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Lady M (Upper East Side, New York, New York)

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I first found out about this cake/dessert place when I had a great feast of food at Ippudo (click for review) in East Village. It was one of favorites of all the desserts at Ippudo and I had to try it from the original location. Lady M is a tiny cake boutique, but has such a high demand that there’s a line out of the door. One line is for to-go orders and one line is for dining in. If you’re ordering a whole cake, I would call and order in advance because you can just skip the line.  If you’d rather take your cake somewhere else, this is the perfect location because Bryant Park is right across the street. My sister-in-law and I waited no longer than 10 minutes in the dine-in line, but I won’t guarantee that will be the same for everyone.

 

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Entrance. 

 

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Green Tea Mille Crepe Cake and Jasmine Tea.

We ordered the Jasmine tea and the Green Tea Crepe Cake. The Jasmine tea complimented the creamy and delicate crepiness of the cake so well. I don’t know how they do it all so perfectly, but it’s impeccable! I love it. If you’re in the area and looking for dessert, you have to try their Mille Crepe Cakes. There are different flavors too!

 

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Rating: 5/5 spoons
Lady M Cake Boutique Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Joe’s Cafe (Causeway, Metairie, LA)

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After a late night my friends and I were STARVING. We stopped by Joe’s Cafe in Metairie for some food. I’m always pretty skeptical about late night food and how much love and care is put into it (especially at 3:30AM on a weekend). I was SO surprised. The presentation was good and the food was delicious! I really loved the Fried Pork Chop and I couldn’t get over the butteriness and crispiness of that biscuit. Next time you’re searching for late night bites, try Joe’s Cafe. The cashier and girl working the kitchen that night were super friendly!

 

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Fried Pork Chop. Biscuit. 2 fried eggs. Hash brown.

 

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Country Breakfast: Eggs. Sausage. Biscuit. Hashbrowns.

 

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Rating: 5/5 spoons

 
Joes Cafe # 1 Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato
 




Beignets and More (Chalmette, LA)

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I recently started working in the Chalmette area and didn’t realize I’d find so many food choices over here! Beignets and More is a family-owned Vietnamese restaurant that serves authentic Vietnamese cuisine. They even offer a small menu of American dishes too. The restaurant is located in a strip on West Judge Perez Dr. During lunch time and dinner time, the restaurant is always pretty full but service is always very quick!

 

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Crab Rangoon. 

 

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Pho Dac Biet. Pho with Round Steak, Well-done Brisket, and Round Meatball.

 

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Bun Thit Nuong. Chargrilled Pork and Vermicelli Rice Noodle.

 

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Com Bo Luc Lac. Pan Seared Cubed Beef and Rice.

 

Every dish I’ve ordered here is so delicious. Not a single one has disappointed me. The Crab Rangoons are perfect! They hold well for to-go orders or even as leftovers. The pho is authentic and maybe one of my favorite places for pho in the general New Orleans area. Other great dishes would be the Lemongrass Pork Spring Rolls, Com Bo Luc Lac (Pan Seared Cubed Beef and rice), and the Bun Thit Nuong (Chargrilled Pork and Vermicelli Noodles). They serve pretty authentic beignets, but I really like the mini beignets. They’re about half the size of a regular beignet and great to eat with the Vietnamese coffee.

I would seriously go out of my way to eat here. If you happen to be in the area, you have to try Beignets and More!

 

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Rating: 5/5 spoons
Beignets & More Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

A Taste of Thailand (Terrytown, New Orleans, LA)

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It’s hard to find really good Thai in this city and I’ve surprisingly found two great Thai places on the Westbank. This location is a little out of the way if you don’t live on the Westbank, but I really think it’s worth checking out if you’re craving Thai.

 

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Salad. 

 

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Spicy Chicken Pad Thai. 

 

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Green Curry. 

 

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3 Flavors Whole Fried Fish (Tilapia). 

 

We ordered the Spicy Chicken Pad Thai, Green Curry, and 3 Flavor Fried Fish. The pad thai was very flavorful but was a tad bit too tangy or sour. I’ve been twice this past week and tried 3 different curries. My favorite was the Green Curry. There’s just something so wholesome and flavorful about the green curry and A Taste of Thailand does it so well! The 3 Flavor Fried Fish is SO good and it reminds me of mom’s fried Tilapia. It’s super crispy and the 3 flavors sauce goes so well with it.

It appears to be family-owned and there’s a super sweet Thai lady who always comes to talk to you when you dine in. The restaurant location isn’t the best and is kinda off the beaten path. I wouldn’t have known about it if it weren’t for a friend’s recommendation and I am so thankful, because it’s definitely one of my top two favorite Thai restaurants in the New Orleans area.

What I’d like to try next? The Satay Scallops.

 

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Rating: 4.5/5 spoons
A Taste of Thailand 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

Click to add a blog post for District Donuts Sliders Brew on Zomato

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
Click to add a blog post for Cafe Du Monde on Zomato

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

Click to add a blog post for Compere Lapin on Zomato

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
Click to add a blog post for Chipotle Mexican Grill on Zomato