Gastro Monkey // 美食家

I feel like every time I get caught up with my posts, I fall behind again. Well, except for the fact I am still trying to post all of the tasty restaurants from Taiwan. I supposed it's the delicious price to pay for going so often! With those, I definitely feel a sense of urgency as who knows when it will close for good? I know I am always disappointed when I hear about a restaurant and make the effort to go, only to find that it had shuttered already. In the case of Galatoire's, there is no urgency. It's one of those stalwart restaurants where it wouldn't matter. It was a change in pace for all of us since we had just eaten at  Compère Lapin  the night before. New New Orleans, and Old New Orleans. Since I was there with someone I believe I could fully trust with food in New Orleans, he ordered all of our appetizers, and suggested that I order the veal chops. While I can see Galatoire's being the kind of place that tourists will come to, I can see why locals come...

While I have a sizable list of my own for places I want to dine at in New Orleans, I am not one to discount suggestions from like minded friends. One of my friends, when I told her I had gone to Shaya , sent me a link to  a YouTube video of another New Orleans chef who ate there. She said that because of this particular video , she wanted to try Shaya. Because of that video, I wanted to try Compère Lapin! It jumped to the top of my list. On the Compère Lapin website, if you have a party over 5, you have to call to make a reservation. We didn't get the exact time we wanted, but it was still at a reasonable dinner hour (6:30pm).  I definitely felt the pressure for my fellow dining companions to also enjoy the meal. I am happy to report that everyone seemed overall happy with dinner though! The majority of my fellow dining companions also tried something new, which is always a plus for me. Am I the only one who has that dilemma when being tasked with picking a...

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 ...

In Elk Grove, CA there's a sandwich place that used to sell muffulettas.  I thought it was pretty good. Prior to that, I had never heard of a muffuletta so the first one I had was good. I couldn't wait to try the real thing in New Orleans though! If you have never heard of a muffuleta, it's a sandwich unique to New Orleans and has ham, salami, provolone cheese, and their house made olive salad smushed deliciously between a Sicilian sesame loaf. Don't settle for anything less! The bread makes all the difference! Note: I am spelling it the way they do at Central Grocery, although I have seen it spelled muffaletta. I am trusting the creators of this sandwich to spell it correctly. Another Note: You can order the sandwiches ready to eat from their website (linked below).  Central Grocery 923 Decatur St New Orleans, LA 70116 Saint Louis Cemetery #1 300 N Claiborne Ave New Orleans, LA 70112 I didn't know until I arrived in New Orleans that...