No trip to New Orleans is complete without a meal at Emeril's. I've never
had a bad meal here. On this particular trip, my coworker Kelly Kauinana & I went twice--once with our boss, Scott, pictured
here with (Herr Dude) Sebastian Guth from Dusseldorf; and once with Conchita Malaqui from the Waikiki Beachwalk and her friend,
Karl.
| One of two meals at Emeril's |
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| From left: Kelly Kauinana, Scott Creel, and Sebastian Guth |
Everything was good, but of all the items--Maine skate wing ($35), fish of the day ($26), and the andouille crusted redfish
($27), I think we decided that the fish slathered in fat & sausage was the best. Again, you can't go wrong with anything
you order, but always leave room for dessert. We had their famous banana cream pie ($7), which was large enough to split between
2 people.
The second time we went, I had a softshell crab "carbonara" ($16), which was outstanding. It had a smoky, charred flavor,
offset by the richness of the egg. I highly recommend Kelly's "caprese" salad, which was a slab of watermelon, topped with
basil, prociutto and mozzarella. It had a wonderfully bright taste with no bite, like eating sunshine on a fork. Just brilliant.
Finally, the quail: you can't go wrong with quail. The stuffing made it extra moist, and I loved the subtle, subtle tang of
the chow chow with as many bites as possible. For more photos, click here.
| With our server at Acme Oyster House |
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| Kelly's etoufee and my po'boy, dressed. |
There's always a line to get into Acme Oyster House, but don't worry--it moves
pretty fast. They are famous for their grilled oysters, which come in the shell swimming in a spicy butter sauce
and topped with romano cheese. Smoky, salty, spicy, cheesy, all in one dripping mouthful. We only ordered a half dozen, but
it was so good that we ordered another ($8.99). I ordered a Peacemaker Po'Boy ($10.75), which was oyster on one side and shrimp
on the other. It was waaaaay too much. Kelly had the crawfish etoufee ($7.99), which was probably the best etoufee I've had
in NOLA so far.
| Celebratory dinner with HPD at Cafe Adelaide |
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| (There was a police commissioners' convention in town.) |
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Of course, everyone will tell you that you need to eat beignets and drink chickory coffee from Cafe
du Monde. When we arrived, Scott told us that Cafe Beignet across the street actually had better beignets.
Well, Kelly and I did a side-by-side taste test. Sorry, Scott, Cafe du Monde won by a landslide. We finished off that order
of beignets and dumped the other one!
There are various things you will want to do in New Orleans, such as take a voodoo or vampire tour, or check out the
swamp. I opted to stop in at Bottom of the Cup Tea Room and had a psychic reading
with Devlin Scott. If you want to hear what he told me, drop me an email! All I can say is, my dentist has a photo of my hand
on file because of this guy, which only cements his statement that I'm a weirdo & a freak. Thanks, Devlin.
| Outside Bottom of the Cup Tea Room |
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| It's the oldest tea room in New Orleans. |
Cafe Adelaide is praised in Zagat's for its food and service. The menu is
kind of fun--lowbrow descriptions at a highbrow price. You can get shrimp & tasso "corn dogs," shrimp & grits, dirty
duck cakes and foie gras, Golden Meadow oyster roast (3 oysters with 3 divine toppings), or even caviar. They are fond of
using an atchafalaya honeycomb, a mild honey--I ate the whole thing.
I had the turtle soup ($6.50), which was quite spicy. The sherry is poured at the table, to your liking. This is excellent
with bread & butter. Since softshell crab season was winding down, I had to have one last one ($28), served atop a mashed
potato concoction with smoked corn. There's BBQ sauce on the side that gives it a kick, and a spring salad that brings
out the freshness.
One last thing, you may want to work off all that you ate. If you have time, go to the Audubon Park in the Garden District and walk or jog around. It has a definite vibrance & energy to it that will make you want to go
around more than once!
| Emerils, part deux~so good we ate there twice |
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| From left, Karl, Conchita, Kelly, and me |
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