress (Harvey, LA)

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This restaurant recently switched ownership from My Thai and is now either Lotus Xpress or Lotus Cafe (Yelp and their signs differ). I went to My Thai a few months ago in search of really great Thai food. I actually didn’t go inside, because it looked so dead inside! My mistake, because even though Lotus Cafe has switched ownership, the cashier told me that all of the recipes are still the same. My friends mentioned that the restaurant looks different in that it’s more of a fast food/take out AND restaurant setup. The previous restaurant was strictly restaurant only.

 

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Thai tea and Roti. Chili sauce.

 

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Yellow Chicken Curry. 

 

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Green Chicken Curry. 

 

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Chicken Pad Thai. 

 

Now onto the good stuff…I ordered the Thai tea, Roti, Green Chicken Curry, Yellow Chicken Curry, and Spicy (Level 2) Pad Thai. The Thai tea was delicious. The Roti was THE BOMB…so buttery, flaky and delicious. The sauce that comes with it was good, but I wish it was thicker so it’s easier to dip into. The food comes in to go boxes, which make it easy to eat and bring the rest “to-go”! The curries came with a side salad (or wonton chips) and rice. The curries are delicious and have to be the best I’ve found in the area so far! The Pad Thai was the perfect amount of spice, but I found it a little sour (maybe too much tamarind?). Everything definitely exceeded my expectations and this restaurant will have to be one of my top Thai restaurant right now!

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Rating: 4/5 spoons

 

Chipotle (Veterans, Metairie, LA)

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This review is strictly to this location and not the franchise itself. I love Chipotle. Everything is so fresh and flavorful, however, this particular location fails. Maybe they recently opened and haven’t had things fine-tuned yet BUT it’s a franchise and operation is usually consistent among stores.

First, the building is quite small so there’s limited seating. If you sit indoors, it’s cramped and very noisy and echo-ey. Since I was by myself, I took my food to-go and just ate in my car!

Secondly, something was a little off as far as flavoring of the steak and the guacamole…most likely a lack of lime and/or salt. Everything was so bland. As I ate my burrito bowl, I kept pondering why it tasted so different and found myself chewing on a piece of plastic. I’ll spare you the disgust and won’t post that photo, but I was so disappointed that I had to try again at Chipotle in Harahan the next day. That experience was much better.

I’ll wait a little while for them to improve and maybe try again, but I definitely won’t go out of my way for it.

 

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Rating: 2/5 spoons

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Chipotle (Harahan, Metairie, LA)

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This has to be my favorite Chipotle location in the New Orleans area! I was a little hesitant at first, because I’m so used to the speedy service at other Chipotle locations around the states and this one was pretty slow and inefficient a few months ago. The last few times I’ve been there, I’ve noticed they’re a lot quicker. Good job on improvement!

Secondly, I went to the Veterans location and they weren’t as flavorful and seasoned like this Harahan location. I would actually  drive 10 minutes further to eat at this Harahan location than to eat at the Veterans location again (see Chipotle on Veterans review).

If you’ve never been to Chipotle, it’s a quick service burrito restaurant setup similar to Subway. You pick your medium (burrito, bowl, taco, etc), meat, and toppings. Very easy!

My favorite thing to order: Burrito Bowl, brown rice, no beans, steak, pico, red sauce, green sauce, sour cream, corn, guacamole, and lettuce. Then, top it off with some Chipotle flavored Tabasco. Perfection!

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Ratings: 4/5 spoons
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Ippudo (East Village, New York, NY)

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One of the top 2 recommended ramen joints in New York is Ippudo. There are two locations, but we went to the East Village location. When you enter, Ippudo hostesses, waiters, and chefs greet you energetically in Japanese and immediately set the mood for a fun night. Apparently, Ippudo is an internationally recognized Japanese restaurants that even accommodates to Japanese internationals. Most servers are Japanese speaking. Our dinner guests were Japanese and spoke to our waiter in Japanese all night. Very legit!

