Rock ‘n’ Sake- A Sushi Joint (New Orleans)

Rock-n-Sake: Is a sushi bar and restaurant in the Warehouse district of New Orleans. With the loud music, dim lights and interesting art on the walls- its as hip as you can get in New Orleans. No wonder it is usually packed on the weekends with the young ‘hip’ crowd. It is a fun place to eat. The sushi is good as well. When it comes to sushi I am a bit of a snob…having grown up in Vancouver BC where 1 out of 2 restaurants is a sushi joint. However, I have also had the opportunity to try various sushi restaurants in New Orleans (there aren’t that many to choose from) and this is on the top of my list (in New Orleans). There are some interesting creations including rice paper sushi rolls where instead of seaweed the rolls are made with rice paper served in delicious ponzu sauce.  The rolls are on the expensive side (14-16 dollar rolls). However, that is pretty much the price of sushi in New Orleans.  They also serve other Japanese dishes including udon noodle soups, beef/tuna tatakis, etc. If you are looking for a fun way to spend the evening (that is if a crowded restaurant with loud music is your definition of fun) then you should definitely check out this hip warehouse district sushi bar.
823 Fulton St., New Orleans, LA 70130 /Tel: (504) 581-7253

Rebel rice paper roll

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A photographic tour through the French Quarter (New Orleans)

Although mostly known for its rowdy crowds on Bourbon street, the French quarter in New Orleans is one of the most charming neighborhoods in the United States. From the beautiful architecture to art galleries, museums, restaurants, bars and boutique hotels, the French Quarter has something for everyone – no matter what your interest may be.  

From wrought-iron balconies, tall shutters, courtyards, and horse carriages- the French Quarter is uniquely New Orleans. For a day tour of the French Quarter, 1- Start at the French Market located alongside the Mississippi river (the first outdoor produce market in the US. (Make sure to pick up some hot sauce or my personal favorite Tabasco Sauce  2- You will soon smell the scent of beignets from Cafe du Monde.  Stop over for some of their famous sugar coated beignets and chicory laced cafe au lait. I guess it is worth mentioning that while in New Orleans, you should completely put aside any diet or idea of healthy eating and indulge in Southern Cajun food.

3- Listen to some local street musicians on Royal street 4- Visit the St. Louis Cathedral and Jackson Square with its manicured lawns 5- Back on Royal street you can try a little antique shopping and visit some of the art galleries 6- Wonder around the different streets (Pirate’s Alley and Pere Antoine’s Alley) and make your way over to Bourbon street to see one of the most happening streets in the US. 7- If you are getting hungry check out one of the many amazing restaurants in the Quarter. For more on restaurants check out other postings on French Quarter food. 

Wrought- Iron Balconies


 Palm court dinner and Jazz Club in the French Quarter.
Royal Street






A local family of jazz musicians











Red Beans and Rice a N’awlins Specialty




Horse Carriages in Front of Jackson Square
St. Louis Cathedral
Colorful masks at the French Market


Musicians performing on Royal Street




Jazz along the Mississippi River


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Charbroiled Oysters at Dragos (New Orleans)

Dragos Restaurant: If you want to try charbroiled oysters or raw oysters this is the place for it. Although there are several other restaurants that specialize in charbroiled oysters, Dragos is the largest. Other dishes on the menu include charbroiled lobsters , grilled fish and Po’boys. But our tradition is to go in for the oysters and their perfectly flavored bloody mary. But we only have the oysters… it is the best thing on the menu.

2 Poydras Street, New Orleans, LA / 3232 N Arnoult Road Metairie, LA
Cup of delicious seafood gumbo

Bloody Mary
Charbroiled Oysters


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Real Italian Cuisine at the Domenica (New Orleans)

Domenica: I have had a lot of ‘Italian’ food in New Orleans. Most times its really not Italian at all but American version of ‘Italian’ and if that wasn’t bad, in New Orleans over time they have added their own southern Cajun touch to Italian food…which in the end means if you are expecting real Italian food you are in for a real surprise. However, I can confidently say that Domenica serves real Italian dishes.  This is another John Besh restaurant. For those of you who don’t know that name, he is a pretty big deal down here: a local celebrity chef with several amazing restaurants and cookbooks. Domenica is his latest project located in the beautiful Roosevelt hotel. The decor of the restaurant is very elegant, trendy and sophisticated. There is also an elevated CHEESE bar. That’s right you read correctly : a cheese bar. I only dream of having my very own cheese and charcuterie bar one day in my home. What else can you ask for? All cheeses and charcuterie are cut/sliced fresh and ready to serve with the most delicious puffy bread like pastries. I would go back just for those little heavenly delights. 

