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...

Jacque Imo's is one of the few places I ate at on both of my trips to New Orleans. On a previous trip, we had the shrimp and alligator cheese cake, and our own orders of the fried chicken. If you like fried chicken, Jacque Imo's does it right! That led me to my conundrum with this trip. Do I get the fried chicken again? Or try something new?  I comforted myself with the knowledge that I would be getting some fried chicken from Dookie Chase , which I think, hands down, is the best that I've had anywhere, anyway. That left me with the option to try something new on the menu. I knew for certain though, that I needed to have more of that shrimp and alligator cheesecake. It is nothing like it sounds. To me, anyway. Adding cheesecake to the name implies that it will be sweet and a dessert. Instead, this is a savory treat. There is so much flavor in this slice, so much shrimp and gator. It all goes so well with the sauce, which seems to be cheese based. I also love fried gree...