ACME Oyster House, New Orleans, LA

Posted on June 15, 2016 by melsmosaic

Visited NOLA awhile back and one of the people in our group said we were required to visit ACME Oyster House.

Despite being the middle of the afternoon, the wait was quite long. This place obviously lives up to its reputation.
Once at our table a couple of us just felt like having Bloody Mary’s. Can never go wrong!

Then orders varied around the table. Raw oysters had to be ordered by some. Apparently their (traditional) roasted oysters are phenomenal — some great butter and parm on there.

I asked if I could get something different done to mine because of my whole lactose intolerance issue. The waitress took some notes and said she couldn’t guarantee anything and I would still have to pay if anything came out wrong. Gulp! They were perfectly roasted and I just added some lemon juice. I don’t love oysters but I just had to order them because of where I was.

Some crawfish also came to the table. Was hilarious watching different people eat them. Everybody had their own way of dealing with them.

By the time the meal was done we were just sort of rolling out of there. The meal was definitely worth the wait.

Sushi’s a Wrap

Posted on November 20, 2014 by melsmosaic

The final night in NOLA some of us decided to head to a sushi place – Sake Café Uptown.

Huge menu. After reading and reading, I noticed some grilled squid. I love it when I can find that, because I don’t enjoy the (fried) calamari. So I opted for it. Ok, that could be a meal. It came out on a fajita-like platter and it was amazing. It might have been the simplest thing but I could eat that stuff all the time. I need to figure out where I can get that stuff in DC.

Then at the table next to us, I ask this woman what she ordered because I was just trying to get one other thing (this was before the squid came out). She told us about this edamame that’s not on the menu – garlic edamame. They do the ‘normal’ edamame then do something with some form or garlic – I don’t know if it’s roasted or something else but this stuff just makes you melt. This is another one that I need to find out who in the DC area has. Way too good.

So glad we checked this place out and it’s another place to check out if you’re in New Orleans.

Oh My Oyster

Posted on November 20, 2014 by melsmosaic

I kept hearing about grilled oysters in New Orleans. I might have grilled oysters once a year at Christmas when half my family eats raw oysters and then my brother is kind enough to threw a few on the BBQ for the rest of us who aren’t quite that intrigued by those raw guys. I normally put some lemon juice and Tabasco on my grilled one and it’s great. So, being in NOLA, with all this hype, I had to give them a try. I received several restaurant recommendations and ended up at a super local place – Felix’s in the French Quarter.

The guy behind the bar/counter, Magic, was awesome because I asked how they grilled them and I also asked if there was butter (mentioned I was lactose intolerant). In the funniest way, he said ‘these are the biggest waste of your time, you are not going to get the taste you need, it will be like water!’ They put parmesan cheese, sometimes butter and all sorts of other stuff on them. It was HILARIOUS what he was telling me. They pretty much refused to serve me any oyster (unless I was to go raw) because of my lactose issue. Props to them. They had fun, debating for several minutes, what I could eat at their super local place. They came up with some phenomenal grilled shrimp and their ‘amazing’ sweet potato fries.

While I was waiting for this to come out, I was intrigued watching the guys shuck the oysters. I even got an (oyster) pearl. Is this my good luck charm from NOLA? (Yes, this pic almost looks like a macadamia nut).

Then my dinner came out. WOW! I still vividly remember it. The shrimp were so juicy and I don’t really like fries that much and these things were to die for. I would totally recommend this diner-like place, beyond local, over the big names. Go Felix’s. Thanks for a great dinner!

Cafe du Monde

Posted on November 20, 2014 by melsmosaic

Coffee, caffeine…ahh. I had heard about Café du Monde and I couldn’t remember if I’d had the stuff or not so I had to swing by and try it. It’s from NOLA and made with endive. This was done to originally save money by making it less expensive to produce, based on the ingredients. Was worth trying. It has a unique taste. Not my personal favorite but absolutely worth it for the local experience.

Chef Besh

Posted on November 20, 2014 by melsmosaic

In my prior job, I spoke to a ton of celebs, over the phone. They didn’t/don’t have the slightest clue who I am, but I had a great time recording sound clips from them and booking (phone/radio) interviews for them. One of them that I worked with several times was Chef John Besh from New Orleans who did work for Zatarain’s.

I knew he had several restaurants in NOLA and I finally had the opportunity to check one out. After going on his website I found the most convenient one to visit – Lüke. It’s a ‘homage to the grand old Franco-German brasseries that once reigned in New Orleans.’ Great décor and feel as soon as you walk in and I still want to know why over the door there are three clocks that read the same time that only twice a day would be right (the time they have is now escaping me).

The menu was so mouthwatering that it was tough to pick. As the lactose intolerant one, I had some restrictions, but the waiter was extremely helpful. When all was said and done, I opted for a salad and appetizer.

For the salad it was the Roasted Beets, which were yellow ones…huge and round, thinly sliced, served underneath a huge pile of delicious mixed greens and roasted pistachios with an amazing vinaigrette! It usually has blue cheese but I opted to nix that.

The appetizer I chose was the Tartine of Local Yellow Fin Tuna Nicoise. Sort of like a Nicoise salad but served on some perfectly toasted bread with aioli. Ok, I don’t really like aioli, but wow!

Normally I would pair wine with this dinner but had to check out the local brew. I tried the Lüke Alt, Covington, altbier. Nice, smooth, between a pale and red. Next I tried the Hopitoulas, New Orleans, IPA. Nice! Just enough hops to make a great IPA.

So, next time you’re in New Orleans, if you need a place to dine, check Lüke out. It’s worth it.

Gator

Posted on November 20, 2014 by melsmosaic

Found out last minute last week that I got to go to New Orleans on a business trip. What did that mean – I get to visit NOLA – FINALLY! There is a first time for everything, right? I knew this meant culture, scenery, music and some great food. Laissez les bon temps rouler!

When I arrived I had time to grab a quick bit to eat before heading into meetings. I was directed to good local place right near where I needed to go, Mulate’s the Original Cajun Restaurant.

So many choices on the menu of course. I wanted local fare and after what felt like a novel of reading I had to go with the alligator. It was available grilled or fried. I opted for the former and it was coined as ‘tender pieces of Louisiana farm raised alligator cooked to your liking.’ I think I’d had this stuff years ago in FL.

Though they claimed it was grilled, it was quite oily. And, as I expected, I was just like super chewy chicken. But, was fun to try it and it was checked off my list.

Crawfish Boil

Posted on June 14, 2014 by melsmosaic

Today I was able to take advantage of a (fairly) local event and have a non-local treat of crawfish! Breaux Vineyards in Purcellville, VA had their 17th Annual Cajun Festival and Crawfish Boil on this perfect day. You get to the check-in and they give you a wine glass and beads. New Orleans?