As soon as you are seated you will stare down at your menu as the place-mats are paper menus. The choice on the menu ranges from delicious real italian style pizzas, to the salumi and formaggi list. To of course the antipasti, primi, secondi and controri.  I have tried several of the pizzas including the prosciutto and the calabrese (both delicious). Along with the gnocchi and rissotto. Had no complaints there either. All I can say is that the dishes tasted no different than what you would expect in a small village in Tuscany. Ah yes that reminds me, the wine list has a great variety of wines from different regions of Italy. So if you are a wine connoisseurs and love your Italian wine you will be in for a treat. 

Spinach and Ricotta Gnocchi

Pizza Calabrese

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Café du Monde (New Orleans)


You can’t come to New Orleans and not make a trip to Café du Monde in the French Quarter. It is a New Orleans tradition. Located on Decatur street Café du Monde serves only one thing: Beignets: a French pâte à choux pastry (think of the pastry part of an eclair ), fried, with a crunchy outside and a soft, tender inside.  I like to think of it as a french name for a doughnut. Although anything french just tastes better. And this is no exception: the doughnut has nothing on a french beignet soaked in powdered sugar. They come in a serving of 3-6 and go best with a cup of café au lait, hot chocolate or coffee. I personally like to dip my beignets in the café du lait.  Also- for your convenience and due to popularity this café is open 24/7. Enjoy.
1039 Decatur Street New Orleans, LA 70116
Beignets and cafe du lait

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I Eat Like a Cochon (New Orleans)

Cochon Restaurant: Trendy, hip and delicious food all in one place. One of the first places I discovered upon moving to New Orleans. For the vegetarians…you might want to stay away. As the name of the restaurant pretty much gives you an idea of the type of food you’ll be getting- a variety of pork delights. From pork belly, fried pig ears and bacon, Cochon specializes in southern Cajun cooking with a modern twist. Fear not my friends who don’t enjoy eating pork. I myself am not a big pork fan, however, there were plenty of other choices on the menu including fried alligator with chili garlic (yum), oven-roasted gulf fish (double yum) and smoked beef brisket.

Chef Link and co-owner Chef Stephen Stryjewski, embracing the old style traditions receive whole pigs and oversee an in-house Boucherie, creating boudin, andouille, smoked bacon, and head cheese. The menu also features handmade crawfish pies, rabbit & dumplings, and spoon bread with okra & tomatoes. Cochon offers specialties from the wood-burning oven such as roasted oysters, suckling pig, and beef brisket. Seafood from local waters round out the offerings with Chef Link’s signature roasted gulf fish “fishermen” style.

 If you want to try some good southern cajun cooking in a modern yet casual atmosphere then be sure to make your way to Cochon.

930 Tchoupitoulas Street, New Orleans, (504) 588-2123

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City Park (New Orleans, USA)

City Park often out shadowed by the more popular Audubon park in uptown is a wonderful secret treasure and my personal favorite.  
 
List of things to do and see in City Park: 

1. Have a picnic at the Peristyle




2. Visit the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA)

One Collins C. Diboll Circle, City Park, New Orleans, Louisiana 70124


 





