Gastro Monkey // 美食家

Since I really enjoyed my experience at Deanie's in the French Quarter and I was out in Metairie, I figured I would give their Bucktown location a try (see in my original post about my first trip to New Orleans here ). Unfortunately for me, crawfish weren't in season so I didn't get to get my boil on. Not that I was settling, but I ordered a big fat order of crab four ways and some of their delicious barbecue shrimp. This is a restaurant you don't want to eat alone at because the portions are so big and if you want to eat more than one thing, you'll have to actually share! I came alone this time and had leftovers that I ended up eating as a midnight snack.  Please note - Deanie's does not take reservations. Barbeque Shrimp (12.95) Crab Quartet - crab meat prepared au gratin, crab balls, fried crab claws, and fried soft shell crab (26.95) - I recommend sharing as this was a LOT of food! Here's the other side that has the entire fried soft ...

During this past trip to New Orleans, I stayed in Metairie. A friend mentioned that her favorite place for po boys was at Short Stop. As a local who was born and raised there, I took her word for it. She was kind enough to drive a group of us out there to give it a try. She apologized profusely about how we might not like it, but she's always liked it. I definitely know the feeling. Memories are such a big part of food, but it seems like a lot of people don't take that into account.  My baseline for po boys is based on French Po-Boys One in Sac (which reminds me, I should probably blog about it at some point). It's good because it's fresh. The baguette and the shrimp. So, in trying Short Stop, I am expecting it to be better since I'm in the area that it's from. Honestly, it is overwhelming trying to pick one to go to so I'm glad on all counts that I ended up here.  The menu is pretty extensive--which I generally don't like--but everything I tri...

As this was my second trip to New Orleans, I wanted to try some things I hadn't my first time around. Since I had been to Acme already, I wanted to see how other places did the same things. One of the names that popped up repeatedly, was Drago's. Of course, that meant I would have to give it a try. The waitress started out helpful, telling us what not to get ("If you want real New Orleans food, don't get that. You gotta try our gumbo. And the oysters"). We went for a dozen oysters, which I believe I ended up eating the majority of. One of the people in my party had never eaten oysters before, and the other two seemed indifferent. The oysters were good, but definitely not as good as Acme. I would say if you want to try it to have something to compare Acme to, this is it. You'll either like it better or appreciate Acme more! Aside from that, I would suggest skipping the gumbo and the Shrimp Creole. The gumbo was really salty and inconsistent at our table. Mine...