There was six of us, but we definitely ordered for 12! Heck, my motto is to go all out especially when traveling and trying new foods in other states.

 

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Yamitsuki Goma Kyuri. Cucumber marinated in Ippudo’s original sesame oil sauce.

 

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Ippudo Salad. Mixed Greens. Wasabi Goma Shoyu Dressing. Daikon. Shredded Nori. Crispy Fried Sardines.

 

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Tako Spicy Grill. Grilled Spanish Octopus. Potatoes. Ippudo Chili Sauce and Aioli.

 

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Hirata Buns. Pork.

 

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Shishito Peppers. Flash-fried peppers. Yuzu salt.

 

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Akamaru Modern. Spicy Tonkotsu pork soup noodles. Umami Dama miso paste. Pork Chashu. Cabbage. Sesame Kikurage mushrooms. Scallions.

 

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Shiromaru Hakata Classic. Tonkotsu pork soup  noodles. Pork loin chashu. Sesame Kikurage mushrooms. Menma. Red-pickled ginger. Scallions.

 

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Left to right:

Hirata Milk. Green tea gelato parfait with red bean. Shiratama mochi. Matcha jelly. Almond Coconut Milk.

Lady M Mille Crepe. Layered crepe cake. Pastry cream filling. House cranberry cream.

Green tea brûlée. Topped with Green Tea gelato.

 

We ordered so much that I’ll have to break it down.

Our first wave of appetizers:

1. Yamitsuki Goma Kyuri. This is a cucumber salad dish. It’s very refreshing it makes a great appetizer/salad or even a palate cleanser in between dishes.

2. Ippudo Salad. Like any other Japanese salad except the dressing is better and evenly spread.

3. Tako Spicy Grill. This octopus dish is Grade 3/5 spicy. It has a really good kick. If you’re not used to eating spicy, eat cautiously.

3. Hirata Buns. The Hirata Pork buns were awesome. The aioli and spicy sauce really set off this bun.

4. Shishito Peppers. From what I hear, 1/10 shishito peppers are extremely spicy. It was thrilling not knowing whether one of us at the table would get the spicy one. Luckily, no one did and they were all very delicious.

The Ramens:

1. Akamaru Modern. Well seasoned chashu. What I loved is that the chashu aren’t fatty like at some restaurants. The noodles are thinner and more “al dente” than your typical ramen noodles. It’s very similar to the skinny Chinese egg noodles.

2. Shiromaru Hakata Classic. I didn’t find an extreme difference between these two ramen dishes except this one had ginger and a different cut for the chashu. The meat was even leaner.

3. Cold Ramen noodles. I’m not sure of the exact name of this dish, but I do know we ate it towards the end of our meal and were all pretty stuffed. If it was delicious, it was hard to tell. We were so gluttonous!

Onto the desserts…

1. Hirata Milk. Green tea gelato parfait with red bean with Almond Coconut Milk. This was creamy, light, and delicious!

2. Lady M Mille Crepe. Layered crepe cake. Pastry cream filling. House strawberry cream. This one had to be my FAVORITE. The pastry crepe layers were so delicate and when you cut your spoon, it cuts right through for the perfect bite BUT still retains it’s crispiness. How?! I don’t know but it was  one of my favorite dishes of the night.

3. Green tea brûlée. Topped with Green Tea gelato. Creamy, dense green tea sweetness. My 2nd fav!

We definitely had the full on Ippudo experience. Everything was delicious. What’s unique here is the fact that Ippudo is a more modern experience as opposed to your “homey bowl of soup noodles” kind of feel. Also, everything seems to be quite authentic. The noodles are a little different for the soup ramen, but the cold ramen dish had what seemed to be your typical ramen noodle. If I had to do anything different, I would add an egg to my ramen. Our friend ordered for us so we didn’t get the option. Regardless, it was still very good and I’d definitely come back for the fine service and food.

 

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Rating: 5/5 spoons
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