3. Walk through the Scultpure Gardens











4. Walk through the Botanical gardens












5.  Rent a bike or go for a run at the City Park tracks






6. Rent a paddle boat on the lake

7. In the mood for tennis? Play tennis at the City Park tennis courts 


Frommer’s Review:
Once part of the Louis Allard plantation, City Park has been here a long time and has seen it all — including that favorite pastime among 18th-century New Orleans gentry: dueling. At the entrance, you’ll see a statue of General P. G. T. Beauregard, whose order to fire on Fort Sumter opened the Civil War and who New Orleanians fondly refer to as “the Great Creole.” The extensive, once-beautifully landscaped grounds were, unlike Audubon Park, Katrina-ized, enduring serious flooding. Given what it went through (devastating photos can be viewed at their website), it looks pretty good, and is a charming place for a walk and bird-watching. It holds botanical gardens and a conservatory, four golf courses, picnic areas, lagoons for boating and fishing, tennis courts, a bandstand (which has resumed summertime concerts; check the website for scheduled events), two miniature trains, and Children’s Storyland, an amusement area, including fairy-tale figures upon which one can climb and carouse, and an antique carousel. At Christmastime, the mighty oaks (too many of which fell during the storm, though a large number are standing tough), already dripping with Spanish moss, are strung with lights — quite a magical sight — and during Halloween there is a fabulous haunted house. You’ll also find the New Orleans Museum of Art at Collins Diboll Circle, on Lelong Avenue, in a building that is itself a work of art. Also in City Park are the New Orleans Botanical Gardens, which are pretty much like any good version of same, though given the heartache of 3 feet of flooding, which destroyed most of their collection, you have to admire the efforts needed to restore them after the storm. More significantly, it’s here you’ll find tucked away one of the oddest and most charming attractions in this odd and charming city, the Train Garden. Imagine a massive train set, the kind every 9-year-old kid (or kid at heart) would kill for. Now imagine that it’s located in Dr. Seuss’s basement, if Dr. Seuss was obsessed with both New Orleans and organic materials. Along 1,300 feet of track are replicas of 1890s streetcars and ornately detailed, slightly off-perspective, bizarrely beautiful representations of actual New Orleans neighborhoods and landmarks (the miniature buildings are based on very specific addresses) — all made from organic plant material! In a town of must-see attractions, this is just one more. The Train Garden is open during normal Botanical Garden hours (year-round Tues-Sun 10am-4:30pm), but the trains only run on Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 2pm, weather permitting. Admission to the gardens is $5 adults, $2 children 5 to 12, and free for children 4 and under. The gardens are located in the Pavilions of Two Sisters on Victory Avenue in the park. Storyland admission is $3. Carousel Gardens is $3, with additional prices varying on the rides; there is a $12 “bracelet” which allows you unlimited rides.

New Orleans Romantic Vacation on raveable
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Sucré – A Sweet Tooth’s Paradise (New Orleans, USA)

Sucré~ Most people from New Orleans are familiar with Sucre. It’s every sweet tooth’s paradise. For those visiting New Orleans and wanting to experience more than the French Quarter- I hope you make your way over to Magazine street- a long stretch of road filled with restaurants, boutiques, galleries, art shops, and gelaterias. If you are in the mood for sweets then I highly recommend you take the time to experience Sucré. Last night, as I wrote about La Duree Macaroons in Paris, I suddenly got a craving for Macaroons and within 30 minutes found myself indulging in sweets from Sucré. There is so many different deserts to choose from that it’s hard to choose one. Luckily there were 4 of us so we ended up with a variety of different sweets and macaroons to share amongst us. Sucré also has a large variety of gelatos which are amazingly delicious in the heat of the New Orleans summer.

Sucré (Magazine St) on Urbanspoon

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Halloween in New Orleans

Halloween!!! My favorite holiday. An excuse to dress up, eat lots of candy and chocolate. A If you are into Halloween as much as I am… then you will definitely look into making New Orleans your next Halloween destination. I have never in my life seen such a big party.  The entire town turns into a big party. First there is Voodoofest, the annual music festival that takes place in City Park. Then there is the french quarter. Almost EVERYONE is dressed up in the most amazing and creative costumes I have ever seen. For a real street/block party there is Frenchman’s street. It was truly the best street/dance party I have ever been to. And the best part is that everyone is having a good time. There is no pretentiousness about it. No entrance fee, no one is there to judge you. Everyone is there to have a good time.

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Attention lovers of red meat and red wine… La Boca is calling. (Warehouse District, New Orleans)

My partner in crime took me to La Boca last night for my birthday. We have been trying to go to this wonderful, tiny and romantic restaurant for some time, however, every time we made an attempt it was too busy or fully booked. I recommend calling in advance to make reservations since this is a popular spot in New Orleans. The ambiance, meal and service were all fantastic.

You’ll be greeted at the door by the friendly Orestes Rodriguez who will take you to one of the dimly lit tables in this small and cozy restaurant.  The menu is simple and authentic: they offer steaks and other Argentine specialities. We ordered the Provoleta (Grilled Argentine Cheese) for starters…. it was fantastic (not recommended for the calorie counters amongst us) the grilled cheese is drenched in olive oil and requires one to dip bread into the warm and soft cheese. It was paired with a glass of the Malbec. For our main dishes we ordered: Steaks. My partner ordered the hanger steak (centro de Entrana) and for myself the wonderfully delicious fillet marinated in garlic and lime juice. Don’t forget to order the yummy garlic-drenched mouth watering fries. The steak is accompanied by house made chimichurri sauce (an Argentine specialty) and two other creations by the La Boca chefs. Our experience was really great and I really recommend those visiting New Orleans to step out of the french quarter and into the warehouse district to taste some of the specialities of this amazing Argentine delight. [$$$/Zagat Rated]

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