This is Undoubtedly the Best Po’ Boy Shop in all the Land

What:

Parkway Bakery and Tavern
@ParkwayPoorboys
This bar and restaurant is quite old, very famous, and generally regarded as the ultimate place to go for the very best poboys in NOLA.

Where:

Midcity
538 Hagan Ave. New Orleans, LA 70119
[wpgmza id=”290″]

When:

This is the kind of place that’s perfect for any time you need a big, cheap, hearty sandwich full of greasy meat and deep-fried seafood to crush an epic Bourbon Street hangover.

It’s a bit out of the way, so you’ll probably need a car to get all the way out there unless you want to splurge on a long cab ride. This place is known to generate long lines, though we were fortunately able to get food in hand in just about 15 minutes after our arrival. So, come only when you’ve got a bit of patience in case you encounter a longer line. (more…)

Continue ReadingThis is Undoubtedly the Best Po’ Boy Shop in all the Land

Emeril Lagasse Still Has A Few New Exciting Tricks Up His Sleeve

What:

NOLA
@NOLARestaurant
One of three Emeril-owned restaurants in his hometown of New Orleans. The menu is full of Cajun classics, with plenty of unique twists to keep things interesting.

Who:

A first name is all he needs: Emeril. The dude is a legend and one of the major pioneers in food television. He has somehow managed to stay both very relevant and lovable over all of these many drastically different years.

Where:

French Quarter
534 St. Louis St. New Orleans, LA 70130
[wpgmza id=”288″]

When:

Perfect for a cautious New Orleans first-timer’s first foray into Cajun cuisine. The menu is quite accessible, but everything is still executed really really well. There’s also plenty an experienced New Orleans eater can find to love at NOLA too. (more…)

Continue ReadingEmeril Lagasse Still Has A Few New Exciting Tricks Up His Sleeve

Nina Compton is Bringing the Caribbean Heat to Creole Country

I absolutely love how full of super old school places the New Orleans high-end dining scene is. There are tons of these places that remain as popular, famous, and incredible as they were when they opened well over 100 years ago. But, of course, that’s not all that New Orleans has to offer. There are plenty of young upstart chefs doing extremely innovative things, evolving the long-standing culinary traditions.

(more…)

Continue ReadingNina Compton is Bringing the Caribbean Heat to Creole Country

This Incredible Chinese-Creole Cross-Over is Unlike Anything You’ve Ever Had Before

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I also don’t know how you could have possibly missed it. Over the summer of 2015, fried chicken was quite the hot trend, completely dominating all mainstream food media outlets with hyped up content. With big name heavy-hitters like David Chang opening his much-hyped Fuku and Danny Meyers launching a fried chicken sandwich at his much-loved burger shop Shake Shack, seemingly everyone was scrambling to get into the fried chicken game. Every place was busy concocting their own signature breading type, fry-style, and of course secret spice blend.

But, there’s one fried chicken variant that I had this year that was invented long before all of this summer’s madness and I still can’t seem to get it out of my head. This insane fried chicken creation has literally crept into my dreams on more than one occasion like Freddy Krueger, taunting and torturing me to return from within. Unfortunately, this unconscious itch can only be scratched in one place — and this unusually creative shop called Red’s Chinese is located in a way-off-the-beaten path New Orleans neighborhood called Bywater. If you’re in NOLA without a car, Red’s Chinese is not the easiest to access, but if you’ve got one, it’s an absolute cannot-miss. Actually, you better book your flights to NOLA now, you’re gonna want to experience this one for yourself.

(more…)

Continue ReadingThis Incredible Chinese-Creole Cross-Over is Unlike Anything You’ve Ever Had Before

A Hot, New, Sexy, Southern Date Spot in the French Quarter

Let’s face it. If you’re in New Orleans, you’re gonna end up in the French Quarter. Where you’re there to take in the history or to check out the Bourbon Street madness – to drink a hurricane at Pat O’Briens or any of the other drunk-magnet bars – you’re bound to end up there.

Since you’re definitely going to be there, you’re gonna need to know of a few great places to eat. Despite it being a very touristy area, there are still many actually great places to eat. There are famed oyster halls like Acme, cheap eats classics like Central Grocery and Cafe Du Monde, and the many famous, super old-school, French dining parlors. But, you can still definitely choose wrong and end up with a really bad meal. If you want something new, exciting, and different, I’ve got just the place. This restaurant, Sylvain, is a hot addition to the French Quarter dining scene that’s perfect for a civilized, sexy, date night full of great Southern food and cocktails.

