New Orleans Restaurant Review: Voo-doo BBQ on St. Charles Avenue

I will start with this is not the best BBQ place in New Orleans, not even in uptown (Ms. Heisters or whatever on S. Claiborne is excellent).

The potato salad is the worst potato salad I have had in a long time. It is consistently bad. I went to Voodoo BBQ to watch the NFC championship game and ordered a plate.

It came with sour tasting potato salad and cut up hot dogs for “pork.” Best in New Orleans? Give me a break! It is a shame that this place is as popular as it is. It’s in a prime location and it really does a disservice to New Orleans.

Things to do on the Westbank

1. Boomtown Casino

2. Caesar’s Nightclub

3. Club Jay’s

4. Daiquiri Shop on DeGaulle

5. Daiquiri Shop on Manhattan

That’s about all folks! Booooo!

There’s Nothing to Eat in Gentilly

As in most post-WWII communities across the United States, most residential districts are only residential.  This causes the main arteries in such a community to be the only places with commercial development. Oftentimes, the majority of the commercial development in regards to food is none other than drive-thru fast food or take-out. What Gentilly lacks as does most ‘newer’ parts of New Orleans is walk-up cafes and higher-quality restaurants.

Here are some restaurants in Gentilly (Leon C. Simon is in Seabrook and does not count):

1. Good Time Sushi on Elysian Fields
2. 2 McDonald’s (Elysian Fields loc and Old Gentilly Road loc)
3. 2 Burger Kings (Elysian Fields loc and Chef loc)
4. Burger Orleans on Gentilly
5. Subway on Caton
6. McKenzie’s Chicken in a Box
7. Papa John’s Pizza on Robert E. Lee
8. (2) Popeyes (Elysian Fields loc and Chef loc)
9. (2) Wendy’s (Elysian Fields loc and Chef loc)
10. Taco Bell on Chef
11. String of restaurants on Franklin Ave (Fleury of Wings?)
12. Chinese Tea Garden/Kitchen on Filmore
13. Sammy’s Food which is NOT OPEN FOR DINNER
14. New food joint that always changes ownership (old Nacho Mama’s site)
15. Daiquiri shop on Elysian Fields is you count bar food
16. Gas stations such as Brothers that sell greasy fried food

That’s a large number of mostly fast food joints. Where are the cafes? Where are the steakhouses? Where are the bar and grills? Why is Gentilly a different world from Magazine St. restaurant-wise? Why is the daiquiri shop the ONLY place to sit, eat, and grab a drink in Gentilly?

If you are a restaurant owner and exist within Gentilly, make yourself known so I can frequent you. One day, I will open up a cafe and you will come thru.

 

-NMB

New Orleans Restaurant Review: Drago’s

Located beneath the Hilton Riverside Hotel, this large oyster restaurant lay churning. I was unaware that this restaurant existed here for almost a decade. I thought the only location was in Fat City, Metry. I like being a tourist in my own town so I went with a potna of mine to this restaurant. It was not too fancy, but it was very large on the inside. Where have I been all this time? I simply did not know it existed. Even if you google Dragos, the only location that appears is the one in Fat City.

Anyways, when it was time to order, I got 6 charbroiled/chargrilled oysters on the half-shell. They are not chargrilled like I thought they would be. Total meal came out to more than $50 bucks but I got paid that day and decided to splurge a little bit. Here is a picture of how they look. They taste very well but honestly I could have eaten 100 of them with no problem.

New Orleans Breakfast Food Favorite: Potatoes and Eggs

Bonjour! In this post, I will discuss  the best breakfast food which can be eaten in New Orleans. I am not talking about the fanciest, or the most historical, or the food with the most heritage (i.e. Cafe Du Monde and beignets, French Crepes, and the like). I am speaking on the best meal for breakfast time. The inimitable breakfast eaten in New Orleans is:

Potatoes and Egg!!!!

My grandmother in the Lower 9 Pre-K used to prepare eggs with home-made French Fries with eggs in between. The meal did not take long and all you needed was ketchup. It remains the best breakfast meal I have or ever will eat in life. The above picture is not truly representative of how it looks but think ordinary fries with the scrambled eggs.

Where to Buy Live Shrimp in New Orleans

Live shrimp are by far the most effective bait I use, even more so than dead bait. Be sure to have your aerator ready to keep los camarones alive and wigglin’!Here are a few local (in New Orleans) bait shops which will have live shrimp:

A place I have been going since a youth-

Bait Inc

Paris Road at Bayou Bienvenue

(504) 277-3755. Call them ahead of time.

Seabrook Marina

France Road next to Pontchartrain Landing

(504) 283-6001

Chef Pass Bait Shop

This place is right past the Chef Pass Bridge to its north. These people have bait but I do not have their phone number.

Gulf Outlet Marina Boat Launch

In St. Bernard Parish off of Paris Rd. not far from Bait Inc. and behind the hotel.

(504) 304-9598

Live shrimp season is here as well!

Now go wear em out!

Optimizing a Smoothie King Purchase

I am using price per ounce analysis. For a 20 oz small Chocolate Hulk the price comes out to $5.97 including tax. For the same smoothie twice its size it comes out to be $9.80. The better deal obviously is the 40 oz, or is it? In the former scenario I am spending $0.2985 per ounce while in the latter scenario I am spending $0.245 per ounce. $10 a day on smoothies or $300/month instead of $150/month. If you want to gain weight, you have to be rich, plain and simple. I had that realization in 2008 trying out for a college football team. In 2012, same old ish just a different day or toilet as my potna would say.

Friday Fish Fry Rant

Today, Friday, is one of the many days, especially during Lent, when one eats a fish plate. Fish plates typically consist of macaroni and cheese, peas, potato salad, cake, bread/dinner roll, and CATFISH… Why on Earth do people insist on cooking and eating not only the least hygienic fish of the sea but the very fish nearly all salt fisherman throw back in the water saying something like this while catching one, “Da–, it aint nun but a motha f—in’ hardhead!” We have such better tasting variety in our waters in South Louisiana: croakers, redfish, speckled trout, white trout, flounder, black drum, etc for virtually everywhere but the high end restaurants selling fish plates with nothing else but “Got damn hardhead.” See below: