Southern Cookin'

No trip to New Orleans is complete without mentioning the delicious food found in the South, and as a self-respecting blogger, I just have to come up with my own personal list of favourites. This list is purely based on a personal measure called "satisfaction per calorie" so, here goes...

 

 

No.1  Fried Green Tomatoes with Grilled Shrimp from The Creole Grille & Bar  -  This is the first time I've ever had fried green tomatoes and it was to die for!  The crispy battered tomatoes topped with spicy grilled shrimp, egg salad and tartare sauce really made my tastebuds sing for joy.  If this is Southern cookin', I'm happy to do more Southern eatin'  :)



No. 2. Catfish Platter and Potato Salad from The Creole Grille & Bar - I used to laugh when I heard Southern chefs on the Food Channel say, "If we're not sure what an ingredient is, we just fry it!".  Now, I realise why.  They sure know how to fry up a delicious plate of anything.  Including this catfish platter.  It was so good, especially when paired with home-style potato salad. 

No. 3 Duck Po' Boys from Crabby Jacks - When a local waitress tells you that the po' boys from another joint is better than her own restaurant, you don't ask questions.  You just punch in the address into your GPS and head there straight away.  That's how we discovered the best po'boys in New Orleans.  The soft french bread was just the right consistency to soak up all the duck jus, while the pickles and mayonnaise added just the right contrast to the shredded duck meat that was bursting out of this sandwich.  Yumm...

No. 4  Shrimp & Grits from Mother's Restaurant - This place came highly recommended by our hotel concierge and tour bus guide, so we should have known better.  The decor was rather antiquated which I suppose added to the historical cache of the restaurant.  The shrimp and grits were tasty but not as earth-shattering as I had hoped.  In fact, I thought the turnip greens cooked in bacon was the most flavourful item on the plate, although it didn't look very appealing at first sight.  My sister had the Ferdi Po-Boy, which was filled with roast beef, pulled pork and ham.  The one bite she shared with me was very tasty.

 

No. 5 Coffee and beignets from Cafe du Monde - Given the number of times I've heard this place reviewed on the Travel Channel, I really had higher expectations.  The coffee tasted rather watered down, and although the beignets (French doughnuts) were hot and fresh, they tasted quite ordinary.  Much like "you tiao" (Chinese crullers).  Still, the powdered sugar added some fun to the eating experience as I managed to get a lot of it on my face and jacket, much to my sister's amusement!