(more…)

Continue ReadingA Hot, New, Sexy, Southern Date Spot in the French Quarter

Mike Winston’s Best Bites of 2014

What a year!! I did something like this last year too, but oh boy was 2014 a doozy. I started off living in NYC, then a started a new job that whisked me off the San Francisco and Silicon Valley for a few months before ultimately relocating to San Francisco permanently. And along the way, I squeezed in a couple of vacations too.

Sooooo, I did a LOT of epic eating this year. And truth be told, I found it particularly difficult to narrow down my list as concisely as last year’s, but I somehow managed. So, without further ado, I present the winners (and runner-ups) broken down by category. I tried to cluster similar dish types together, but really they are in no particular order. Let’s begin!

And if you wanna hear about the 2014’s Best Cocktails, read more here.
(more…)

Continue ReadingMike Winston’s Best Bites of 2014

A True Cajun & Creole New Orleans Experience at NOLA in Palo Alto

DSC_4717_edit

For Stanford students, there’s only a few bars that everyone goes to. One of the biggest nightlife hotspots is NOLA, an aggressively Mardi Gras themed bar and restaurant that’s gaudily decorated with scattered dangling beaded necklaces. It’s the kind of place that I’d normally write off at first glance, assuming they’d only be able to make stupidly sweet and strong alcoholic punches and serve shitty bar food, but that assumption would be wrong.

(more…)

Continue ReadingA True Cajun & Creole New Orleans Experience at NOLA in Palo Alto
Read more about the article Old-World Formality & High-End Cajun Cooking at Commander’s Palace in New Orleans
Formality & High-End Cajun at Commander’s Palace in New Orleans

Old-World Formality & High-End Cajun Cooking at Commander’s Palace in New Orleans

DSC_3356_edit

When’s the last time you put on a suit to go to dinner? I can’t really remember the last time, but I think it may have been my sister’s Bat Mitzvah 10 years ago? And yeah, I was probably wearing the same suit. In my experience, I’ve found that New Orleans is an amazing place to visit whether you’re looking for great music, great dining, or great drinking. But, if you’re looking for a really special meal, there’s one very famous restaurant that seems to keep on living in a completely different, older era.

This restaurant, Commander’s Palace, is housed in a Victorian mansion right in the middle of the primarily residential Garden District neighborhood and has been a staple of the New Orleans fine dining scene since 1880. As you could imagine, many famed chefs have passed through these kitchen doors including the esteemed New Orleans celebrity chef, Emeril Lagasse.

(more…)

Continue ReadingOld-World Formality & High-End Cajun Cooking at Commander’s Palace in New Orleans

Hangover Busting Southern Comfort Food at Kelly’s Country Meat Block in Opelousas, LA

DSC_3314_edit

Like I said in my previous post at Palace Cafe, a friend’s wedding brought me to the literal middle of nowhere Opelousas, Louisiana. As it often occurs at weddings, many drinks were drunk which led an absurdly hungover morning. Before hitting the road to embark on a two hour drive to New Orleans, we knew needed some comfort in the form of a hearty, greasy fried food-filled meal. A quick search of the Opelousas area led me to discover a little shop called Kelly’s Country Meat Block & Diner, more commonly referred to as Kelly’s Diner.

(more…)

Continue ReadingHangover Busting Southern Comfort Food at Kelly’s Country Meat Block in Opelousas, LA

Old World Cajun Cuisine at Palace Cafe in Opelousas, LA

DSC_3296_edit

How on earth did I end up in Opelousas, Louisiana? Well, my girlfriend, Amy, is from Texas and Louisiana isn’t that far. Some of her friends from high school ended up working in Lafayette, Louisiana and we all ended up in the area for their wedding.

As is my usual plan of action wherever I am, I had to find great food. Since I was in Cajun country, I knew that was the kind of food I needed to get for lunch. After a bit of online research, I decided on a spot in downtown Opelousas, right near the courthouse called Palace Cafe.

(more…)

Continue ReadingOld World Cajun Cuisine at Palace Cafe in Opelousas, LA