Gastro Monkey // 美食家

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...

NOLA Kitchen was a random find, a suggestion from Facebook. The first time I went was when it was still relatively new (it opened in 2012, I went in 2014).   Due to a data loss, I don't have those pictures of the beignets, au lait, fried green tomatoes, or chicken and waffles. That said, I can't stress enough just how much things have changed from 2014 to December of 2016 when I went this most recent trip.  First of all, the beignets were shaped in Christmas themes. It was cute, actually. Unfortunately, they were a bit too hard, and there wasn't enough powdered sugar (if you aren't sure how much is the right amount, please refer to my Cafe du Monde post - not that I'm expecting NOLA Kitchen to be on that level! There are other beignet shops in New Orleans who can't even get on that level. But I think there's nothing wrong with having goals!). I would suggest if you have the same issue as I did (because it's not consistent. Previous trips have been b...